EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS FUND

Isle of Man Arts Council 60th anniversary celebrations.

60 years of arts, culture and creativity for everyone

What is the Extraordinary Events Fund?

The Extraordinary Events Fund is a time limited anniversary programme for individuals and organisations
on the Isle of Man to put on an extraordinary event/project. There is £100,000 of targeted funding
available to support new high quality and creative cultural event/projects to benefit people living the in Isle
of Man in 2025. This will a very competitive fund.

Unlike other funding streams currently offered by the Isle of Man Arts Council projects will be eligible if the
budget includes surplus income that is not being spent within the calendar year. This predicted income
must be accounted for within your pitch document, explaining how you will use it to develop creative
practice.

Why is the Isle of Man Arts Council giving out money in this way?
The focus of the Extraordinary Events Fund is to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Isle of Man Arts
Council by supporting innovation and to give the opportunity for projects to create a legacy. Individuals or
organisations are encouraged to use this funding stream to take a risk and use awards to deliver projects
that are not typical to a venue, commission new cultural activities or introduce something to a community
on the Island who usually have to travel to access creativity.

Taking creative or cultural risk is important because it means that creativity and culture are always growing
and changing.

What events/projects will be funded?

Event/projects will need to meet strategic objectives found in the National Development Strategy for Arts
and Culture. The Isle of Man Arts Council want the community to have experiences that disrupt the
ordinary of everyday life. There needs to be a live audience element. Event/projects should aim to create
unmissable and unforgettable experiences which include original and unexpected creativity.

The Isle of Man Arts Council is a Biosphere partner and creating sustainable communities is a strategic aim.
Events and projects that embrace what Biosphere stands for and use it as a platform to work together for a
sustainable future are encouraged. Please see the Biosphere website for more information.

The event/project has to be held in the Isle of Man Arts Council 60th Year which runs from 1st January 2025
to 31st December 2025. Events scheduled outside of these dates will not be eligible for this funding stream.

Who will experience the event/project?

The Isle of Man Arts Council want the event/projects funded to further engage the community with the
arts and increase awareness of the creativity on the Isle of Man. They must be live events with an audience
and/or participants. The Engagement and Marketing Plan within your application needs to clearly detail
who in the community the project is planning to reach and how these individuals will access it, feel
included and welcomed. You should also consider what things might stop people experiencing or accessing
your project and how you will address this.

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Audience data must be collected and shared with the Isle of Man Arts Council as part of the compulsory
project evaluation, which has to be submitted within 3 months of the project completion. Every event and
project should create impact. Impact is defined as the benefit of a project on audiences, participants,
community, collaborators and wider society.

Impact is measured in two ways:

Reach: how wide the impact of a project has been e.g. the number of participants in an event, how many
social media shares and likes have been recorded, whether an audience is local, national or international
and the longevity of a project

Significance: the extent a project has made an impact across areas already mentioned such as individuals,
communities, groups and stakeholders

When will applications open?

Applications opened in September 2024. The Isle of Man Arts Council will consider submissions at two
meetings: 8th November 2024 and 31st January 2025

Where does the event/project have to take place?

They must take place on the Isle of Man. Event/projects can be indoors or outdoors. Physical access, where
people with physical disabilities, limited mobility, hearing or visual impairments may not be able to access
the event must be considered when deciding on a location. The Isle of Man Arts Council will take location
into consideration to ensure a fair distribution of funds across the Island.

What funding is available?

There is £100,000 available in this funding stream split into three tiers. Please note the information
required in your application form will differ depending on the amount applied for.

The event/project is predicted to make surplus income, what is required in the application?
The Isle of Man Arts Council is accountable for distributing public funding and requires evidence of how
grant money and any surplus income will be spent. You must detail the intention for surplus income within
your pitch document. It can only be used for the development of creative practice or for further
development of the funded event/project. Any successful applications will be required to submit evidence
that surplus income has been spent as per the agree plan of the application within 3 months.

Surplus Income cannot be used:

 to supplement business income

 to offer staff salary payments or rewards
 for carbon off-setting payments
 for cash prizes or re-granting
 to fund ongoing overheads or running costs outside of your event/project
 for donations to charity

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How to apply

Application form and criteria

Application forms can be accessed via the Isle of Man Arts Council website: www.iomarts.com

You will be required to register on the website before accessing the relevant application form. Paper
application forms are not available or accepted. Please note funding cannot be awarded retrospectively.

You should prepare all required documentation for upload before completing your application as this will
make the process easier for you. Our recommended format for submitted documents is PDF. The
application will not submit without the mandatory documentation.

Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an email, confirming the submission. If you do
not receive confirmation, please contact us.

No late applications are accepted. Application deadlines are 18th October 2024 & 17th January 2025

If your application is incomplete, it will not be processed. We will contact you, and you will have a
maximum of three working days to send us the missing information. Please ensure all applications are of a
high quality, including all the information required, this will increase your chances of receiving funding.

The application form will ask for additional documents:

- Creative CV of individual applicant / History of your event or society
- Engagement and Marketing Plan which include audience data collection methods (for example
numbers attending)
- Copy of latest available accounts (for societies, clubs and registered companies)
- Evidence of all costings that are being requested within the application (screen shots or copy of
quotes are acceptable)
- Pitch to council. For amounts of over £10,000 you will be also required to present the pitch in
person to representatives from the Isle of Man Arts Council at a prearranged time.

The pitch to council should include:

- How the surplus income will be used for future events or creative development;
- An overview of programming;
- Inclusivity statement showing how your event/project plans to diversify audiences;
- Evidence of a sustainability considerations;
- Evidence of fair pay for creative professionals;

Tier One - £1,000 - £4,999

- Evidence the event/project supports at least one ambition within the National Development Strategy
for Arts and Culture

Tier Two - £5,000 - £9,999

- Evidence the event/project supports two ambitions within the National Development Strategy for
Arts and Culture

Tier Three - £10,000+

- Evidence the event/project supports two ambitions within the National Development Strategy for
Arts and Culture
- Pitch to council on the 8th November 2024 or the 31st January 2025

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The Arts Development Team are available to help. Please contact them. They can be contacted by phone,
e-mail and appointments can be made for an in person 1-2-1 meeting. In addition there will be three
opportunities to attend Extraordinary Event presentations and ask further questions, the dates of these
sessions can be found below.

In addition post event/project evaluation is compulsory and receipts will be required of money spent.

What kind of event/projects are not eligible?

- business as usual
- event/projects that commence before funding is confirmed
- event/projects that cannot be completed within 2025
- repeat event/projects that have already received funding from the Isle of Man Arts Council
- land, building, refurbishment, landscaping or property projects
- event/projects where the ownership, lease or planning permission is not yet in place
- projects or activities that the government has a legal obligation to provide
- event/projects considered to be a risk to the reputation of the Isle of Man Arts Council

All Isle of Man Arts Council decisions are discretionary and final. There is no right of appeal.

Can applications to other Isle of Man Arts Council funding streams be made?
The Extraordinary Events Fund is an additional source of funding for the arts for 2025, applying to another
funding stream for the same project is not allowed.

When will funding be released?

If the application is successful, funding will be released promptly following each funding round upon return
of signed Terms and Conditions. Depending on circumstances this will be from 10 days to three weeks.

If successful in gaining funding what other information is required?

The Isle of Man Arts Council must be kept informed of the progress of the event/project. As part of the
Terms and Conditions of funding you will be required to tag the Isle of Man Arts Council in any social media
posts. The Isle of Man Arts Council 60th anniversary Logo is required to be placed on all printed publicity
and the source of funding must be mentioned in any interviews.

The Project evaluation form, including all audience data is compulsory and must be submitted within 3
months of the event/project conclusion.

How will the Isle of Man Arts Council make a decision on which projects get funding?
The Council use four main criteria to make funding decisions:

Quality
- The way in which the application indicates the quality of the activity, and the level of clarity and
detail apparent throughout
- Any artist or sector development outcome of the activity which supports the development of the
creative industries and benefits the wider cultural community on Island

Engagement
- The reach and impact on audiences or participants, the experience they will receive and how it
engages people with creativity and culture
- The feasibility of the marketing plan in the application, and whether the target demographics are
suitable for the activity

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Management
- The viability of the timeline of activity, and whether the applicant or partners indicate experience
and capability to deliver
- The consideration of budget management, risk, and value for money, with clear costs outlined and
quotes included

Strategic impact
- The strength to which the activity achieves one or more of the aims outlined in National
Development Strategy for Culture and the Arts
- The legacy impact and how the community will benefit from the funding in the future.

What is the source of the Isle of Man Arts Council funds?

The Isle of Man Arts Council funding comes from the taxes collected from the sales of National Lottery
tickets which is distributed from the Isle of Man Government Treasury to the community. This money
cannot be repurposed elsewhere in Government and is ring-fenced for community use by Isle of Man
Sport, Culture Vannin, Manx Lottery Trust and Isle of Man Arts Council as lottery funded bodies.

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Need more information?

Read the published Tynwald approved National Development Strategy Arts Culture and Creativity for
everyone 2017 – 2027 before applying. There are five ambitions in this strategy and all events will need to
link to at least one of them:

- Inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy our culture and the arts.
- Invest in the Island’s creative community for success and sustainability
- Promote our unique Manx culture and distinctiveness as central to the Island’s image, nationally
and internationally
- Champion the arts and culture as fundamental to wellbeing and sense of place
- Inspire and enable people to explore new horizons through innovation and technology.

There will also be four public Extraordinary Events Advice Sessions, which will include a presentation
about the fund and time to ask any questions.

Key dates for your diary

Extraordinary Events Advice Sessions – Presentation and drop in events:

Thursday 3rd October, 6pm – 8pm – Atholl Room, Peel Centenary Centre, Peel
Monday 11th November, 6pm – 8pm – Quayle’s Hall, Ramsey
Thursday 05th December, 6pm – 8pm – Harry’s Bar, Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin

Application deadline: 18th October 2024

17th January 2025

Isle of Man Arts Council Meetings where Extraordinary Events applications will be discussed:

8th November 2024

31st January 2025

Dates the event/project need to take place:

1st January 2025 – 31st December 2025

If you are not sure whether your project can be funded, please contact us via phone on 01624 694598 or
via email on [email protected] before you begin your application. We are always happy to talk
and/or meet applicants to discuss potential funding and appointments can be made via phone or email.

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