From Costa Rica to £30,000 in Arts Council Funding: Naomi's Incredible Story! 🎨
What happens when you give someone with a brilliant idea the right tools to apply for funding? Well, sometimes something pretty amazing!
I want to share Naomi's story because it really shows why I'm so passionate about making Arts Council funding more accessible.
And this story starts somewhere you probably wouldn't expect… Costa Rica! 🌴
It all started around a table in Costa Rica
Earlier this year, I was running one of my CIC retreats in beautiful Costa Rica.
We were sitting around a table, surrounded by other CIC founders, when the group decided they were going to have a go at using my new Arts Council Grant Writing AI Tool.
One of those people was Naomi.
Now, Naomi runs an amazing CIC in London, helping children and young people develop their entrepreneurial skills and start their own little businesses.
She's already done some incredible work creating opportunities for young people.
But here's the interesting bit.
Naomi wasn't an artist. She'd never run an Arts Council-funded project before.
And yet, there she was in Costa Rica, about to write her very first Arts Council application!
From an idea to an Arts Council application
Naomi decided she wanted to develop her own creative skills so she could bring something new to the young people she works with.
Her idea was to learn street art and zine-making, giving her the skills and confidence to introduce creative activities into her CIC.
She could then help young people explore art, develop their creativity and potentially turn those skills into their own creative businesses and careers.
What a fantastic idea!
She used our AI tool to work through the Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants application, answering questions about her idea, what she wanted to achieve and why it mattered.
The application included developing her own creative practice as part of the project.
And the best bit?
She managed to put her application together incredibly quickly, despite never having applied for Arts Council funding before!
And then came the incredible news… £30,000 awarded! 🎉
Naomi returned home to London, completed and submitted her application.
And guess what?
SHE GOT IT!
ÂŁ30,000 in Arts Council funding.
On her very first application!
I was absolutely delighted when I heard.
Here was someone who wasn't an established artist, who hadn't previously delivered an Arts Council project, but who had a fantastic idea about how developing her creative skills could benefit the young people she works with.
And she'd managed to turn that idea into a successful funding application.
Of course, the funding was awarded because of the strength of her project and how it met the Arts Council's criteria. The AI tool simply helped her organise her ideas and put together her application.
But that's exactly why we created it!
Good ideas deserve the opportunity to become real projects.
From ÂŁ30,000 funding to picking up a spray can in Penzance!
The story gets even better.
A little while later, Naomi travelled down to Penzance to join me for a CIC day at Oberi Art CIC, our creative space in Cornwall.
And this time, I got to see her Arts Council project actually coming to life!
One of the things Naomi wanted to learn was street art.
So she spent the morning working with Sumo, our resident graffiti artist at Oberi Art CIC.
<escape>[INSERT PHOTO: Naomi learning graffiti with Sumo]</escape>
Sumo introduced her to the basics of using spray paint, from controlling the can to developing her own graffiti style.
Naomi learnt how to create her own tag and even sprayed her own character!
And the amazing thing was seeing how quickly she picked it up.
She went from someone who'd never done street art to someone confidently creating her own work.
And now she can take those new skills back to London and start introducing them to the young people in her CIC.
That's the real impact of Arts Council funding.
It's not just about getting ÂŁ30,000 into a bank account.
It's about what that money makes possible.
New skills. New experiences. More confidence. More opportunities for young people.
And potentially the start of entirely new creative careers.
You don't have to be an established artist to have a brilliant creative project idea
I think this is one of the biggest lessons from Naomi's story.
So many people assume Arts Council funding is only for professional artists who have been creating work for years.
But depending on the funding programme and eligibility criteria, there are opportunities for organisations and people who want to develop creative projects, learn new skills and bring arts activities into their communities.
Naomi saw an opportunity to develop her own creative practice and use those skills to create something valuable for young people.
And she went for it!
That's what I want more people to do.
Because there are so many incredible community organisations out there with brilliant ideas that could involve creativity, art, music, performance and culture.
Sometimes they just need a bit of help getting those ideas onto paper.
Want to write your own Arts Council application? 🎨
Following the amazing success of our original Arts Council Grant Writing AI Tool, we've now created something even better!
Introducing the Oberi Art CIC Arts Funding Portal!
We've expanded our resources to help you apply for FOUR different arts funding opportunities:
🎨 Arts Council England – National Lottery Project Grants
🎨 Arts Council England – Developing Your Creative Practice
🎨 Creative Scotland – Arts Funding
🎵 Arts Council England – Supporting Grassroots Music
Our new downloadable AI Prompt Packs include example applications, guidance and prompts designed to help you work through your own funding application step by step.
You can even use them with your preferred AI platform, including ChatGPT or Claude.
And you can access all four funding resources for just ÂŁ37!
If you already purchased our original Arts Council AI tool, your upgrade is included at no extra cost.
If you're new, we'd love to help you get started.
🎨 Your creative idea could be the beginning of something amazing.
Access the Oberi Art CIC Arts Funding Portal for just ÂŁ37:
Because who knows?
Maybe the next amazing Arts Council success story will be yours!
Kexx
Oberi Art CICÂ
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