The Lancashire Culture & Sport Fund has been developed to support culture and sport projects in the community with the aim of improving people's health and wellbeing and cultural experience.

The fund is open to applications between 16th November 2023 and 14th February 2024. Early application is encouraged. To get started, create your project on Spacehive and get your project verified. You will then submit your pitch to the LCSF via the Spacehive platform and launch your campaign. 

The scope of the fund is to support:

• cultural activity including art, music, literature, poetry, heritage, dance, theatre, craft, photography, film, design, museums, archives, and community arts festivals
• sporting activity including community-based sports clubs, outdoor pursuits, competitions and events, walking and gentle exercise, health and wellbeing.

Projects must deliver public benefit and not be for the purpose of profit-making activity. 

Different types of organisations are welcome to apply for the Lancashire Culture & Sport Fund. Please note the maximum pledges avaliable for your organisation type will vary:

Not-for-profit organisations: for constituted groups and organisations supporting up to 50% of a project target with a maximum contribution of £20,000.

Parishes: for parish / town councils supporting up to 50% of a project target with a maximum contribution of £5,000.

Businesses and individuals: for businesses and/or individuals running projects which are to provide a cultural / sport activity to a community on a not-for-profit basis supporting up to 50% of a project target with a maximum contribution of £1,500. (Please note, there is a separate simplified fund for individuals to apply for)

• Priority will be given to Lancashire led organisations/individuals.
• If a project is delivering in an area with identified need for cultural or sporting activity then a higher percentage pledge may be considered.
• Lancashire County Council aims for fair representation across the districts, and priority may be given to projects from underrepresented districts.
• Lancashire County Council reserves the right to review all project costs and make decisions on a case-by-case basis.
• If a funding round is over-subscribed, Lancashire County Council reserves the right to reduce the maximum amount allocated for funding.
• Projects must start within 12 months from the funding deadline.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the fund criteria.

To be eligible for this fund your project must support cultural or sporting activity of benefit to the wider community:

• Projects must contribute to improving quality of life for Lancashire residents’ through culture or sport.
• Projects should involve the public as audience or participants.
• If the project is to fund a capital project, the public should still have a tangible benefit.
• Priority will be given to projects that improve access to culture and sport, contribute to the county council's Corporate Priorities and to projects that enable free or low-cost activity for public benefit.

Projects should contribute to at least one of the following county council's Corporate Priorities:

• Delivering better services
• Protecting our environment
• Supporting economic growth
• Caring for the vulnerable

For more information, see Corporate priorities - Lancashire County Council

Click here to download a PDF copy of the fund criteria.

Each year Lancashire Culture & Sport Fund will have two rounds during which the council will review pitches and make pledges to live crowdfunding campaigns. Applicants may have no more than 1 ‘live’ project in each round. Each round will have approximately £250,000 available to support projects.

Community organisations could get a pledge of up to £20,000 (max 50% of target) towards a crowdfunding campaign. Town and Parish Councils are also encouraged to apply for a pledge of up to £5,000, while businesses and individuals with ideas to boost the culture and sports offering in their area could get up to £1,500 to make it happen. 

The fund will be open for applications between 16th November 2023 and 14th February 2024. To get started, create your project on Spacehive and get your project verified. You will then submit your pitch to the LCSF via the Spacehive platform and launch your campaign.

The guidance notes take you through the application process step-by-step.

To be considered by the council for a pledge, you should:

1. Launch your crowdfunding campaign on Spacehive
2. Showcase local support for your project in the form of backers.

Pitches to the fund will be considered by the assessment panel in March. If successful, you will receive a pledge towards your live crowdfunding campaign. The Spacehive team is on hand to share lots of advice on how to run a brilliant crowdfunding campaign. Read on for more information on how to apply. 
 

1.    SHARE YOUR IDEA + ATTEND A WORKSHOP

Complete our Project Idea Form ​​​​as soon as possible to tell us about your idea and register for a workshop by visiting News & Events.

2.    CREATE YOUR PROJECT ON SPACEHIVE

Create your project page on Spacehive which will match you to the LCSF fund. You are encouraged to create your project early, to unlock support from the Spacehive team. 

3.    GET YOUR PROJECT VERIFIED

The project costs and necessary permissions will be checked by Spacehive's verifiers before you begin crowdfunding. Submit early to ensure you’re verified before the deadline. Verification takes an average of four days where project creators have the relevant documents to hand. 

Before you submit for verification, make sure that you have:

• Proof of permission (e.g. event license, council agreement, landowner consent). Read more about permissions.
• Evidence of costs (e.g. building work quotations, links to online shop listings)
• Relevant insurances, policies, or qualifications (e.g. organisation constitution, safeguarding policy, certifications)
• Evidence of any funds that you have received for this project that you would like to have shown on your campaign (e.g. grant agreement, scan of a cheque, bank statement).
   

4.    LAUNCH YOUR CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN AND PITCH TO THE FUND

Once verified, launch your crowdfunding campaign. Ensure you have submitted your pitch to the LCSF by the deadline too, to be considered for a pledge from the council.

The council will not be the first organisation to pledge to your project and will first want to see community support and backing, in the form of pledges from local people towards your campaign.

Start by getting lots of small pledges from the community to show local support for your project. This will help unlock bigger pledges.

Please note: a typical crowdfunding campaign should not exceed three months.

5.    PLEDGE

The council will review all projects in March, after the funding window has closed. Successful projects can expect to receive a pledge of up to £20,000 (max 50% of target) during their live campaign. For example, a £10,000 campaign could get up to £5,000. Please note: individuals and businesses could receive a pledge up to £1,500 while Town and Parish Councils could access up to £5,000 towards their target. 

6. HIT YOUR TARGET AND DELIVER YOUR PROJECT 

You need to hit your target in order to receive the funds you raise. Please allow up to three weeks to receive funds once your campaign ends. Once you deliver your project, you can update your backers by completing a colourful impact report on Spacehive. 

To learn more about crowdfunding on Spacehive, visit the Help Centre. 

For any additional questions, please contact Spacehive on support@spacehive.com.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the fund criteria.

Your group must be constituted in some way, have a group bank account (requiring two signatures) and be a not-for-profit organisation designed to deliver benefit to the community (and not designed to create a profit/dividends for shareholders).

CICs (Community Interest Companies) and CIO (Community Interest Organisations) are deemed eligible as community organisations, as their activities generate revenue which in turn fund activities that deliver community benefit. 

District councils cannot directly apply for funding but can officially partner with a local community group or parish/town council who would pitch for the funding. The district council can offer support and can be involved in the delivery of the project, but the organisation, parish/town council or individual/business must lead on the project and be the accountable body.

• At least 60% of the activity must take place in one or more of the following districts: Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre.
• Projects must be based in and benefit residents in Lancashire (Lancashire County Council area).
• Projects must contribute to community based cultural or sporting activity.
• Projects must offer community benefit.
• Projects must contribute to improving places, spaces, or residents’ quality of life.
• Projects should involve the public as audience or participants.
• The funding must have a specific purpose and not towards overall organisational costs.
• The funding can go towards an activity which is specifically for the benefit of the public.
• The funding can go towards a capital purchase which is specifically for the benefit of the public and has significant impact on culture and/or health and wellbeing.
• Priority will be given to projects that improve access to culture and sport, contribute to the county council's Corporate Priorities and to projects that enable free or low-cost activity for public benefit.
• Projects should be well planned and managed adhering to all legal obligations, health and safety, risk assessment, public liability, safeguarding requirements and obtaining any relevant permissions.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the fund criteria.

• Activities which have already taken place or are underway.
• School or college curriculum-based activity.
• Any projects that take place outside the administrative borders of Lancashire County Council
• Projects supporting private interests or profit-making.
• Projects taking place to specifically raise funds for charity campaigns.
• Projects that exclude any particular groups in society or those with protected characteristics.
• Projects that are part of a campaign or promote particular religions, faiths, or political ideologies.
• We are not able to fund or backfill statutory provision, local authority teams or district council projects.
• We cannot fund or contribute to the purchasing of property and buildings. We can, however, make contributions to adaptations, refurbishment and improvements to properties once purchased or built, where there is a tangible community benefit from the proposed improvements.
• Projects which are for a capital purchase offering no significant cultural impact, eg. Christmas lights (would not be considered participatory enough, however a free to all switch-on event including a significant cultural programme of artists and musicians may be considered).

Click here to download a PDF copy of the fund criteria.