Arts Council England Supporting Grassroots Music Round 14: £1,000–£40,000, Deadline 1 November
Round 14 closes Sunday 1 November 2026
Arts Council England and the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport operate Supporting Grassroots Music, a rolling public fund aimed at protecting the places and professionals that enable live music careers. The programme's official Round 9-onwards guidance names Sunday 1 November 2026 as the Round 14 deadline, with the application arriving by midnight on that date UK local time. Decisions for this round are scheduled for 21 December 2026. This deadline is separate from the PRS Foundation Early Career Promoter Fund, which has its own application terms and dates.
Applications received after a particular monthly deadline may roll automatically into the next round, but applicants should not assume a later intake has exactly the same conditions and resources. The official guidance is the binding source on deadlines and eligible activities. Projects can last up to three years and may request between £1,000 and £40,000.
Venue and music-business support, not an unrestricted artist grant
Eligible applicant roles are music venues, music festivals, live promoters, recording studios, rehearsal spaces and sector bodies working in grassroots music. Individuals can sometimes apply when genuinely operating as promoters or other eligible businesses, and appropriately constituted organisations can also apply. But a solo singer or band seeking funding simply to make their own record or tour does not qualify solely by identifying as an artist. Applicants should demonstrate a track record in the operational role they select.
This programme is open across all musical genres, from rock, dance, pop, folk and jazz to classical and other live forms. Rather than funding one genre over another, it focuses on developing independent performers, new audiences and skills or infrastructure across the grassroots music ecosystem. A rehearsal studio improving professional opportunities and a promoter building a sustainable local gig series may be credible candidates if their plans meet the detailed rules.
Grant amount and realistic project costs
The £40,000 figure is a maximum request, and Arts Council England warns that awards above £30,000 are likely to be limited in number. It encourages applications with appropriate budgets at different scales. Fundable projects can help remove barriers for independent musicians or music-industry workers, create audience access, or make established small-scale live-music organisations more sustainable. The exact allowable costs and match-funding terms must be taken from the full guidance, not inferred from the headline figure.
Projects should cost staff, artists' and technical workers' time fairly, include realistic arrangements for venue and equipment use, audience development, accessibility and evaluation, and distinguish any third-party income from the grant request. A project conceived solely for a recording artist without the required sector organisation is not automatically eligible even if it would produce high-quality music.
Rolling-round rules and repeat applications
The guidance imposes a specific repeat-application limit: a recipient of a successful Supporting Grassroots Music award, or an applicant with three unsuccessful applications, cannot reapply for twelve months from their most recent decision letter. An emerging promoter may instead be better placed in a different scheme such as Early Career Promoter; the fund says applicants cannot apply simultaneously to both programmes for the same period.
Applicants are assessed on how the proposed programme develops career pathways, skills, access and the longer-term health of grassroots music. A credible application should describe who benefits, the local industry context, what will happen, how it will be delivered, who the partners are and how the outcomes can be evidenced. Without those links, a large headline budget is not enough.
Public organizer and official submission documents
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture in England, investing Government and National Lottery funds. DCMS is the UK government department jointly financing this music programme. The full official 65-page applicant guidance describes eligible venues and promoters, budget and activity exclusions, deadlines and decision dates, and the application system; this traceability gives applicants a way to verify the funding without private brokers.
Official Round 9-onwards guidance PDF: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-02/Round%209%20SGM%20Applicant%20Guidance.pdf . Consult the Supporting Grassroots Music pages on https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/ for the current application gateway and any amendments. Round 14 deadline: 1 November 2026, midnight UK time. Organiser's published guidance reviewed 19 October 2026.