Funding
Arts Council England
Arts Council England have grants of various amounts that can be applied for with proposals to engage the wider community in the arts, which is perfect for your data projects. Download the guidance document for grants of £15,000 and under here.
There is also the option of applying for a grant of over this amount, see their website for more information.
The Big Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund is bursting full of funds for regenerating and supporting communities. Take a look at Reaching Communities England, The Peoples Millions and Awards For All England, to name a few. You will need to check as most of these funds have deadlines.
Nesta
Nesta is a charity organisation focused on helping innovative ideas for the future come to life. They often provide funding, especially to other arts organisations, so its always worth checking back here on your hunt for funds.
Local Councils
Your local city council is likely to have an arts sector open to funding projects which will engage the public—The more promising your proposal is for ‘active citizenship’ the more likely you will receive funding for the project.
Universities
Universities may be open to a partnership in your project, particularly when you are creating something original with data.
Art funder directories:
Artquest has some useful links and advice for funding.
Crowdfunding
Of course crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter and Indie go-go can be great for topping up funds, as you may need other sources of income before applying to some of the above. Crowdfunding could be hard work for this type of project, where your audience will expect something in return for each level of funding they could provide—maybe this could be a creative blessing in disguise!
CrowdingIn is Nesta’s crowdfunding search engine.
Need to brush up on your skills?
Codeacademy is a free online tool where you can brush up on your code skills interactively.
