Overview:

We hold one funding round for Grants and Commissions each year, where Trustees consider proposals from organisations to improve, promote and celebrate the city of Birmingham through projects involving arts, heritage and public open spaces (or combinations of those fields of activity).

Timeframe: 

Application Process for Grants and Commissions opens — 1st January at 10am

Application Process for Commissions and Grants closes — 31st March at 5pm 

Receipt of all Commission applications and receipt of all Grants applications will be acknowledged by 3rd April. 

Trustees meet in May to make final decisions on all eligible Grant and Commission applications.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application no later than 5pm on 31st May. Due to our limited capacity, we will be unable to provide detailed feedback on unsuccessful applications.

Who can apply?

The Grants and Commissions programme is for organisations with charitable/not for profit purposes. (Individuals — click here for information on our Fellowships).

We recognise the time and effort that goes into preparing applications, and we want to do all we can to help potential applicants decide if we are the right Trust for them to approach with the activity they have in mind.

There are some kinds of activities and organisations that we are unable to support (as determined by the conditions of John Feeney’s Will which forms our governing document) and these are outlined further down this page (see What we can’t fund for more details.)

What we can’t fund:

Trustees will be unable to consider the following applications for Grants and Commissions:

  • Beneficiaries

Applications that do not directly benefit the Birmingham area or the people of Birmingham.

  • Location

Applications for activities that do not take place in Birmingham — unless the applicant can strongly demonstrate the substantial engagement of, or direct benefits to, the people of Birmingham.

  • Organisational Governance and Structure

Applications from organisations that are not formally constituted or which have no formal governing document;

Applications from organisations that are not able to provide a recent set of financial accounts, prepared to an accepted legal standard;

Applications from organisations that are run on a sole trader basis (or similar), where there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity;

Applications from organisations that are constituted as profit-distributing companies.

  • Organisational Objectives

Applications from organisations that have political objectives, where the application activity seeks to promote those objectives;

Applications from organisations that are denominational in character, where the application activity seeks to promote religion.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We can consider applications from political or denominational organisations where the applicant can demonstrate that the application activity does not seek to specifically promote specifically political or religious objectives.

  • Timing

Applications received after the programme deadline (5 pm on 31st March for Commissions and Grants);

Applications for projects or activities that have already taken place, have already started, or are due to take place before our decision-making deadline (31st May each year).

IMPORTANT NOTE: We can consider applications for longer-term or larger projects or activities that are phased, where our funding would support a specific phase of the project or activity that has not yet started before our decision-making deadline.

“SPIRIT OF FEENEY” — APPLICATION GUIDANCE

The Spirit of Feeney — an important note for all applicants

Like all funding bodies, we’ve seen significant growth in the range and volume of applications we receive. We recognise and appreciate the amount of time and energy that goes into preparing applications and want to help prospective applicants get a better understanding of our values and a clearer sense of what we are most keen to support. We’ve summarised this under the “Spirit of Feeney” banner.

We are a small charity but we know that our impact can potentially be very big. We’re always keen for our funding to make a significant difference, and for our support to enable something truly transformational to happen: for the people who deliver a project and for the people who encounter it. 

In the case of Commissions, we prefer to be the sole or primary commissioner, rather than being one of many commissioning supporters. In the case of Grants, we often focus our limited resources on supporting projects that we feel would not otherwise happen, rather than making a very modest contribution to projects that seem highly likely to proceed without our support. An important exception to this would be in the case of time-critical or one-of-a-kind moments in the life and history of Birmingham — projects or events which may never be repeated, and where it is important to us that the Trust can make a fitting contribution.

We’re always keen to support experimentation and risk-taking through activities that enable applicants to try doing something new or different. We recognise that “something new or different” will not look the same within an arts context, a heritage context and an open spaces context. 

It might be in terms of offering new and truly memorable experiences for audiences, visitors and participants — it might be in the form, content or location of projects — it might be in terms of developing new opportunities for people already working in the city’s arts, heritage and open spaces sectors, or for people to enter those sectors for the first time. 

Additional Guidance for Heritage projects — support available: applications up to £5,000

The Trust’s interest in heritage is not focused solely on the past, but also on securing aspects of Birmingham’s story, environment and cultural assets for the future. 

Under the Heritage banner, we will prioritise projects which deepen public understanding of and widen public engagement in the heritage of Birmingham. 

Cultural heritage projects which document and celebrate marginalised communities and unsung histories for future generations will be especially welcome.

Additional Guidance for Open Spaces projects — support available: applications up to £5,000

John Feeney’s philanthropy helped to establish and protect a number of important public outdoor spaces for the enjoyment of many generations of Birmingham residents and their neighbours — e.g. Warley Woods and Clent Hills.  

More recently the value of the outdoors and of open spaces for the benefit of people has become even more acutely understood.

We will prioritise projects which:  

  • help enrich and deepen engagement, understanding, enjoyment and knowledge of open space facilities;

  • improve the environmental sustainability of the space;

  • enable more people to benefit from the space;

  • provide activities that enable people to explore and deepen their experience of and active involvement with the City’s open spaces.

Additional Guidance for Arts projects

Broadly speaking, proposals from Arts Organisations will fall into two categories: Arts Commissions and Arts Projects. The guidance and the upper amounts of support available differ for each category. 

Through both these categories, we are keen to encourage artistic ambition and excellence and we will prioritise Arts Commissions and Arts Projects that offer a significant reflection of Birmingham’s culturally diverse history and future. 

Arts Commissions — support available: applications up to £10,000

Through this category, we are continuing and building on the tradition of Feeney Commissions. 

We will consider supporting the costs of commissioning an artist or artistic team to create a new work of any art form for public performance/exhibition in Birmingham. (In this category, applicants cannot commission themselves — applications for Arts Commissions should come from a lead organisation that is commissioning an artist or artistic team to create a new work.)

Applicants will need to demonstrate that the production/exhibition costs will be supported by other resources and that the proposed work will be premiered/unveiled/launched in Birmingham. Where applicable, we request a signed score of the musical composition or equivalent permanent record of the commission for other art forms.  

Arts Projects — support available: applications up to £5,000

Through this category, we will consider support for projects which do not involve a specific commissioning element. Applicants might use that support towards costs such as artists’ fees, production costs, marketing, access provision and small capital equipment items. (Click here for information on previously supported arts projects.)

General Guidance for all Applications

Some projects will encompass aspects of more than one of our categories or all three. That is perfectly fine — we actively welcome those interconnections and partnerships. 

Applications that are destined to tour or benefit places and people beyond Birmingham need to demonstrate a strong benefit for Birmingham, its communities and/or its artists.

Overheads/management costs: we will only consider supporting overheads or management costs of up to 20% of the cost of the project in question. In the case of Arts Commissions, our funds are only to be applied to the artist fees, not to other aspects of project delivery or management.

We appreciate that investment in equipment is often essential to the delivery of some activities — but where the cost of items of capital equipment is included, this needs to be demonstrably linked to the project in question. 

Click here to see answers to some of our most Frequently Asked Questions. 

Acknowledgment and Reporting

Trustees would like to be kept informed on how funding has been spent, and about the progress and outcomes of the overall project. Successful applicants are required to submit a brief report, with photographs for use on the Trust’s website and social media accounts, within 12 months of the award. 

Failure to update the Trust on project expenditure will result in us being unable to consider future applications from your organisation.

Successful applicants must ensure that any publicity regarding the funding or associated work uses the credit ‘supported by The John Feeney Charitable Trust’. The Trust has a Facebook www.facebook.com/feeneytrust and Twitter www.twitter.com/FeeneyTrust account, and we encourage funding recipients to like, follow and tag the Trust in any social media posts in relation to the project.

A copy of the Trust’s logo can be downloaded here for use on digital and printed promotional materials.

Apply for a Grant or Commission

To apply, you need to provide us with the following:

  • A completed Contact Information Form (Microsoft Word template)

  • A completed copy of our Application Form (Microsoft Word template)

  • A completed copy of the income and expenditure Budget Template for your activity (Microsoft Excel template)

  • Your latest Annual Accounts.

  • If you are applying for a commission, please attach information about the artist(s) to be commissioned. 

Please return these documents to the Applications mailbox.

Applicants will receive an auto-response to confirm that their applications have been safely received. If you do not receive an automated acknowledgement please contact the Trust Administrator for guidance.

Terms and Conditions

Funding from the Feeney Trust is offered on the following terms:

  • You will acknowledge receipt of the grant and confirm you understand that the grant is restricted to use for this project as described in your application and should not be used for any other expenditure or purpose. 

  • Any surplus funds not required for the approved purpose are to be refunded to us;

  • You will provide us with a progress report of how the money has been spent and the success of the project;

  • We reserve the right to withhold funds or to be refunded if we believe you have supplied false information or your organisation becomes insolvent or goes into administration, receivership, or liquidation;

  • You agree that we may use your name in our publicity material and a link may be included on our website to your website if you have one;

  • You will acknowledge the grant in any publicity about the project for which the grant is made and will use the Trust’s logo in all relevant digital and printed materials.