Get in Touch
Map Location
enterprise@carlowcoco.ie
059-9129783
...Let's talk business
]
Festival & Event Grant Scheme 2019
Opening Date: 21st December 2018
Closing Date: Thursday 31st January 2019
Carlow County Council has provided a fund for festival and event organisers to aid with the development and promotion of events in County Carlow during 2019.This grant scheme aims to promote and support local festivals and to support and assist those events that have a tourism, cultural/artistic or community focus. In tandem with this process Carlow County Council manage the Failte Ireland Regional Festivals Funds and will evaluate suitable festivals who will receive an additional allocation based on their application. Please note the application form and all supporting information must be submitted in full for consideration for support.
To apply for this funding please fill out the application form and return it to enterprise@carlowcoco.ie or via post to the Local Enterprise Office on or before 31st January 2019.
Festivals & Events must fit into one of the following categories:
General festivals (i.e. literary, historic, traditional culture or family focused).
Arts, Music & Theatre.
Food & Drink.
Outdoors.
Business & Education.
The following categories of festival and participative events are ineligible for this funding arrangement:
Purely commercial events/festivals
Agricultural shows and countryside fairs with limited tourism appeal.
Spectator-based sporting events.
Circuses and carnivals.
Christmas fairs and markets.
Community & Occasional Parades
Religious Events
Concerts , Musicals and Plays
St. Patrick’s Day Activities & Parades
Please Note: Any festival or event which obtains an allocation from Carlow County Council for the same activity or have a multi-annual allocation under any other coordinated or funded programme in Carlow County Council is ineligible for support under this scheme and their suitability under the Regional Festivals and Participative Events will be considered at evaluation and budgetary stage.
Organizations must complete the application form in full and must include the following supporting information for their event/festival:
Completed Application Form
Festival/Event – Key Actions Timeline
Programme Outline
Proposed Launch Process
Projected Income & Expenditure Account
Organizational/Event/Festival Bank Account Showing current resources available
Sample Promotional Material for most recent pre-2018 festival/event (if relevant)
For grants seeking in excess of €2,001-€12,500 the following information is required:
Organizational Chart & Governance Overview
Marketing & Promotional Strategy
Impact & Evaluation Methodology
Carlow County Council reserve the right where an organization applies for greater than €2,001 euros to refer the festival/event to the lower category.
Following receipt of the applications they will be evaluated based on the following marking scheme. Only applications who receive a min. mark of 60 will be considered for funding.
Quality and ambition of proposed programme for the festival/event
30 marks
Capacity- Extent to which the festival/event demonstrates organizational capacity and track record of festival/event
20 marks
Extent to which the festival/ event engages with audiences and the local community
Quality of the application in terms of budgeting and feasibility (festivals/events must generate a minimum of 10% of own funds either through earned income/box office or sponsorship/fundraising)
Links:- The extent to which the festival/event collaborates with other organizations/partners/networks to maximize the local and visitor potential of the festival/event
10 marks
Quality of the application in terms of marketing/promotion plan
15 marks
Linkage with Business Community
15marks
Economic Impact of the proposed activity
Total Marks:
150 marks
The evaluation committee for the festivals and events scheme is:
Chairperson of the SPC for Economic Development & Planning
Chairperson of the SPC for Arts, Culture
Head of Enterprise
Arts Officer
Senior Executive Officer – Community, Amenity & Sports
The scheme is administered by the Economic Development Officer in the Local Enterprise Office in Carlow County Council. Helen Ryan is the Economic Development Officer and can be contacted on hryan@carlowcoco.ie or by calling the Local Enterprise Office on 059-9129783.
Following evaluation of the application a report will be presented to Carlow County Council for approval.. Initially following the Council Approval a press release is issued which will be followed by a decision letter within 2 weeks of the March County Council meeting. Please note all conditions must be complied with to obtain funding and non-compliance with the scheme conditions will results in non-payment of the grant allocation.
Essential criteria for all funded projects will include:
Grant Payments will only be made in arrears on presentation on a full feedback report and claim form with supported Invoices, Receipts and Bank Statements for each transaction claimed. Cash transitions are ineligible for support.
All funded activities must be based within the Carlow County Council Area. Where a festival/event has activities in another Local Authority Area, Carlow County Council funding can only be used for activities which occur within County Carlow.
Compliance in full branding requirements as outlined in letter of offer must be complied with and non-compliance in 2019 will result in non-payment of the grant in full.
Following a review of the Festivals of Events Scheme in 2018 the following guideline grant amounts are in place:
Local Community Tourism Events – Grants between €500 to €2,000
Regional Community Tourism Events – Grants from €2,001 to €12,500 The difference between events defined as local vs regional are based on the projections of visitor numbers in the application form. Only festivals which fall into the Regional Community Tourism Events will be considered for the Failte Ireland funding.
It is important to note in 2018 that funding requested exceeded the amount requested therefore the process is competitive in nature and in 2019 the festivals and events with the greatest impact will only receive funding. Applicants should note the fund is competitive in nature and approval does not guarantee future funding.
