Deadline: 3 January 2020

Applications are open for Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme (ACDFS) (9th Round) which seeks to cultivate a supportive culture for the arts in the community and to foster a tripartite partnership involving the Government, arts groups and the private sector to promote arts and cultural development in Hong Kong.

The ACDFS provides funding support for large-scale and cross-year arts and cultural initiatives and activities across genres covering performing arts, visual and media arts, arts education/appreciation/promotion, arts administration, community arts and multi-disciplinary arts.

Objectives

With the objective of strengthening the cultural software and building the capacity of the arts sector of Hong Kong, the ACDFS will provide funding support for innovative and impactful proposals (“Proposals”, and each of them, a “Proposal”) that contribute to the objectives of:

• capacity development of arts practitioners, arts groups
• art forms and/or the arts sector
• programme/content development
• audience building
• arts education

Types of Grant

• Springboard Grants: Springboard Grants are matching grants. Springboard Grants are intended to support non-profit Proposals, i.e. proposals which are not implemented primarily to make a profit and are designed to elevate the Applicants to a higher level of professional performance with enhanced deliverables capable of contributing to the four objectives of the ACDFS (viz. capacity development, programme/content development, audience building and arts education).
• Project Grants: Project Grants are direct grants. Project Grants are intended to support non-profit Proposals of high artistic/professional merit that fulfil one or more of the objectives of capacity development, programme/content development, audience building and arts education. Project Grants seek to fund large-scale, impactful arts projects which contribute to local arts development by allowing a longer duration for project implementation.

Eligibility Criteria

• Individual arts practitioners, specially formed ensembles of professional arts practitioners, entities (including commercial entities) incorporated in Hong Kong and arts groups not receiving recurrent subvention from the Government are eligible to apply for Project Grants for implementing non-profit Proposals.
• Successful Applicants for Springboard Grants must be companies incorporated and registered under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) or the old Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) as limited by guarantee whose objects and powers do not include the distribution of profits to members or charitable institutions or trusts of a public character which are exempt from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112). Such legal status must have been acquired by the Applicant prior to entering into the Funding Agreement. The Applicant will be required to provide documentary proof to the satisfaction of the Government that it has met the requirements of this paragraph.
• Successful Applicants for Project Grants must be companies incorporated under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) or the old Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) or charitable institutions or trusts of a public character which are exempt from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112). Such legal status must have been acquired by the Applicant prior to entering into the Funding Agreement. The Applicant will be required to provide documentary proof to the satisfaction of the Government that it has met the requirements of this paragraph.
• The Applicant must not be receiving recurrent funding of any form from the Government (such as subvention provided by the Home Affairs Bureau and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to the nine major performing arts groups and the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society respectively) during the Funding Period. In addition, to avoid double subsidy , a Successful Applicant for Springboard Grant which is receiving a grant of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council’s Eminent Arts Group Scheme or Year Grant Scheme must undertake to relinquish any such grants before signing of the Funding Agreement.
• The Applicant must be the organiser of the Proposal, unless specifically mentioned in the Proposal, or under special circumstances and approval has been obtained from the Government in advance.
• Joint applications are allowed. Except in the case of an incorporated joint venture or a partnership, all the parties constituting the Applicant must sign the application form and the Funding Agreement. A principal will have to be designated for the administration of the approved Proposal, and the respective responsibilities of all the parties constituting the Applicant must be stated clearly in the application form.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2s0rAVL