10 Funding Opportunities This December
If you are working across the creative, tech, or social enterprise spaces, December is full of funding opportunities to help bring your ideas to life.
Here are ten key call-outs to look at this December:
1. UnLtd Awards
The UnLtd Awards for social entrepreneurs support ventures committed to creating a positive impact in a financially sustainable way. The “Starting Up” award offers up to £8,000 for ventures that are either unincorporated or have been incorporated for less than four years. The “Scaling Up” award provides up to £18,000 for ventures incorporated for less than four years, with evidence of existing social impact and ambitions to expand it.
Applications are open on an ongoing basis and will close on 24 March 2025. If you submit your application by 31 December, decisions will be announced on 24 March 2025.
Find out more here:
https://www.unltd.org.uk/awards
2. The Nine Dots Prize
The Nine Dots Prize is a prize for creative thinking that tackles contemporary societal issues. Entrants are asked to respond to a question in 3,000 words, with the winner receiving US$100,000 to write a short book expanding on their ideas. The aim of the Prize is to promote, encourage and engage innovative thinking to address problems facing the modern world. The name of the Prize references the nine dots puzzle – a lateral thinking puzzle which can only be solved by thinking outside the box.
Deadline: 27th January 2025
Find out more here:
3. Brigstow Institute: Ideas Exchange Funding
Brigstow Institute Ideas Exchange funding is designed to support emerging, interdisciplinary networks and partnerships that are co-designed and co-run with people within and outside of Academia. Funding for up to £2000. Ideas exchanges give new partnerships the time and resources to connect with others and explore the idea’s potential together to identify shared research interests and plan the next steps.
Funding can be used to: buy in expertise; hardware costs; consumables or travel. There is no deadline for this funding, but we may pause the competition depending on the funding available.
Everyone is eligible to take part in Ideas Exchanges. However, you will need at least one University of Bristol academic as part of the project team.
Full details here: Brigstow Ideas Exchange | Brigstow Institute | University of Bristol
No current deadline, refer to link for more information.
4. Social Economy West Support Programme
Social Economy West will help the sector in the region to grow, as well as providing tailored support to organisations to help them become more financially and environmentally sustainable, support the move towards Net Zero, manage risk more effectively, and broaden their links with the wider economy and business community.
More information here:
https://www.businesswest.co.uk/blog/social-economy-west-support-programme-launched
5. Konfer
Konfer offers the most efficient way to navigate around funding, resources, technology and innovation capabilities that exist in the UK innovation eco-system. The website offers a useful list of funding opportunities available, and is well worth a look through.
Grant funding info available here: https://konfer.online/fundings
Deadline varies for each funding opportunity
6. Creative Tech Programme – SETsquared
The Creative Tech Programme is designed to help tech ventures in the South West raise investment to undertake the research and development needed to take their products and services to the next level.
The programme is open to companies that are working with creative technologies, including but not limited to immersive techs such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), the metaverse, game design, animation, fashion tech, robotics and creative AI, interactive media, digital art plus sound and music production.
Sign Up here: https://www.setsquared.co.uk/programme/creative-tech/
7. Creative UK Business Builder: Up to £2.5k
Creative Enterprise Business Builder is a grant initiative designed to support companies who work in moving image for storytelling, spanning film television, games, animation and immersive industries. With grants of up to £2,500, beneficiaries will be able to work with a consultant to build meaningful connections and create opportunities for business growth.
The grants can be used to subsidise the cost of working with an expert to support companies’ specific goals including business planning and strategy as well as offering other specialist expertise, knowledge or contacts. Examples include marketing strategy, monetisation of IP, international operation, and more.
No current deadline
Full information here: Creative Enterprise Business Builder – Creative UK
8. National Lottery Project Grants: Up to £100K
National Lottery Project Grants is our open access programme for arts, libraries and museums projects. The fund supports thousands of individual practitioners, community and cultural organisations.
Project Grants is always open for applications between £1,000 and £100,000.
They are currently prioritising supporting Grassroots Music, Museum Unlocking Collections and Universal Library Offers projects.
Find more details on their website here: Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants | Arts Council England
9. Horizon Europe: £82bn fund
Horizon Europe is built around three main pillars, with funding opportunities available for each:
- Pillar 1 – Excellent Science,
- Pillar 2 – Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness,
- Pillar 3 – Innovative Europe.
Find out more here: Horizon Europe – Innovate UK Business Connect
10. Immersive Arts
A UK-wide programme led by UWE Bristol to support artists to make and share extraordinary immersive work, has unveiled its first round of funding opportunities. Grants ranging from £5,000 to £50,000 are available as part of the three-year project, with the aim of supporting over 200 artists to explore the possibilities of immersive technology for their creative practice. Artists will have the opportunity to access training, mentoring, specialist facilities and vital funds, with a total of £3.6 million in grant funding available between 2024 and 2027 to get ideas off the ground.
Full details here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/news/immersive-arts-announces-funding-and-events
Stay tuned for future grants!
If you need support with funding applications or are interested in collaborating, a number of The Studio’s new residency programs offer dedicated one-to-one support with our creative producer, along with access to associates who can provide consultancy on your ideas.
We expect to open applications in January 2025.
Learn more about becoming a resident of The Studio.
Interested in becoming a Resident?
If you meet the criteria, contact us at thestudio@bathspa.ac.uk to book a visit and meet the team.