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 project case, beneficiary fit and cost explanation, including any unsupported claims about the likely impact.
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
A capital application explaining the purchase, who benefits and how it changes your service, scoped to the relevant stage.
Fixed quoteAsk for a fixed quote →What this application needs.
The Open Grants Programme starts with an eligibility quiz. Small Grants use one application stage; Large Grants use two. Organisation income, project type and who benefits all matter. The funder asks applicants not to request a specific grant amount, so the project cost and funding gap need to be clear.
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.
- Eligibility quiz result and application stage
- Organisation income and the people you support
- Specification, quotes and total capital budget
- Evidence of need and any funding already secured
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.
This is capital funding, not general salary or rent support. Projects primarily for heritage or culture are excluded; an arts connection alone does not establish eligibility.
From your rough notes
to a complete written draft.
Research, writing and one agreed round of refinements.
What needs to change
Describe the practical problem the purchase solves and how people using your service have shaped the decision.
A purchase with a purpose
Connect the specification and cost to better access, delivery or sustainability. Explain why this option is suitable.
Ready to put it to use
Show who will manage the asset, what ongoing costs remain and how you will know it is making a difference.
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.
Some one-off digital infrastructure costs can qualify. We check the project against the digital guidance rather than assume all software costs are eligible.
The current guidance asks you not to request a specific grant amount. I help explain the total cost and existing funding accurately.
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 project case, beneficiary fit and cost explanation, including any unsupported claims about the likely impact. It is not a complete rewrite. I confirm the fee and scope before payment.
This is capital funding, not general salary or rent support. Projects primarily for heritage or culture are excluded; an arts connection alone does not establish eligibility.
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.