Grants of up to $1,000 are available for artists or organisations including museums and historical societies working across all artforms in the Upper Hunter region.

The grants are aimed at helping artists and arts organisations to take a small but crucial step forward in their creative pursuits. Note that there is a limited pool of funds; it is likely not every applicant will be successful.

 

Applications for the Arts Upper Hunter Micro Grants 2024

• Open on Monday 24 June 2024
• Close 5pm on Monday 29 July 2024
• Project completed by the end of May 2025

 

Click to download a pdf of these guidelines

The short application form can be found via this link: Arts Upper Hunter Micro Grants 2024 (jotform)

 

 

Eligibility

• You must be based in the AUH region (Dungog, Singleton, Muswellbrook and Upper Hunter LGAs)
• You can be an individual artist or an arts organisation including museum or historical society. Small businesses may apply.
• Your proposal must be arts related.
• You must have an ABN (if not you will have to apply through an auspicing body – please contact the Executive Director of Arts Upper Hunter and discuss).

 

What can the grant be used for?

• A small-scale project or workshop
• Equipment, software, consultancy to help you deliver your arts activity
• Training to upskill the creative or business side of your practice
• Marketing an activity/event/your arts practice/your organisation

 

This grant will NOT support:

• Competitions, Awards, Prizes, Judging, Fundraising events
• General operating expenses or ongoing costs of long-term continuous projects – exception may be made if you are re-launching after an extended hiatus
• Projects that have commenced or are completed
• Activities which could be considered part of the curriculum for schools or tertiary institutions
• Non-arts related activities

 

Please consider…..

• If you have been a successful applicant in the recent past, you are still eligible to apply. However, we will prefer a less frequent applicant if assessments are otherwise equal.
• If the project involves young people (under 18 years) the Office of the Children’s Guardian Code of Practice must be adhered to including documented Working With Children checks. You will need to supply Working With Children Check number/s before payment can be made.
• Supporting material in the form of photos, video links, web links or Letters of Support can be provided and will be considered in the assessment process. Above all, AUH needs to understand how useful or valuable the grant might be and where you think you or your group is going.
• Applications involving a First Nations creative or cultural practice should provide a Letter of Support from an appropriate Aboriginal Land Council or Elder – this can happen after the grant is approved but must occur before any invoice is paid. Note: you must provide evidence that some productive consultation has already happened before applying.
• Eligible applications will be assessed, rated and prioritised by Arts Upper Hunter’s Assessment Panel. The panel will make final recommendations based on the assessment criteria, the benefit the grant might have on the recipient, and will take into account the needs of the region, the range of projects funded, the broad demographics, distribution, priority groups, and scale.
• Applicants with an outstanding, unacquitted grant from AUH may not apply – please discuss this with the AUH Executive Director, if you think you are a special case.
• For workshops and events, you will be required to provide a Public Liability Insurance certificate prior to payment.
• Your acquittal or final report is very important to us. We value stats (how many, what happened, successes), testimonials, links to social media, evidence that you have acknowledged Arts Upper Hunter, video and above all photos, with credits and an assurance that AUH has permission to use them in our own reporting.

 

Key Dates

• Applications open on Monday 24 June 2024.
• Applications close 5pm on Monday 29 July 2024.
• Applications will be assessed soon after.
• Successful applicants will be sent a Funding Agreement for review and signing; they will need to return the signed funding agreements with an invoice to Arts Upper Hunter for the amount granted; invoice must be received by 15 October 2024 or the grant will be forfeited.
• First Nations Letters of Support (if applicable) must be received before funds can be released.
• Projects or expenditure of the grant can commence after the Funding Agreement has been co-signed by Arts Upper Hunter.
• The expenditure needs to be completed by the end of May 2025.
• You will need to send a short report (acquittal) on how the money was spent by 31 May 2025. 

 

How to apply

The short application form can be found via this link: Arts Upper Hunter Micro Grants 2024 (jotform)You will be asked in the form to provide information, upload files, provide links and fill in the budget form.

It is strongly advised that you ring or email John O’Brien at Arts Upper Hunter before you apply to ensure your project is eligible 0409 382 509 rado@artsupperhunter.com.au