‘Reinvent-the-wheel’ funding - don’t lose sleep over it
Our CiC has been created out of love and necessity. For as long as I can remember, our team has chosen to support community projects, work inkind and overhours.
When a fund comes along, it can be like playing a really long slot machine. You place your bet (your time - sometimes your petrol and food money, to go to a 'surgery' aka a 1-1 tick box excercise meeting so your interlocutor can justify their salaried hours), and, if/when you don't get the fund, you look back on those few weeks or months of your life, this promise of £2k shared amongst your knitting group, living rent free in your head, and, that's it - sorry! Tell everyone. Those hours aren't coming back.
Now, if you do get a fund - be careful that it wasn't what I call a 'reinvent the wheel fund'. This grassroots music venue has been struggling to make a wage and pay staff for 4 years.... but, it's been going for 4 years. It has a loyal base, and, with goodwill and constant promises of greener pastures, it's 1 event ahead so it can keep running. The staff decide to spend 2 hours they could have been setting up a sound rig to apply for a fund instead.
'THIS FUND CAN ONLY BE USED FOR NEW STUFF. YOU ALREADY HAVE A VENUE. YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS MONEY. WE WILL GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE TO DO SOMETHING NEW AND PRAY THEY WILL MAKE IT SUSTAINABLE. THERE ARE NO REPERCUSSIONS IF THEY DON'T. THEY JUST HAVE TO REALLY SOUND LIKE THEY COULD'
The 4 year struggle becomes an albatross.
And the Sisyphean nature of creating projects, made in the divine image of a corporation who spent 5 mins in a board meeting saying ‘wouldn’t it be lovely if we could do this’ before going back to their normal working hours, feels hopeless.
I really ask funders and art-world dwellers alike to not punish people for running something that works, to its own budget, and merely wishes to upscale. If there's running water, a stage, a following - why can't that venue be granted more money to do more, to do better, to improve, to branch out? We've found a time and place that works for everyone. Now we can invite more people.
WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT?
Be aware where the fund came from. If it’s your first time applying for a fund, where did you see it? You probably came across your fund through work, a colleague, or in the case of some big companies they are omnipresent and their community funds are in your local supermarket or advertised on your social media feed. Be discerning. Know that paper-work and death-by-committee are the two biggest killers of all that is fun in our make-believe realm.
Set time aside, but, not any longer. Say ‘I’ll complete this fund in 1 hour and that’s IT. If it takes any longer, it’s not for you. Make this clear to other people. Set a timer, in front of them, and show them this blog, showing that at least one other person in this world (and trust me there are probably thousands of others) that suffer from a mild form of PTSD when they see a funding form. For them, it might be a sparkly new way to make £500 for their makers shed or potted plant. And it is! But it’s more than that.
Your time is valuable - make the most of it. Applying for a fund doesn’t need to be done squeezed in between client meetings, or in my case in the early days, a desperate firing up of the laptop before a piano lesson. It might be wise to do some of the following things:
- Invite friends to a work meeting. I often find the more distant they are from your field, the better! (They don’t get involved!). Unless you want that. But be aware of subconscious idea pinching, or, them applying as well watering down the chance of you getting the money* (and the ethics of this one is for another time).
- Take it on holiday. Take a holiday. This is a controversial one, throughout my life people have told me to fit into their mixed model of ‘work 9-5, imbibe alcohol on a weekend, and go abroad once per year’. Sometimes, writing a fund is an excuse to go abroad. Get yourself on that beach in Gibraltar.
- Do it from the comfort of your own bed. The complete opposite of the above, but, the greatest act of rebellion. You can show everyone that you truly are the master of your own destiny. Don’t get out of bed because corporations tell you you should (though they’ve gone a little quieter since they’ve been able to get to our retinas via smart phones). Though, seriously, watch your health. Exercise and fresh air are important.
I’ve had the privilege of meeting a few funders now - as in, literally the people giving that £5k or their life savings for the good of the community. Their insatiable good will or redemption arc is often lost in and amongst the mire of middle management telling you how to word, structure, and release funds (partly for tax purposes, but I’m sure some of it is stuffy tradition). They are an interesting group of people. Way more interesting than any figure or fund will tell you. They’re worth knowing. They want to do good. I’d like to meet more of them.
