Creative Communities Fund – Refugee Festival Scotland
(Tue 20 June – Sun 2 July 2017)
Application Guidelines
Deadline for Grant Application: Friday 28 April, 12pm (Noon)
Please ensure you read these guidelines before completing the application form.
What is Refugee Festival Scotland?Coordinated by Scottish Refugee Council, Refugee Festival Scotland is an annual Scotland-wide programme of arts, cultural, educational, heritage and sport events that bring refugee and local communities together in celebration of the contribution refugees make to the richness and vibrancy of life in Scotland and the welcome offered to them by local people.
What is theme of this year’s Refugee Festival Scotland? – ‘Connect’
Refugee Festival Scotland celebrates the contribution refugees make to our rich cultural life in Scotland and the welcome offered by local people.
This year we are using the theme ‘Connect’ to encourage people from all walks of Scottish society to connect with people who have come here seeking refugee protection. These New Scots are our neighbours, colleagues, classmates and friends.
The festival will explore the different actions we can take to build and strengthen connections between local communities and with the new Scots rebuilding their lives here.
What is Scottish Refugee Council’s Creative Communities Fund?
Community groups from across Scotland that are led by refugees or that have a focus on working with refugees and asylum seekers are invited to apply for up to £500 to deliver an arts and cultural event or activity as part of Refugee Festival Scotland 2017.
This fund is designed to enable these groups to participate in Refugee Festival Scotland 2017 by delivering an event or activity with their members and local public that will help the group to strengthen their connections, partnerships and networks with receiving communities.
We will consider the geographical of the programme and we’re interested in hearing from new applicants.
What types of activities or events can you apply to the Creative Communities Fund for?
We welcome your group to apply for all kinds of activities and events – from music nights, dance or theatre performances, storytelling sessions, fashion displays, visual art exhibitions, crafts activities, discussions, film screenings, book readings, creative workshops and themed walks to multi-cultural food events, sports events, campaigns or quizzes. We are looking for you to think creatively about how you can celebrate Refugee Festival Scotland with your community.
We encourage you to think about how the theme of ‘Connect’ might shape the content of your event. Take a look at last year’s festival programme for inspiration and ideas:
Refugee Festival Scotland is an opportunity for you to reflect on your community’s achievements, raise public awareness about your community and take action towards the future you want to see for refugees in Scotland. Furthermore it’s an opportunity for you to strengthen your group’s networks and connections with receiving communities, so we encourage you to think about who you will work in partnership with.
Who can apply?
· You must be a community group or organisation that is either led by or focused on working with refugees and/or asylum seekers.
· If you are an individual wishing to apply, you must find a community group or organisation to apply on your behalf.
· We can only fund groups who have a bank account.If you don’t have a bank account you could consider working in partnership with another group that does. If you would like to discuss this further contact / 0141 248 9799.
How will Scottish Refugee Council assess your application?
Scottish Refugee Council will assess the following:
1) Completeness of your application form - please ensure you answer all questions in the application form. We are unable to consider incomplete forms.
2) Project timing - please ensure your event takes place within the festival programme dates – Tuesday 20 June – Sunday 2 July.
3) Your group’s experience of and commitment to working with asylum seekers and refugees.
4) Your event or activity’s connection to the theme of ‘Connect’.
5) The strength of the partnership/s you propose to develop through your activity.
6) Your group’s skills and experience in running events previously:
o Evidence of financial planning / budgeting
o Evidence of publicising / marketing
o Evidence of organisational / planning skills
7) We will consider geographical spread of the programme.
How can you apply?
1) Please ensure you have referred to the above assessment guidelines when submitting your application.
2) Please complete and send an application form with your budget to
by Friday 28 April at 12pm.
3) We may contact your organisation to discuss your application, so please ensure you provide contact details for an appropriate person.
How can you get support with writing your application to the Creative Communities Fund?
Scottish Refugee Council are offering a free advice drop in session to help you prepare your application, which you can attend on either:
Tuesday 11 April, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm Or
Wednesday 12 April, 6.00 – 8.00 pm
At Scottish Refugee Council Offices, Portland House, 17 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 5AH.
If you wish to attend please contact / call 0141 248 9799 letting us know which date suits you best.
If your application is successful, what happens next?
1) If your application is successful, a written grant offer will be made by Monday 8 May Please note we may not award the full amount applied for.
2) Following this, your organisation will be required to submit an invoice to Scottish Refugee Council by Monday 15 May
o Please ensure the address on your invoice is the address where you want the grant cheque to be sent.
o The invoice can take up to 10 days to process, and we will distribute the money by cheque.
o Your organisation must have a bank account and send your bank details on your invoice.
3) We will ask you to confirm your event details including venue, date, time and a 50 word description by Monday 15 May for the Refugee Festival Scotland website listings.
4) Once you’ve accepted your grant award from Scottish Refugee Council, we ask that your organisation keep us informed about the event and any changes that happen during planning so that we can update out website and listings.
5) Please ensure you include SRC’s logo on any publicity materials you create for your event or activity and send us these in advance.
6) You will be invited to attend a Refugee Festival Scotland learning session after the
festival and will be contacted about this date. This is a relaxed event where we share
experiences and learn together about what went well and what could be improved.
7) We understand this grant may not be enough to entirely fund an event. We
encourage you to work in partnership with local organisations and venues who may
be interested in supporting your work.
If your application is unsuccessful, what happens next?
If you are unsuccessful in your application we will notify you by Monday 8 May Please note that we will try to offer some feedback on why your application has been unsuccessful, but due to limited capacity this is not always possible.
If you are unsuccessful in being awarded funding and would still like to be part of the programme, complete the event submission form and send to by Monday 15 May 2017 at 12pm.
For more information, or to discuss your grant application, please contact
0141 248 9799 /
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