Culture Recovery Fund: Continuity Support

In the guidance you can find all of the information you need including the eligibility criteria, the application process and the questions and character counts in the application form.

Update - 09/08/2021

• Question added on the definition of ‘at clear risk of no longer trading viably’

What is this funding for? 

This programme is part of the Government’s £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund to protect the UK’s culture and heritage sectors from the economic impacts of Covid-19. 

The aim of this strand of the fund is to continue supporting the thousands of organisations that have Culture Recovery Fund investment, but are in need of additional financial support to help them transition back to full operation as we begin to emerge from the pandemic.

The criteria for the Culture Recovery Fund were designed by DCMS, and the Arts Council administering, awarding and monitoring it on their behalf.

How do you define ‘at clear risk of no longer trading viably’? 

By ‘at clear risk of no longer trading viably’ we mean you can demonstrate that, without additional support through Continuity Support, your organisation would not have the ability to generate sufficient income or sufficient cash reserves (or near-cash reserves where it is appropriate to liquidate them) in order to meet operating payments and debt commitments, then you are at risk of no longer trading viably.

This is similar to the definition of cash-flow insolvency. However, given the unique circumstances of many cultural organisations (including the importance of cultural assets in their reserves) we will review and consider all the information in your application, together with any other information we hold about your organisation, or which is publicly available, as to whether your organisation is at risk of no longer trading viably. 

Are the criteria and application process the same as the first two rounds of Culture Recovery Fund: Grants?

This programme has separate aims and different priorities from rounds one and two of Culture Recovery Fund: Grants Because of this, the application process, questions and criteria are different, so please make sure you read our Guidance for Applicants thoroughly. 

What is the budget for this fund?

The budget for Culture Recovery Fund: Continuity Support strand delivered by the Arts Council is up to £150 million. The delivery of this funding will be kept under active review and Government will consider how best to adapt it in line with the needs of the sector. 

The funding comes directly from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and is part of the £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund package they announced to protect the UK’s culture and heritage sectors from the economic impacts of Covid-19.

When can I apply for Culture Recovery Fund: Continuity Support?

The portal will open for applications at 12pm (midday) on Monday 16 August 2021 and close at 12pm (midday) on Friday 27 August 2021. 

Please ensure that you have an applicant profile registered and validated on the system by Friday 20 August. If you do not have a profile validated by this point, it may not be possible to make an application.

You have asked me to complete a table outlining all the income we have received and are expecting to receive, until the end of January 2022, from other Government Covid-19 relief schemes. Why are you asking for information on other sources of funding not related to Continuity Support?

We recognise the ongoing challenges faced by the cultural sector as a result of Covid-19 but want to ensure that the remaining funding reaches as many organisations as possible. We will use this information to determine how far you have utilised all other reasonable options to ensure that your organisation remains financially viable and that you can clearly demonstrate the financial need for further funding.

What will the success rate be? 

In these unprecedented circumstances, we can’t pre-empt success rates as we do not know how many organisations will apply.  We believe that there will be considerable demand for this funding.

How are decisions being made?  

Decisions are made by Arts Council England. We will make our decisions based on the information you provide in your application form and accompanying attachments, and any other information we hold about you, including previous Culture Recovery Fund applications and monitoring information, any further information that we requested as part of the process and, where relevant, data and information held in the public domain. 

If you have applied for more than £1 million (either in this round, or cumulatively across CRF rounds), we may share your application with the Culture Recovery Board (or a subset of the board) appointed by DCMS and ask them for comment before a final decision is taken.

Where applications are judged to be complex, these may also be shared with the Culture Recovery Board.

Who sits on the Culture Recovery Board?  

Members of the Culture Recovery Board have been appointed by DCMS, it is chaired by Sir Damon Buffini.  

The full list of board members on the Culture Recovery Board is as follows: 

Independent Chair Sir Damon Buffini

Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal Neil Mendoza

Arts Council England Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England

Historic England Sir Laurie Magnus, Chair of Historic England

National Lottery Heritage Fund Rene Olivieri, Chair of NLHF

British Film Institute Jay Hunt, BFI Governor (Board Member)

JP Morgan Carol Lake, Managing Director, Corporate Responsibility

National Lottery Heritage Fund, René Olivieri, Interim Chair of The National Lottery Heritage Fund

DCMS Emma Squire, Director for Arts, Heritage and Tourism

Independent Board Members: 

• Claire Whitaker 
• Baroness Kate Fall 
• Hemant Patel 
• Samir Shah