Moray Council has awarded over £109,000 to eligible arts, culture and heritage groups for round two of the UK Government funded Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) grant scheme.
This was the second year of a two year funding scheme to increase access to arts, culture and heritage activities in Moray which was co-designed with the sector as part of a Participatory Budgeting process.
Organisations and partnerships were invited to apply for grants of up to £20,000 in April 2024. In this round there was a remarkable number of eligible applications and therefore the group of applicants took part in a networking and voting event to decide how funds should be allocated.
The participatory budgeting process involved two representatives from each organisation casting five votes each for their preferred projects. Following this, grants were awarded to the 14 applicants with the most votes.
Chair of Moray Council’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Services Committee, Cllr Marc Macrae, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many amazing proposals for this funding which will help our arts, culture and heritage organisations to become more resilient in the ongoing challenging financial environment.
“This funding will increase community access to the arts and opportunities for collaborative working among Moray’s Culture Sector. I’m delighted these local projects have access to the financial help to allow them to continue to deliver services for the people of Moray.”
The successful organisations are:
- Lhanbryde Community Challenge – £8,700
- Speyfest – £10,000
- Moray Flying Circus – £3,370
- The Cabrach Trust – £2,607.39
- Frozen Charlotte – £8,600
- Speyside Children’s Art Festival – £9,864.61
- Rafford District Public Hall – £15,000
- Elgin & District Pipe Band – £10,000
- Aberlour Community Association – £6,500
- Findhorn Bay Arts – £11,882
- Elgin Town Hall for the Community – £5,780
- Moray Concert Brass -£3,100
- Sustainable Planet Projects Ltd – £8,800
- Dufftown and District Pipe Band – £5,600
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
