Creators Trust isn’t like other grant-giving organisations. There is an application procedure, but in keeping with the spirit of Creators Trust, you can’t apply on behalf of yourself. We’re about making a name for someone else. Applications are invited from people professionally involved in the creative industries who are passionate about emerging talent that is so often stifled due to a lack of encouragement and financial resources. Here’s how it works:
Phase 1
People from the creative industries put money into a central pot. Every month, grants from this pot are distributed to creators in the UK (around 60%) and also in the developing world (around 25%). 15% will be set aside for running costs. We are also pursuing individuals and businesses to match fund our collective efforts.
Phase 2
Applications are invited from people professionally involved in the creative industries on behalf of emerging talent across the UK and the developing world who lack the support and financial means to fulfil creative vision or progress in further creative education.
Phase 3
A Connector from a UK region is approached and asked to form a team representing a broad range of creative industries from that region.
Phase 4
This regional team meet to propose and discuss applications from that region, to seed fund Individuals up to £5000 per application. Proposals are then forwarded to the trustees for approval. The regions will be chosen in response to the source of the applications. The aspiration in the medium term is to have two or three regions per month meeting to propose grants to the trustees. Every time the process comes back to a region, a new group of people are chosen who represent different relational networks and connections.
Phase 5
For transparency the recipients of the grants will then have their information posted online with ongoing headlines as things develop for them (a potential platform for promotion, shared learning and collaboration.)
We will be learning and evaluating what works best as we go along and over time these phases and processes will be honed and refined.
Nitty Gritty
People professionally involved in the creative industries are limited to nominating four people per year. There can be repeat funding to people or projects but not in the same year. We will be pursuing high net worth individuals and businesses to match fund our collective efforts and any large one-off donations will be distributed evenly over the year unless specified. Corporate brands or donor names will not feature on the Creators web site but we would be happy for support to Creators Trust to be publicised through contributor’s own means of communication.
Developing World
For funds to Creators in the developing world a specialist group will meet once a quarter to make proposals to the trustees. Again this group will revolve and recipients of these grants will also be posted online.
Values and Spirit of Creators Trust
The culture and values of Creators Trust centre around generosity and transparency. We would hope that if your story resulted in financial profit as a result of Creators funding that you would put some money back into the pot to give someone else a chance. For recipients of funds there will be three layers of accountability. First to the person who applied on your behalf, second to the regional Connectors and finally online for the world to see.
Criteria
Recipients of money will be people pursuing, training for or professionally involved in the arts, media or fashion industries who are stifled due to the lack of financial resources to help them develop and progress.
The Small Print
We have a few rules. The recipient of the grant must provide us with a story/vision and regular updates that we can communicate on our website. The grant must be used purely for the pursuit of the creative vision outlined in the application and must not be used to promote extreme political, religious or sexual views. The grant recipient must make it known to Creators Trust whether someone in their immediate group, organisation or family has received a grant from Creators Trust in the past. The nominator cannot benefit financially or otherwise from nominating a recipient.
