Funding Application

Guide for Event Sponsorship Funding Application

Please refer to this guide before completing the application form

• Why events are important to Manchester
• Who is eligible for funding?
• What we do not fund
• How will the Event Sponsorship Funding Application be assessed?
• What criteria will be used?
• Conditions of funding
• Timelines for Event Sponsorship Funding Applications

Why events are important to Manchester

Events lie at the heart of Manchester City Council’s Cultural Strategy and have an increasingly significant impact on the city’s cultural offering, both for visitors and residents and on Manchester’s economy. The city has developed a reputation for hosting a diverse range of high profile events and festivals and the Council’s Events Unit is continuing that tradition by developing and promoting a balanced programme of activity, which supports the city’s cultural economy, in line with the city’s brand values and supports the Council’s corporate aims and objectives. It is important that the events sponsored by the Events Unit are those that add to Manchester’s significance as a city and aid its aspirational positioning as ‘original-modern’.

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Who is eligible for funding?

An application can be made by an individual, community group or organisation wishing to develop an event under the guidelines laid out in the Event Sponsorship Funding Application by Manchester City Council (MCC). It is necessary for an applicant to have a bank or building society account into which sponsorship funding can be paid, if the application is successful. It is also necessary to provide support material as requested (e.g. status of organisation, details of constitution, references etc). Only events taking place within the Manchester City Council boundaries and which comply with MCC’s licensing conditions are eligible for funding. Copies of the licensing conditions are available on request.

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What we do not fund

As a general rule, MCC Events Unit does not:

• Sponsor business events, conventions and conferences (including Awards Dinners)
• Sponsor venue based exhibitions
• Sponsor solely commercial activities
• Revenue fund organisations
• Provide retrospective sponsorship
• Sponsor more than *50% of the total cost of an event
  (* includes all sources of MCC funding e.g. NRF, VSPG etc)
• Sponsor programme content organised by individual venues
• Provide funding to events that have a political affiliation or agenda.

  Please note, this is not an exhaustive list.

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How will the Event Sponsorship Funding Application be assessed?

All applications will be registered with MCC’s Events Unit. They will then be forwarded to
a cross-sectoral Events Group, which will evaluate eligibility for event sponsorship, based
on the information received (see timelines below).

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What criteria will be used?

Assessment will be made based on the event’s ability to deliver against the city’s
strategic aims. Specific criteria relating to timing, economic and social benefits, image,
sustainability, requirement for MCC support services and cost/benefit analysis will also
be considerations.

Priority will be given to funding events that meet two or more of the following criteria:

• Deliver national or international profile.
• Leverage significant external financial support.
• Deliver brand/image benefits to the city.
• Deliver strategic fit with the stakeholder agenda.
• Reflective and celebratory of the cultural heritage of the resident population of the city.

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Conditions of Funding

All successful applications will be required to complete a Sponsorship Agreement which lays out Manchester City Council’s sponsorship requirements, relevant to the event.

It is a condition of Manchester City Council funding that the applicant agrees to abide by the licence conditions and operating schedule of the relevant premises licence, which in due course requires the provision of appropriate risk assessments and method statements and agreement to reinstatement conditions for an individual area. These must be delivered in sufficient time ahead of the event to allow for consultation with the relevant agencies but in any case, not later than 14 days before the due date.

If sponsorship funding is agreed, the first instalment of funding will be available on confirmation of the funding application being successful. The final instalment will be payable on satisfactory completion of the Post Event Evaluation Form.

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Timelines for Event Sponsorship Funding Applications

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Manchester City Council Event Funding Application Form >>