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 the narrative, project plan, budget and supporting documents within the agreed scope, with the changes that matter most placed first.
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 enquiry, Expression of Interest or application draft in the relevant format, with gaps in the project plan and supporting material clearly marked. Separate stages are quoted separately.
Fixed quoteAsk for a fixed quote →What this application needs.
The Heritage Fund has separate guidance for £10,000–£250,000 and £250,000–£10 million. The larger route starts with an Expression of Interest, followed by invited development and delivery stages. We agree support for the stage you are actually at.
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.
- The grant band and application stage
- Your heritage story and intended public benefit
- Project plan, cost estimates and funding secured
- Surveys, ownership or lease information and permissions, where relevant
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.
I write and review the funding case. Conservation advice, building surveys, legal title checks and statutory permissions remain with appropriately qualified professionals.
From your rough notes
to a complete written draft.
Research, writing and one agreed round of refinements.
The heritage case
Bring together significance, condition and the reasons to act now. Separate what your surveyor has confirmed from what still needs investigating.
People and access
Explain how people will take part, whose stories are missing and what will change for visitors, volunteers or the wider community.
A deliverable plan
Connect activities, permissions, specialist work, costings, risks and the arrangements for looking after the result.
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, we can scope support around the Expression of Interest, development or delivery stage. One quote does not silently include every later stage.
No. This is personal work by Matt. Software tools and their credits are a separate service.
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 the narrative, project plan, budget and supporting documents within the agreed scope, with the changes that matter most placed first. It is not a complete rewrite. I confirm the fee and scope before payment.
I write and review the funding case. Conservation advice, building surveys, legal title checks and statutory permissions remain with appropriately qualified professionals.
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.