Creative Scotland is pleased to announce the Open Fund for Individuals will reopen for applications at 2pm on Tuesday 8 October, following confirmation of release of the necessary budget from the Scottish Government.
By the time the fund closed on Friday 30 August, Creative Scotland received an additional 819 applications totalling £11.9 million in requested funding. As the fund prepares to reopen, we will be in touch with all applicants who submitted before the closure to advise them of their options.
Updates to the Open Fund for Individuals
The Open Fund for Individuals has been under increasing pressure. Since 2019, applications have more than doubled - from 628 to 1,395 in 2022/23, with funding requests increasing by £7.8 million to £21.2 million. Notably, there has been a 42% increase in requested funding in the past year alone. However, during this same period, Creative Scotland's budgets have remained at the same level, making this growth unsustainable.
To help address this, Creative Scotland is revising the Open Fund for Individuals to better meet the growing demand. Updates will include the maximum award amount reducing from £100,000 to £50,000 and decision timescales extending by two weeks. The updated guidance will be published on Tuesday 8 October.
Youth Music Initiative (YMI)
The YMI’s Access to Music Making and Strengthening Youth Music Funds will also be open for applications at 2pm on Thursday 10 October following confirmation of the funding from the Scottish Government. Guidance for both funds and application questions will be available from Thursday 19 September.
Iain Munro, CEO of Creative Scotland said:
“We recognise the time and effort that goes into applying for funding and know how vital these funds are for the sector. We understand how challenging recent events have been and sincerely thank everyone for their continued efforts in highlighting the value of culture and creativity.”
Background
The release of funds for the Open Fund for Individuals was confirmed on Wednesday 4 September as part of the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government which confirmed the allocation of £6.6 million to Creative Scotland and £1.8 million for YMI.
The Open Fund for Individuals is one of Creative Scotland’s key funding programmes, supporting a wide range of activity initiated by artists, writers, producers and other creative practitioners in Scotland.
The Youth Music Initiative is a Scottish Government music education programme delivered through Creative Scotland, with a vision to put music at the heart of young people’s lives and learning.
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