Carlow County Council Festival & Event Fund 2025

Open4 Feb, 2025, 09:00 - 28 Feb, 2025, 17:00

Carlow County Council’s Festival and Events Grant Scheme aims to assist with the creation, development and promotion of events in  County Carlow during 2025.  The grant scheme aims to assist those events which have  a positive impact on the tourism industry across County Carlow.

The fund is a combination of Carlow County Council’s own events, events in partnership with other bodies that have similar objectives, and events run by external organisers who receive direct funding contributions from Carlow County Council via an application process for the Festival & Events Fund.

The call for applications  for Festivals & Events which occur during the period June 2025 to October 2025 is open for applications from 4th February, 2025 to 28th February, 2025.                                      

 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:-

The scheme is open to non-commercial groups or organisations that are organising Events and Festivals between May and October in 2025. Applications are only accepted online.

To be eligible for funding the event must:

  • Ensure all elements of the programme occur in County Carlow;
  • Take place between 1st June 2025 and 31st October 2025.
  • Be willing to acknowledge funding as per the guidelines, with Carlow County Council/Fáilte Ireland logos on all PR/marketing material.  Carlow County Council logo should appear on all printed material and be acknowledged on event websites and social media.  Consideration should be given to the use of Irish language where possible.
  • Funding is limited and eligible applications will be evaluated on a competitive basis.
  • For free events all expenditure is eligible except for certain ineligible expenditure which is noted below
  • For paid ticketed events (including pay at entrance events), only pre-development costs are eligible, such as marketing and promotion of the event and will be granted on 50% basis.
  • Have a general audience appeal and be socially inclusive.
  • Clearly demonstrate potential to generate economic, social and/or cultural benefits.
  • Be focused on developing demonstrable, measurable tourism impacts in the County.
  • Compliment the County’s calendar of events in relation to attracting overseas’ visitors.
  • Animate public spaces in creative and innovative ways within the County.
  • Demonstrate financial sustainability and the capacity to further develop the event.
  • Have a clear PR and marketing plan including a social media strategy to actively promote the event.
  • Cross County Border Events – only that portion of the project that takes place in County Carlow can be funded and general festival costs in other categories will be reduced pro-rata based on the percentage level of activities in County Carlow.

 

Council Property

  • In respect of a Council Property being the chosen location for an event the organiser must upload
    • Letter of Permission from Carlow County Council to host the event
    • Copy of Insurance
    • Draft Event Management Plan

 

To be eligible for funding the event must not:-

  • be from commercial organisations that share out profits to members.
  • be for activities that have been or are being grant-aided by other sources of funding.
  • be Charity fundraisers.
  • be Festivals/Events with the sole purpose of celebrating a religious or political event/commemoration.
  • be sporting events, which cannot be classified under cultural heritage.
  • be proposals in which programmes are primarily focused on the delivery of a competitive process, workshop series, summer schools, or on-going classes.
  • be activities that duplicate what Carlow County Council is currently delivering in the culture, arts, and heritage field.

Applicants must also be able to confirm the following where applicable:

  • A bank account in its own name and can supply evidence of adequate insurance cover for all aspects of their activities .  Organisers will be asked to indemnify Carlow County Council on their public liability insurance.
  • Be fully compliant with financial regulations including an up-to-date Tax Clearance Certificate.
  • Be fully aware of event management requirements and all relevant legislation, before grant payment Carlow County Council will request the event management plan for the festival/event to ensure event management procedures are in place.  It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all permissions, approvals, licenses or consents needed for your project are secured.
  • Be able to provide a Child Safeguarding Statement in line with the Children First Act 2015.
  • Be fully compliant with GDPR and its requirements.
  • Submit details of any applications made, intend to be made or awards of funding given by other departments within the Council or any other body for the same festival.
  • Supply a projected estimated budget sheet for the full event.
  • Provide post event report and event income and expenditure accounts for the festival within 6 weeks of event completion.
  • Only one application per event will be considered.
  • Eligible applicants will have fully read, understood and compiled with the eligibility criteria of Carlow County Council Grant Scheme as provided.

Please note Cash Payments for grants are ineligible.

Statutory agencies are NOT eligible to apply.

 

The Festival & Event Fund is designed as follows:-

Small Scale Festival &   Events – Family Focus Fund Up to €750

The focus of the Minor Festival & Events – Family Focus Fund is to support visitor experiences based on single day events. The fund will provide up to €750 per application (max 75% funding) in partnership with Community & Amenity Section, Carlow County Council.

Large Scale Tourism Festival Funding  Up to €5,000

This funding will be provided to festivals which have a direct tourism/economic impact by attracting visitors from outside of County Carlow. The max. funding provided will be up to €5,000 per festival (max 75% funding). The following additional criteria apply:

Festivals & Events which generate at least 30% of their operational costs from Ticket Sales & Sponsorship.  

Ticketed Visitor Numbers are a minimum of 400 individuals. 

Festivals which have a Regional and National Marketing Approach.

Festivals which have a clear marketing plan which involves at least a 6-week period between the launch and the event being hosted.

In respect of structures, applications should either be a CLG or Community Group structure and must be registered with the PPN.

 

 

Evaluation Panel

Your application will be initially categorised and reviewed to ensure that it meets with the eligibility criteria of the grant scheme. Any applications that clearly fall outside the eligibility guidelines will be eliminated at this point. Applications will then be assessed by an Assessment Panel appointed by Carlow County Council. 

The Assessment Panel will meet to assess and make recommendations on all eligible applications. Their recommendations will be brought to Full Council for approval before any formal offers will be issued. Applicants will be contacted directly in writing and notified of the outcome of their application. The Assessment Panel, at their discretion, may redirect any applications to another appropriate Carlow County Council fund for recommendation, should it be deemed beneficial to the applicant to do so. Carlow County Council endeavours to assess applications as quickly as possible, but the volume of applications and the assessment and approval procedure require a minimum of 8 weeks from application deadline to decision. Those awarded funding will have their Festival/Organisation name along with the sum allocated published on www.carlow.ie.

 

Multiple Funding Sources:

Festivals which receipt funding from multiple sources must identify the specific elements which are requested from the Festival & Event Fund.

Ineligible Costs:

  • Insurance
  • Unpaid expenditure or loans
  • Cash expenditure
  • Prize Monies
  • Recoverable VAT
  • In-kind contributions
  • For paid ticketed events, day-to-day operational costs and overheads, specifically: salaries, rent, non-festival related phone, supplies, postage, photocopying and food for staff
    • Capital Costs - for example: 
    • The cost of items for resale e.g., merchandise, except where it can be demonstrated that they will deliver significant benefits and where they have been expressly allowed in the Letter of Offer.
    • Building expenses including purchase, works and maintenance.
    • Purchase of equipment, which is not solely for the purpose of producing and delivering the Festival/Event.
  • Travel and related costs incurred by or on behalf of the event delivery teams/organisers unless expressly approved in writing in advance by Carlow County Council.
  • Expenditure paid for by a person other than the Grantee, unless and to the extent that such expenditure has been reimbursed by the Grantee.
  • Fines, penalty payments, legal costs, audit fees, financial consultancy fees, Trade association membership fee or equivalent.

Terms & Conditions of Funding

  • You must demonstrate in your application efforts to secure income from other sources.
  • Payment of a grant may not be in respect of payment of former debts.
  • Where a grant is awarded under this scheme, Carlow County Council will not be responsible for the insurance of that festival or event. Carlow County Council recommends that festival and event organisers ensure that adequate insurance is in place prior to the commencement of any festival or event.
  • Where a grant is awarded under this scheme, Carlow County Council will not be responsible for the Health & Safety arrangements of that festival or event. Carlow County Council recommends that festival and event organisers ensure that they follow all relevant Health & Safety legislation.
  • Where a grant is awarded under this scheme, Carlow County Council will not be responsible for the Public Health arrangements of that festival or event. Carlow County Council recommends that festival and event organisers ensure that they follow all relevant Public Health Advice in place at the time of the event, particularly in relation to COVID-19. Further information is available at www.hse.ie.
  • Applicants should please note that there are always more applications for funding than it is possible to support, and this is a competitive scheme. Carlow County Council reserves the right not to support festivals that may have received funding in the past.
  • Carlow County Council reserves the right to terminate grant aid if statutory or criminal negligence is involved.
  • All Carlow County Council Grant Funding must be identified as ‘Carlow County Council Grant Funding’ and shown separately on the income/receipts side of the accounts.  All Carlow County Council funding must be separately listed, with the purpose of that funding identified.
  • Any granted proposals for which it becomes necessary to re-schedule the activity to another date within the approved timeframe or require a significant change to the planned activity should contact Carlow County Council immediately with this proposal. Activities that cannot be rescheduled in the approved timeframe will not be entitled to draw down funding.
  • Please note the only method of payment of any grant will be by Electronic Funds transfer.
  • The recipients must follow the procedure as confirmed in writing to them regarding drawing down the grant and the Acknowledgement of Funding requirements. A grant may be withheld if the above is not adhered to.
  • Carlow County Council is proud to support and be associated with high quality work produced by creative practitioners based in Carlow. Our logos will be provided to successful applicants, and we ask that they be included on all print and online material, including websites, apps, videos, blogs, posters, brochures, invitations, and advertisements associated with the project being funded. Carlow County Council have a large following on our social media channels i.e., Facebook and twitter. Please forward or tag us in any posts you would like us to share on social media, remembering to include a photograph.
  • Carlow County Council may publicly share information about all funded festivals/events and include information about these projects in reports, publications, and publicity. All creative rights remain with the applicants.

 

 

 

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Disclaimer

Carlow County Council will not be liable in respect of any loss, damage or costs of any nature arising directly or indirectly from this application or the subject matter of the application.  Carlow County Council, its servants or agents shall not at any time in any circumstances be held responsible or liable in relation to any matter whatsoever arising in connection with the development, planning, construction, operation, management and/or administration of individual projects.  Copy of Public Liability Insurance noting Carlow County Councils indemnity is attached herein.

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