Sheffield Freelancer Fund: rounds 1 and 2

Introduction

Sheffield’s diverse freelance artists and creatives were seriously impacted by Covid lockdowns and the cancellation of arts events.  National government support was often not available to them. The Sheffield Culture Consortium set up a Freelancer Fund (£77,000) with Sheffield City Council (SCC) Economic Development and Culture funding, plus cultural partner contributions.  The success of the Fund led to a second, larger round funded through SCC Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) (£100,000) and the South Yorkshire Mayor’s Fund (£120,000), channeling £297,000 into a part of the sector which most needed support, and using ARG in an innovative way.  

The challenge

Sheffield’s lively cultural landscape is powered by freelance artists and creatives. The closing of cultural venues and events had a particularly severe impact on freelancers, as work ceased overnight, and many were ineligible for national cultural recovery funding and furlough. 

The University of Sheffield’s report COVID-19 Impact on Freelancers | City and region | The University of Sheffield indicated the scale of the problem in late 2020:   

• Availability of work has “decreased dramatically” for 75 per cent of respondents. Some have had no work since the start of lockdown, and have no future bookings. Loss of momentum and visibility are real concerns around securing future work. 

• Respondents have lost 63 per cent of their income this year on average, dropping from £25,000 turnover in 2019 to just £9,500 in 2020. Many have been helped to some extent by grants and hardship schemes, but some are ineligible and now struggling to see a future in the industry. Sixty-one per cent are considering or actively pursuing work outside the creative sector. 

• Mental wellbeing has worsened for 68 per cent of respondents, with stress keeping many awake at night. When asked to rate their life satisfaction, freelancers indicate lower levels of happiness and wellbeing than the general population. 

• Looking to the future, many feel that digital skills will be necessary to survive and 24 per cent want training to support the production of online work. Respondents want to see grants that allow for the creation of new work and exploring new ideas, stressing that grants should be flexible to what each arts worker needs. 

The solution

The Sheffield Culture Consortium (SCC) is a voluntary network of the city’s larger cultural organisations, supported by the council.  Partners decided to pool scarce resources to launch a Freelancer Fund in January 2021, with cash contributions from SCC (Economic Development and Culture budgets), Sheffield Museums, Sheffield Theatres, Site Gallery, University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University. The scheme funded small grants to support Sheffield-based Freelance Art and Culture Workers to adapt their businesses and develop their creative practice through research and development, training or upskilling and creating new work. Members of the Sheffield Culture Collective (Compact) had included culture as a priority in the city’s Business Recovery Plan, which helped to make the case for the SCC funding. 

The administration of the grant panel was taken on by Sheffield Museums, via an experienced member of staff who had administered small grants and commissions as part of a major Arts Council project and was now funded by SCC as a legacy.   

Grant payments were made, at no cost, by Site Gallery. SCC did not have the capacity or specialist expertise to run the grant fund, but the partners stepped up on behalf of the Consortium and the sector. 

The success of the first round showed proof of concept for a second round in Autumn 2021, channeling £100,000 of SCC ARG plus £120,000 of the South Yorkshire Mayor’s Fund ARG to freelancers, and to organisations providing joint resources and training to freelancers. 

The impact

Round 1: £77,000 to 83 beneficiaries 

Round 2: £220,000 to 75 individuals and six projects    

Total: £297,000 to 158 freelancers and six organisations (joint resources/training). 

"I think the Freelance Fund initiative has been an amazing support to local artists in such adverse times and has enabled the strong creative community to continue to thrive…… the fund invigorated many people’s practices and brought developments to enable them to negotiate the impact of the pandemic.  The simplicity of the application process also made it accessible and not too daunting for those who may not have applied for funding before. It felt like a very inclusive fund supporting the whole city." - Joanna Whittle, Painter & Ceramicist 

"I have been able to buy more equipment to help the business grow." - Helen Wallace, Illustrator

"I’ve been able to pay freelancers to develop our website and branding... This has helped us to raise the profile of the business and reach new audiences…we have been able to offer some free places on courses thus enabling us to reach under-privileged writers." - Beverley Ward, The Writers Workshop  

"I really can’t tell you how helpful this money was – for developing my practice, making my career more sustainable in the future, and allowing me the headspace to survive as an artist with a little less terror than has become usual over the past years." - Tommo Fowler, Dramaturg

"Not only has [Freelancer Funding] helped me finance an ambitious project, but it has also been a springboard for new opportunities……and has enabled me to secure additional funding for my practice. I sincerely hope that Sheffield will continue supporting its thriving artistic community. Without funding, artists can’t adequately invest in their work and generate growth for themselves and Sheffield." - Maud Haya-Baviera, visual artist

How is the new approach being sustained?

Key to the success of the fund was the understanding that freelancers are cultural micro businesses, and need appropriate business support and research and development (R&D).   

There is a growing understanding in Sheffield and South Yorkshire of the economic importance of the cultural and creative industries of all sizes. South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority are undertaking an important mapping and evaluation of the sector to inform future investment processes, which could lead to new sources of investment for cultural businesses at every scale. 

Sheffield City Council has organizationally moved culture from leisure into economic development, linked to the visitor economy, city vibrancy and regeneration as well as business development.   

There are early discussions about using the learning from the Freelancer Fund to build freelancer support and cultural R&D into upcoming opportunities such as the Shared Prosperity Fund.   

Lessons learned

• The Freelancer Fund was a great example of the cultural sector working together to support freelancers.   

• Rigorous academic data demonstrating the impact of Covid showed the need for a fund and helped to secure resources. 

• Trusting relationships between Consortium members, the Collective, SCC and City Region enabled ARG to become a ‘new’ source of funding for cultural micro-businesses. 

• Round 1 showed up some commonalities of need around skills, training and equipment, which Round 2 was able to address with a new category of group funding, providing efficient and collegiate support. 

• The testimonies of successful grant applicants show that very small sums of funding can make a big difference to the viability, growth and development of cultural micro-industries. 

• The approach of giving many small grants is effective in a sector where there are many freelancers in different fields, needing a range of targeted support. 

• The application process was deliberately simple and approachable. 

• The fund was low-cost to administer due to the generosity of Site Gallery and Sheffield Museums in donating staff time. 

• Efforts were especially made in Round 2, after some evidence of under-representation, to reach out even more widely to diverse creatives. 

• As part of the Covid recovery process, councils will need to be continually thoughtful and innovative to channel funding to creatives who underpin the whole sector.

Contact

Rebecca Maddox, Head of Business Development (Culture), email: [email protected]