Applications now open for Basa supporting grants

“To date, Basa has disbursed in excess of R41m to over 1680 projects, which in turn have leveraged over R537m in sponsorship from the business sector. That equates to R13m of corporate support for every R1m of supporting grant funding,” comments CEO, Ashraf Johaardien.

The supporting grants programme, funded by an annual allocation from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, seeks to assist in activating sponsorship for a cross-section of creative projects anywhere in South Africa, by providing financial support to artistic endeavours in an already existing business and art partnership. As a first step, interested parties should submit a one-page formal letter of interest. The letter needs to cover the name of the project, a brief description of the project, the name of the business sponsor, and the nature of sponsorship the business is offering to the project (in other words, whether the sponsorship is cash, in-kind or both, and to what rand value). The letter of interest must be accompanied by the business sponsor’s letter of endorsement. Basa then invites eligible applicants to complete a full online application.

Applicants should take note that not all applications are successful through the sole act of applying. A range of criteria is considered, including but not limited to the scale and impact of the project, artistic merit, feasibility, contribution to social cohesion, and the reach of the proposed project, all in relation to the funding available for disbursement.

Preference is given to projects that offer tangible benefits to their business sponsor(s), and since Basa is a membership organisation, preference is also given to projects where both the arts organisation and business sponsor(s) are Basa members. Membership registration is quick and simple. To apply for membership, visit https://basa.co.za/membership/.

Basa is extending an additional benefit to its current members, with a Zoom session intended to assist with their potential applications and attending to any queries they might have regarding the process. At the conclusion of the session, the recording will also be available on all Basa’s social media platforms, to support all interested applicants.

Basa supporting grants guidelines and eligibility can be found via this link: https://basa.co.za/grants/supporting-grants/. Enquiries may be directed to Sipho Mthiyane at az.oc.asab@ohpis.