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 close read of the community case, activities, outcomes and finances, with the most important questions to resolve before moving forward.
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
Where the current assistance rules allow it, an agreed stage-specific draft based on your organisation’s decisions and evidence. You remain the applicant and submit it yourselves.
Fixed quoteAsk for a fixed quote →What this application needs.
Reaching Communities has an initial application and a second stage for proposals taken forward. The later stage asks for fuller information about community connections, delivery, the organisation and budget. Land or buildings bring additional requirements.
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.
- Your organisation, location and the community involved
- The requested amount, duration and application stage
- Evidence of need and community involvement
- Draft, annual budget, partner roles and any funder feedback
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 do not apply in place of your organisation or claim to represent the National Lottery Community Fund. We check Reaching Communities’ own current assistance rules; we do not assume the rules are identical across Lottery programmes.
From your rough notes
to a complete written draft.
Research, writing and one agreed round of refinements.
Community involvement
Show how people shaped the idea and how they will keep influencing decisions. Separate genuine involvement from consultation you still intend to do.
Several years, one plan
Explain the sequence of work, staffing, partnerships and what you will learn along the way. Make growth assumptions explicit.
A workable budget
Connect annual costs, income and delivery. Identify the evidence needed for premises, staff time and larger cost items.
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.
No. The service is also for wider charitable and community work. The funding case starts with the community and the purpose of the project.
Yes. Send the invitation and questions. The additional evidence and financial work are scoped separately from the first application.
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 close read of the community case, activities, outcomes and finances, with the most important questions to resolve before moving forward. It is not a complete rewrite. I confirm the fee and scope before payment.
I do not apply in place of your organisation or claim to represent the National Lottery Community Fund. We check Reaching Communities’ own current assistance rules; we do not assume the rules are identical across Lottery programmes.
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.