Funding boost for Hereford groups (From Hereford Times)

Funding boost for Hereford groups

12:51pm Monday 11th June 2012 in Hereford City

The Courtyard Centre for the Arts and The Rural Media Company together have £325,000 in funding coming their way - to help them make more money.

That funding will be channelled to each through the Arts Council’s new Catalyst programme, which aims to help cultural organisations throughout England diversify their income streams and access more funding from private sources in order to invest in their arts programmes.

Up against double the anticipated level of applications, The Courtyard secured £171,000 worth of investment over three years, with The Rural Media Company receiving £153,705.

But Martyn Green, Chief Executive at The Courtyard, said the confirmation was important to the county as a whole.

“Herefordshire has a strong sense of community and I am very grateful to the many donors and supporters that we already work with," he said.

"This funding will enable us to develop and encourage more donors with the aim of the fund being that additional money raised is reinvested back into our artistic programme, enabling us to develop our work further and reach more people.”

Chief Executive at Rural Media Nic Millington said the county had “extremely well” when only three organisations outside the Birmingham area being successful in Catalyst applications.

Both cited Herefordshire Council for its “on-going” long term commitment to the arts in the county when so many other authorities had cut such funding.