Renfrewshire Council

The Cultural Organisations Development Fund is funded by Renfrewshire Council as part of the Future Paisley programme. Future Paisley is a far-reaching cultural regeneration programme that harnesses the power of the arts, heritage and culture for social and economic change. Future Paisley draws on the rich heritage, cultural strengths and creative potential of Paisley and wider Renfrewshire to shape the area's future.

The Fund is administered in partnership between Renfrewshire Council and One Ren.

If you have a query about the Fund please contact:  
Enquiries email:                   codf-enquiries@renfrewshire.gov.uk
Telephone:                             0141 618 7076

On this page:

• About the Cultural Organisations Development Fund
• Funded Projects in Round 3

About the Cultural Organisations Development Fund

Fund purpose and objectives

The purpose of the Cultural Organisations Development Fund is to strengthen and build the capacity of local cultural and creative organisations in Renfrewshire.

The Fund has 3 objectives:

1. To support organisations to become more sustainable and to take the next steps in their strategic development.
2. To build capacity in organisations in order to raise cultural ambition in Renfrewshire.
3. To support organisations which have an ongoing commitment to diversifying and expanding cultural participation.

Activity supported by the Fund

The Fund can support a range of activities that assists an organisation's development. These could be:

• Governance- such as board recruitment, company development needs, enhancing skill sets, improving diversity, gender balance, training and awareness.
• Leadership and management- such as financial management, business planning, developing fundraising strategies to diversify income streams, developing monitoring and evaluation.
• Reach- developing new areas of organisational activity, deepening art form/specialism knowledge, developing quality, diversifying cultural offer, supporting new artistic partnerships and collaborations.
• Workforce- creating new staff posts, developing key skills, supporting training and experience.
• Pathways- developing creative learning programmes and/or skills and pathways projects that recruit internships, apprenticeships and other placements.
• Engagement- improving social media, communications, marketing and public relations and supporting wider engagement with cultural sectors across Scotland and the UK.

Exclusions

The Fund is not for programming or artistic costs for workshops, events or festivals. Those requests should be directed to the Council's Culture, Heritage and Events Fund. The deadline for applications for Round 12 of the Culture, Heritage and Events Fund will be 26 July 2022.

Who can apply?

The Fund is reserved for established or developing organisations based in Renfrewshire that have a cultural and creative purpose (see Appendix A).

Eligible applicants are cultural organisations that are a:

• Registered charity
• Community Interest Company (CIC)
• Social enterprise
• Voluntary or community organisations
• Constituted group

We cannot accept applications from:

• Individuals/sole traders
• Shareholding organisations that generate private profits
• Organisations based outside Renfrewshire.
• Organisations that do not have a cultural or creative purpose (see Appendix A)
• Applications made by one organisation on behalf of another, unless part of a joint application.

In Round 3, applications are accepted from:

• Single cultural organisations for their own organisational development activity.
• Joint applications from groups of cultural organisations for shared organisational development activity. All organisations within the group must have a cultural and creative purpose. Applications to this strand should be made by one lead cultural organisation and should have a written agreement in place for the proposed activity signed by all organisations involved in the application. 

Eligible organisations can be included in one single application and one joint application. Organisations should ensure there is no duplication in terms of proposed activity, budget or outcomes between their applications. 

Eligible applicants that have previously been awarded grants from Future Paisley funding programmes may apply to the Fund in Round 3. These funding programmes include: the Cultural Organisations Development Fund Rounds 1 or 2; the Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) and Renfrewshire's Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund (RCRRF).

Funded Projects in Round 3

10 projects are being supported in round 3 with a total fund of £200,000, from an ask of £376,640.41.

• CREATE Paisley
  • £14,371 to to grow fundraising capacity within the organisation as a way to increase the organisation's reach.  
• Right2dance
  • £19,998 to employ a Marketing/Administration Co-ordinator to action a communications strategy and extend the role of Dance Artist 2 to deliver an engagement and participation development plan.
• Outspoken Arts with PACE Theatre Company
  • £50,000 to engage four new posts to enable the delivery of a year-long programme of diverse events at the Art Department, the former Allders Story in Paisley Shopping Centre that has been reappropriated as an arts space.
• PACE Theatre Company
  • £18,500 to engage a team of fundraising experts, equality trainers and a programming consultant to support the PACE core team development and bid making.
• Erskine Arts
  • £18,000 to create a new technician post for Erskine Arts' external business delivery, including PA hire and film/media commissions.
• Community Circus Paisley
  • £15,000 to extend existing staff hours and tasks, which would allow the Directors to spend more time on business development activities. 
• Paisley Opera
  • £18,300 to create two new posts - Administrator and Marketing Administrator
• ReMode Renfrewshire
  • £14,810 for organisational resilience development, including fundraising, business and board development.
• Sculpture House Collective
  • £16,821 to pilot a new model of sustainable studio practice, including costs associated with governance, community and partnership engagement and fundraising, supporting the transition from a CIC to a charitable company
• Tannahill Arts and Heritage
  • £14,200 for staff costs for roles in creative leadership, governance and evaluation that will support the delivery of the Tannahill Arts Festival in 2023 and the expansion of a programme of arts and cultural events throughout the year. 

Updated 31 May 2022