As you know I am always badgering authors to ask for (and expect) fair pay and fair deals for their work, but as 2020 marches towards its close many of us are looking to a winter that will make excessive demands on our already overstretched incomes.
I often forward links to grants and hardship funds for
authors, only to have people reply to me with “Oh, I wouldn’t want to take
money away from anyone worse off.”
I’m going to have to stress this in no uncertain terms – THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT HOW GRANTS AND HARDSHIP FUNDS WORK.
Your application will
be assessed on genuine need and merit and if the assessors feel that you are in
genuine need (or that your project is of genuine use and merit) you will be fairly
awarded a grant. You will NOT be taking the money away from people who are “worse
off”. No one is going to come around your house and shame you for a grant
application that is approved - or not approved. These grants are all managed by good and kind
people who know exactly what you are going through and they will try to support
you the best they can.
Yes, the hardship funds and grants have never had more
applicants than they have now, but they have also never had more support and
more funds. These grants and funds exist to support authors and other creatives
and often to help people re-examine or reimagine their careers in this CV-19
world. This might be the time to revisit that creative project you started but
didn’t have the funds to finish. Taking the financial burden off you for a
while might just unlock that creative block that’s been hanging albatross-like
from your shoulders.
Applications for grants and hardship funds can, at first,
appear complicated, but the Society of Authors can give members support and advice
with how to progress, and all of the online access points to the various grants
offer extensive guidance. It is also worth noting that you do not have to be a
member of the Society of Authors to apply for hardship grants handled by the
Society.
I know that most of
you will already have had these grants on your mind (and may have already
looked at the websites and forms) but I hope that this blog encourages you to
apply. It is important to society as a whole that creatives find a way to survive this financial
crisis (for that is what it is) and this means many of us will need some help, and that’s what grants and hardship funds are for.
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| The creative industries are vital to a thriving economy. YOU are vital! |
Lockdowns and restrictions have been hard on everyone, but I know with absolute certainty that it would have been impossible to get through this without the output of creatives. Where would we all have been without books, music, art, drama? With so many creatives struggling to continue it is important that you feel comfortable applying for grants so that you can continue with your work, and continue to make this all bearable.
Without creatives, we’re all just staring at blank walls.
As of 26th October, the Society of Authors partnered
with Creative Scotland to help distribute £600,000 in grants from their
Hardship Fund for Creative Freelancers in Scotland.
https://www.creativescotland.com/funding/funding-programmes/hardship-fund-for-creative-freelancers
If you are working on a larger or more long-term project in
Scotland, you might also like to look at the Open Fund. This is a fund that
provides organisational and individual funding for much larger projects that
work with the fabric and culture of Scotland. The grants are complex application
forms, but they will answer questions by email and there are full booklets that
take you through the process step by step.
The Authors Contingency Fund is managed by the Society of Authors and the website has a simple questionnaire to assess your eligibility for any funds before you apply.
https://www.societyofauthors.org/Grants/authors-emergency-fund
The Society of Authors also manage a number of other contingency
grants for some for works in progress and most of these do not require SoA
membership.
https://www.societyofauthors.org/Grants
Arts Council England have a number of “open funds” to which
you can apply. These all have different eligibility requirements, and each of
these can be accessed through these portals.
https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding
It is also important to not forget the third part of
the Government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant. The grant was
extended from 1 November 2020 and will cover the critical period of the
winter months. The third grant will cover a 3 month period from 1 November 2020 until 31 January 2021. The Government will provide a taxable grant calculated at 80% of 3 months average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500 in total. This is an increase from the previously announced amount of 55%. The Government has also already announced that there will be a fourth grant covering February 2021 to April 2021.
If your family has an overall low income, and you also have limited savings, you should also examine Universal Credit. This is particularly important for people in your family who are in full-time education but have found that the pandemic has stripped them of the opportunity to earn money through casual employment. If your income has fallen to worrying levels and you are concerned about your ability to financially support your student children, they should apply for Universal Credit and this could ease some of the worries you are currently feeling.
https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/eligibility
Dawn Finch is the Chair of the Society of Authors' Children's Writers and Illustrators Group, Trustee of CILIP, library activist, children's author, seed library curator, community bookseller, allotment committee secretary, and is currently a food writer (on top of everything else...thank you 2020) Most of these jobs are sadly unpaid... #ShowMeTheMoney
1 comment:
Good advice - thanks, Dawn!
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