The email I forward when you're applying for Arts Council funding
I received DYCP funding in 2023. Here's everything I read & did to plan my application.
Hello, I’m Stevie Mackenzie-Smith, a writer of narrative non-fiction and memoir. Days is where I write about creativity, daily life, work, pleasure, ambition and interdependence.
I also run self-directed writing retreats, where you can focus on your writing, have someone else cook & clean, swim and gossip about writing within a small & supportive group. It’s a wonderful way to reconnect with yourself & your writing. Join my mailing list for more details!
I have an email that I send to anyone thinking about applying to Arts Council England's (ACE) Develop Your Creative Practice fund.
I'm a very grateful recipient of DYCP funding after I applied in March 2023, and the email includes the resources that helped me figure out the application process.
I was awarded £11,994 (the full amount I asked for) to support my creative development plan and writing practice.
I wrote this email and have forwarded it to internet friends, acquaintances and random people who DM me on Instagram.
Sometimes, the person in question wasn't necessarily even thinking of applying. But they said that they were drifting a little bit. They're low on creative confidence, or caught in the familiar ebb of feeling trapped in their day-job while yearning to do the other better, currently badly-paid thing.
One was a brilliant writer I know and I sent them a bunch voicenotes on Instagram like: you should think about applying for a DYCP! We need more of your writing in the world! I wish everyone could be paid well to do the thing they love all of the time.
Now, a caveat: this particular fund is very competitive. According to Arts Council England the application success rate for its DYCP funding is about 20%.
There is not enough money to fund all the people making brilliant or will-be-brilliant-in-the-future work out there. Funding cuts have left the arts funding environment more stretched than ever. Hostile, even.
There are many reasons to resent the contortion and hoop-jumping involved in applying for this kind of funding. I am green, and many artists and creative people with many more years of experience than me are like: no thanks.
They never want to think about writing another application again. They've benefitted from funding before, but there were all the countless rejections too, and all the lost hours and unpaid labour of application writing in tiny stolen pockets of time between creative work and jobs, and the landscape is only getting worse.
The state should be funding all of the arts! etc etc. I get it. Many argue it's better to just get on and make something yourself, rather than wait or wish. I agree with all of these perspectives. And YET, clearly there are people out there, like me, that are successful.
So, if you know all of this and still want to apply anyway, read on. Share the info out in the open, release it from the emails! This is in the spirit of Gabrielle De La Puente and Zarina Muhammad and everybody below that already shared their insight and expertise with the internet.
Disclaimer: I obviously don't represent ACE or have any special insight into the fund, other than my success in securing it for myself once. Please consult your GP. Don't forget to floss.
Hello [person I have forwarded this email to]!
Was so nice to see you the other night, felt like no time had passed. Here's the email I've been sharing with people interested in applying for DYCP. It includes all the resources I found useful when I was thinking about applying.
At the time I was unwell and signed off work, so I definitely had plenty of time on my hands to think about everything and that was certainly an advantage (and one that most people don't have while juggling everything else.) But I will say that reading through as many of the successful applications as possible from The White Pube funding library was invaluable. I spent a good 1-2 months before ACE's application window opened thinking about what my development plan might be; what would be the most valuable design for me, and also what would be ambitious enough to meet the Arts Council criteria for this funding.
Any questions, just shout. I'm always up for chatting about any of this also, if you ever just wanted to discuss ideas for the sake of thinking about it all.
Best of luck, let me know if you end up applying!
Stevie x
DYCP application planning resources:
2. The White Pube successful applications library
is brilliant. Tonnes of successful DYCP applications. This taught me how to speak the 'DYCP application language'.
3. DYCP information Zoom session video
which unpicks success criteria, the differences between ACE's DYCP and project funding, as well as insights from previous successful recipients across different artist disciplines. Recorded by arts organisation Word of Warning.
4. Amy Mason's demystifying DYCP videos
tips and watch-outs for the narrative of your application (about 14 mins) Part one. Part two. "Sell yourself like you'd sell your best friend or someone you love. Write in the third person if that's easier."
5. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FUNDING podcast by The White Pube.
6. DYCP templates to help you write your application before you have to upload it into Arts Council England's system by, from The Uncultured.
*Bonus resource not included in the email – this vibe / creativity manifesto*
What happens if you're successful:
1. Tax advice from The Hale
2. So you’ve got your DYCP funding… Don't panic! On access workers, deadlines, budgetting and how to do your evaluation.
An example of a Letter of Recommendation
You need to provide a letter of support as part of your application. Someone with 'Credentials' and a knowledge of you and your work who will hype you and prove to ACE that you're an excellent bet.
Very few of the applications in The White Pube library include examples of these letters, so here's my letter from my application.
I drafted a short example/outline which I shared with the person I asked to write mine.
I did this to save them time and context about what I was proposing in my application, so they understand what to write.
The person that agreed to write my LoS ended up rewriting it into a glowing praise of my work and their belief in my abilities, and it was such a nice and affirming thing to read. (The whole process made me think we should just write letters of recommendation to our mates, simply to gas them up <3)
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to provide a reference in support of Stevie Mackenzie-Smith with respect to her application for the DYCP funding programme. I’ve known Stevie since 2021 when she first attended the online practice-based writing course I run.
Since then, Stevie has become a regular attendee of Devotion, offering thoughtful creative feedback to other attendees, sharing work with the group and contributing to the supportive, open-minded and curious environment we’ve created together. Since 2021 I’ve also mentored Stevie over the course of five 1-2-1 sessions; reading short pieces of her work and offering feedback. I’ve watched her writing style develop and her confidence grow as she’s experimented with different styles that expand the depth of her work beyond her features writing background. Stevie has a keen interest in memoir and creative non-fiction, and has shown a dedication to shifting her writing practice into longer pieces of writing.
Stevie is a fantastic writer, and the work I’ve had the privilege of reading is evocative, tender, and precise. She has a fantastic grasp of what makes for compelling nonfiction, and brings careful and lyrical attention to her subjects. I would compare her writing to to Olivia Laing, Sheila Heti and Rebecca May Johnson. Stevie’s work is so accomplished that she’s already been offered representation, and also has a proven track record of publication, but needs financial support to allow her to take her career to the next level and work on a book proposal, and eventually a full length manuscript.
I know what a difference this opportunity can make to a writer’s career, and should Stevie be offered this funding I am certain she would be able to fulfil her enormous potential as a writer.
That's it!
Please do comment with any resources or tips that have helped you, or any related funding gripes/lightbulb moments/thoughts.
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Thank you for sharing 🙏