Get realistic quotes and use these to prepare a budget. Match your budget guidelines to the objectives you have set for your festival/event.

Look for suitable funding from grants, subsidies, donations and contributions in kind. You should look for schemes with criteria matching the type of festival or event you are holding. You may be able to match the sponsor to the event, for example, in a sporting event.

Besides Banks, Building Societies, Private and Public funding, there are various marketing and small grants schemes available for bilingual signage, community tourism and similar projects.

You may be able to get funding from companies relating to specific events. See, for example, Case Study 7.2 Man v Horse Marathon which is sponsored by Bulmers Cider and William Hill.

You may need to raise funding in other ways. Consider holding raffles, concerts, plays, pantomimes, car boot sales, or by charging an entry fee, a stall holder fee, or selling tickets, especially if the event is operating on a voluntary basis. See Case Study 7.1 National Sheep Dog Trials.

The Regional Tourism Partnership (RTP)'s strategies support regional festivals and events. There are limited offers for free marketing and marketing funding. Contact your RTP for further details.

Tourism Partnership North Wales - www.tpnw.org
Tourism Partnership Mid Wales - www.tpmw.co.uk
Capital Region Tourism - www.capitalregiontourism.org
South West Wales Tourism Partnership - www.swwtp.co.uk

Key Points

• Have a contingency plan in place in case you are unsuccessful in getting sufficient funding
• Tailor the event to meet the funds available e.g. consider a smaller event
• Contact your Regional Tourism Partnership to help you get started

See Also:

1.1 Idea/concept
2.4 Draft budget
2.8 Sponsorship
3.2 Apply for funding
3.3 Apply for signage
Section 7 Case Studies
Section 7 Regional Contact Lists