North East Worcestershire Cultural Compact - Renew Small Grants

Charity Number: CUSTOM_690A6744

Annual Expenditure: £0.0M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £33,000 (UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation for small grants)
  • Grant Range: £500 - £2,000
  • Geographic Focus: Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough (North East Worcestershire)
  • Application Type: Fixed deadlines (periodic rounds)
  • Major Project Funding: £550,000 Arts Council England Place Partnership funding

Contact Details

Email: renew@bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk

Websites:

Administrative Support: Development Services Team for Redditch Borough and Bromsgrove District Councils

Overview

The Cultural Compact for North East Worcestershire is a strategic partnership framework officially recognised by Arts Council England in 2022. Covering Redditch Borough and Bromsgrove District, the Compact brings together local authorities, businesses, educational providers, and cultural and community leaders driven by a shared ambition to grow the area's cultural ecosystem and drive lasting social and economic benefits.

The Compact's first major initiative, ReNEW (Rediscover North East Worcestershire), launched in Autumn 2023 with substantial backing including £550,000 from Arts Council England's National Lottery funded Place Partnership programme and £33,000 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund specifically for small grants. The ReNEW programme aims to increase participation in arts and creative activities, especially in communities where there are more barriers to participation, with the goal of increasing active and creative behaviours, improving connectivity with open spaces, and decreasing the life expectancy divide within communities.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programmes

ReNEW Small Grants: £500 - £2,000

  • Creative activities for people aged 16 and over
  • Projects that bring redundant and unusual spaces back to life in Bromsgrove and Redditch
  • Fixed deadline rounds (applications accepted periodically)
  • Funded through UK Shared Prosperity Fund (£33,000 total allocation)

ReNEW Place Partnership: £550,000 (Arts Council England)

  • Two-and-a-half-year programme supporting young people to develop creative skills and access careers in creative industries
  • Bolstering existing local cultural organisations to expand offerings and increase capacity

Priority Areas

The selecting committee particularly looks for projects that:

  • Tell people's stories and create pride in place
  • Bring creative activities to redundant or unloved spaces
  • Increase participation in arts and creative activities
  • Target communities with more barriers to participation
  • Support storytelling and connectivity
  • Rejuvenate unused spaces in the community

Who Can Apply:

  • Creative leaders
  • Businesses
  • Charities
  • Voluntary groups
  • Individuals with creative ideas

What They Fund

Examples of previously funded Round 1 projects include:

  • Touring exhibition showcasing Bromsgrove's button making trade history in the original factory building
  • Yarn bombing initiatives
  • Pop-up craft workshops offering art, craft, sewing skills and reworking old items
  • Tree art and churchyard planting in Feckenham
  • Decorating blank walls in Rubery Park
  • 'Love Rubery' - week of activities and rejuvenation of Rubery Park wall space community artwork
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Governance and Leadership

Partnership Structure: The Cultural Compact is a strong and sustained collaboration between strategic place-based partners which co-design and deliver a vision for culture within the area. It emphasises engagement between cultural sector organisations and other organisations outside that sector which share compatible ambitions.

Leadership:

  • Independent Chair: Jane Earl was appointed as independent chair - a cultural sector expert and former CEO and civil servant who supported the formation of the new compact
  • Current Chair: Petro Nicolaides (as of March 2025)

Steering Group: The Compact has a Steering Group that meets to oversee activities

Partners: Since receiving Arts Council England recognition in 2022, the compact has expanded its membership to include:

  • National Trust
  • Canals and Rivers Trust
  • Arts Council England
  • Heritage Lottery
  • Artrix Holding Trust
  • Rubicon Leisure
  • Bromsgrove District Council
  • Redditch Borough Council
  • Friends of St Johns
  • Bromsgrove Arts Alive
  • Bromsgrove Indy Club
  • HOW College
  • Young Solutions
  • Avoncroft Museum

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Applications are accepted through periodic funding rounds with fixed deadlines. Interested applicants should:

Application Method: Application form submission via email or online portal

Note: The programme operates in funding rounds rather than on a rolling basis. Previous rounds have had deadlines in late summer/early autumn.

Decision Timeline

Specific decision timelines are not publicly documented, though the programme has indicated “accelerated outcomes” for applications aligned with specific events (e.g., Heritage Open Days festival received faster decisions when applications were submitted by earlier priority deadlines).

Success Rates

Round 1: Nine projects were awarded grants from the first round, with five projects in Bromsgrove receiving funding.

The programme received £33,000 in total funding for small grants through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. With the grant range doubling from £1,000 to £2,000 in Round 2, this suggests the programme can fund approximately 15-65 projects depending on the amounts requested.

Application Success Factors

Based on the Cultural Compact's stated priorities and funded projects, successful applications should:

Tell Stories and Create Pride: The selecting committee specifically looks for projects that "help tell people's stories and create pride in a place." Applications should demonstrate how the creative activity will capture community narratives and enhance local identity.

Focus on Redundant and Unusual Spaces: Successful Round 1 projects included activities in factory buildings, blank walls, churchyards, and unloved park spaces. The programme explicitly seeks to "bring Bromsgrove and Redditch's redundant and unusual spaces back to life."

Demonstrate Community Accessibility: Given the programme's goal to “increase participation in arts and creative activities, especially in those communities where there are more barriers to participation,” applications should show how they will engage underserved communities.

Offer Diverse Creative Activities: Funded projects have ranged from historical exhibitions to yarn bombing, pop-up craft workshops to tree art, demonstrating the programme values variety in creative expression.

Target Age 16+: All activities must be designed for people aged 16 and over.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Space is Key: The programme explicitly prioritizes projects that activate redundant, unusual, or unloved spaces - identify a specific location that needs rejuvenation
  • Storytelling Focus: Frame your project around how it will capture and celebrate community stories and create local pride
  • Accessibility Matters: Demonstrate how your project removes barriers to participation, particularly for underserved communities
  • Modest Amounts, Big Impact: With grants of £500-£2,000, focus on achievable projects with clear community benefit
  • Partnership Advantage: The Cultural Compact values collaboration - consider how your project might involve multiple partners from the extensive network
  • Contact Early: Reach out to renew@bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk to understand current funding availability and application windows
  • Act Quickly When Rounds Open: With limited total funding (£33,000) and periodic rounds, applications should be submitted promptly when rounds are announced

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