Neighbourhood Grants

All applicants must be within the Dublin City Council Administrative Area.  Click here for Map 

Neighbourhood Grants  supporting Arts ​projects or programmes that begin with residents, local community organisations or groups interested in either the Arts or with Artists living in or interested in working in particular neighbourhoods, or both.  All projects must have strong collaboration between Artists and neighbourhood participants. 

Neighbourhood Grants should support local arts activity, local identity and be relevant to a local area. Specific groups such as young or older people could be identified to ensure both culturally diverse and socially inclusive interests are addressed by the grant. 

Involvement of participating groups needs to be shown as well as the involvement of a professional artist. At least 30% of Arts Grant funding may be given in kind.  

Neighbourhood grants are available for a minimum of €2,000 to a maximum of €10,000.

1. Quality and Artistic Ambition of the Project proposed​ (40%) 

   1. Artistic ambition and quality of the Project idea. 
   2. Involvement and track record of the professional artists(s) involved. 
   3. Artists fees in accordance with professional practice.
       

2. Feasibility of the Project in Confirmed and Potential Resources​ (30%)   

   1. Level and involvement of participating groups in project design and management 
   2. Track record and experience of the organisation or group 
   3. Letters of support (d) Letter confirming any additional funding 

   4. Detailed project outline and realistic timeline​   

       

3. Diversity, Accessibility and Inclusion (30%)

Dublin City Council through all of its programmes wants to engage with all of the residents and visitors to Dublin. We know that some may feel excluded for physical, cultural, economic, racial, gender or other reasons and as a Local Authority we want to address this exclusion and celebrate the diversity of Dublin.  

As an applicant for an Arts Grant, please let us know how you address diversity whether by including and encouraging diverse practitioners or participants in your programme or through catering to diverse audiences. The main evidence for your understanding of diversity, accessibility and inclusion will be evidenced by: 

1. Policy and policy documents.  
2. Specific marketing to diverse audiences. 
3. Collaboration and inclusion of diverse practitioners and artists. 
4. Partnership with organisations that increase your knowledge and skills in the area of diversity. 

As diversity is a developing area for the Arts and for Arts Grants it is not expected that you would be equally proficient in all areas but that you are aware of the importance of diversity, accessibility and inclusion and are taking concrete steps to continually learn and increase your ability.  

Download our guidance document below which explains the application questions in greater detail. We recommend printing this and keeping it beside you through the process.     

PDF Version 

Word Version

Our team of Arts Officers offer information sessions ahead of the revenue arts grant deadline each year. These information sessions will be announced along with the release of the grant guidelines later this year. 

The aim of our information sessions is to provide help and guidance with all aspects of the online application process. The information session will be led by the Arts Officer Team. The session consists of a 25-minute walk-through of the application form, followed by 20 minutes of questions and answers.   

No applications will be accepted later than the official deadline. 

Your application will be processed by members of the Arts Office Administrative team. Any applications that clearly fall outside the eligibility guidelines and criteria may be eliminated at this point. Dublin City Council reserves the right to redirect applications for consideration to appropriate categories other than those applied for, should it be deemed beneficial to the applicant to so do.  

All applications will be considered by the Arts Officer Team reporting to the City Arts Officer. Independent assessors with relevant experience and expertise support the Art Officer Team who will make recommendations on all eligible applications.  

Assessment of Neighbourhood, Voluntary & Community Mentoring Applications will be supported by the Area Offices of Dublin City Council through their Community Development section. All applications will then be assessed by a sub-committee of Elected Members of Dublin City Council from the Strategic Policy Committee. 

An external assessor reviews the application process before the applications are submitted to the elected members. When approved by the sub-committee of elected members, final approval is sought from full meetings of the elected members of Dublin City Council.