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
Feedback on fit, specificity and whether the short application gives a reader enough reason to explore the work further.
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 tightly focused Expression of Interest or an agreed later-stage proposal. I separate the essential argument from detail better kept for a subsequent conversation.
Fixed quoteAsk for a fixed quote →What this application needs.
The main grants process starts with a short Expression of Interest, then an assessment call and further work for applications taken forward. The initial two answers share a 300-word limit. This is not the same form as the Youth-Led Creativity Fund.
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 priority and current guidance link
- A concise description of the intended change
- Organisation background, partners and evidence
- Draft EOI, budget or invitation, if available
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.
Buying help cannot secure an invitation or change the Foundation’s priorities. If the fit is weak, the useful answer may be to choose another route.
From your rough notes
to a complete written draft.
Research, writing and one agreed round of refinements.
Priority fit
Choose the strongest connection between your work and the relevant funding priority. Avoid stretching the project to claim every possible fit.
The change
Explain what should be different, who has shaped that ambition and what role your organisation can realistically play.
The organisation
Make the connection between your track record, relationships, leadership and the work you now want supported.
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. A short EOI can need careful thinking. We agree a scope appropriate to that first stage rather than charging for an uninvited full application.
Not automatically. Send the exact programme because its questions and requirements differ from the main grants process.
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.
Feedback on fit, specificity and whether the short application gives a reader enough reason to explore the work further. It is not a complete rewrite. I confirm the fee and scope before payment.
Buying help cannot secure an invitation or change the Foundation’s priorities. If the fit is weak, the useful answer may be to choose another route.
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.