What do you need help with?
Funding Direction
A route recommendation, the main risks and what to prepare.
£45Check my route →I have a draftReview & Strengthening
A review of your draft’s clarity, evidence, outcomes and budget, highlighting unanswered questions for the team before submission.
From £95Review my draft →The idea needs shapingProject Packaging
Bring the activities, partners, outcomes and budget together before writing.
From £175Shape my project →Write it for meComplete Writing
An Expression of Interest or invited application draft, with the proposed outcomes, delivery responsibilities and cost explanations made clear.
Fixed quoteAsk for a fixed quote →What this application needs.
Core Costs and Project Costs are different funding streams. Core Costs begins with contact with the local team and an Expression of Interest; a full application follows an invitation. Core funding is restricted to specified running costs, not a freely usable unrestricted grant.
Check current eligibility, deadlines and assistance rules. This page does not confirm that a round is open.
Considering another route?
Compare the support available. Each fund has its own eligibility rules.
I check the funder’s assistance rules before accepting writing work. Where you must write it yourself, I offer planning or feedback instead.
What to send and how the quote works
A short outline is enough to start.
- Chosen funding stream and current stage
- The age group, location and need you address
- Delivery plan, safeguarding arrangements and budget
- Accounts and any feedback or invitation from the funder
Writing is quoted for your brief. Reviews start at £95. Scope, complexity and the application stage determine the final fee. Later stages and extra review rounds are agreed separately. No payment on this form.
Do not send names, health records or other identifying information about children through the enquiry form. A bid review is not a safeguarding inspection.
From your rough notes
to a complete written draft.
Research, writing and one agreed round of refinements.
Children’s experience
Explain the barriers children face and how their views influence the work. Use anonymised evidence, not identifying case details.
A credible difference
Connect each activity to a change you can observe. Avoid promising outcomes beyond what the team can reasonably deliver.
Safe, sustainable delivery
Bring staffing, safeguarding responsibilities, referrals and costs together. Identify what needs a trustee or safeguarding lead’s decision.
Check and refine
You check the facts and missing information. I make one agreed round of refinements; you approve and submit.
You receive an editable draft and submission checklist, with missing facts flagged. You approve it and submit to the funder.
Read the writing before you hire me.
A genuine application extract. Only identifying details have been redacted; the wording is retained.
Browse all writing extracts →Real applications.
Personal support.
Scroll across for more client experiences →
Matt supported me throughout my Paul Hamlyn Foundation application, which was successful. He demonstrated profound respect for the background of my application, which focused on Ballroom Culture, and articulated my points clearly to the panel.
The review was very detailed and clearly structured, so it was easy for me to update my application and submit it in time.
I am really grateful to Matt for reviewing my DYCP application. He provided clear, detailed feedback with explanations for each proposed change.
Send me the fund,
the deadline, and the idea.
Two or three sentences are enough. I’ll reply personally with the right service, scope and fixed quote.
No commitment until you agree the quote.
Prefer to talk first? Book a chat
Dear Matt,
Tell me what you know. “Not sure” is fine.Only your name, email and a short outline are required. The other fields are optional.
Form not working? Email matt@artsfunded.com directly.
Quick answers.
Yes, if the selected stream and your organisation are eligible. We will describe the actual costs and why they matter, not call restricted funding unrestricted.
We should choose the appropriate stream first. The purpose and budget of the request need to match it.
Independent support from Matthew Simmonds, not the funder or an approved supplier. I check the current route and outside-assistance rules before agreeing work. You approve all facts, figures and commitments and submit the application. Funding is never guaranteed.
A review of your draft’s clarity, evidence, outcomes and budget, highlighting unanswered questions for the team before submission. It is not a complete rewrite. I confirm the fee and scope before payment.
Do not send names, health records or other identifying information about children through the enquiry form. A bid review is not a safeguarding inspection.
A bid writer who works
inside the arts.
I’m Matthew Simmonds, Co-Artistic Director of Strange Futures, an Arts Council England-funded theatre company. I’m also a theatre maker, performer and facilitator.
I know the work behind the form. I work with individual artists, small organisations and charities, from a first application to NPO bids, multi-year community funding and longer-term planning. My job is to make the next step clearer and keep your own voice in the writing.
Matt Simmonds More about Matt →Working on another application?
Arts, charity, community and heritage support, with the same personal approach.