Morris Ring Grants

Morris Ring Grants 2025 

Grant Scheme for the Promotion of Morris Dancing in the UK to Full Members of the Morris Ring

Introduction

• Morris dancing is significant in the UK's cultural heritage
• We must acknowledge the current challenges facing Morris dancing: ageing demographics, lack of funding, and evolving audience engagement, viewed as fringe
• Introduce the concept of a grant scheme as a potential solution to revitalise Morris dancing.

Proposed Grant Tiers

• Outline three grant tiers:
  • Tier 1: Small Grants (< £1,000)
  • Tier 2: Medium Grants (£1,000 - £3,000)
  • Tier 3: Large Grants (£3,000 - £5,000)

Merits of Each Grant Tier

• Tier 1: Small Grants (up to £1,000)

   

  • Accessibility: Lower barrier to entry for smaller Morris teams and possibly individual dancers.
  • Targeted Projects: Ideal for funding specific needs like workshops, Days of Dance or publicity materials.

  • Encouraging Innovation: Provides opportunities to experiment with new ideas and approaches to promoting Morris dancing.

     

• Tier 2: Medium Grants (up to £3,000)

   

  • Supporting Growth: Enables established teams to expand their activities and reach new audiences.
  • Community Engagement: Funds projects like festivals, specific regional events with significant impact, school outreach programs, and collaborations with other local organisations.
  • Preserving Traditions: Help with the research and documentation of traditional Morris dance forms.

• Tier 3: Large Grants (up to £5,000)

   

  • National Impact: Supports initiatives with a wider reach, such as national tours, training programs for instructors, or the creation of online resources.
  • Long-Term Sustainability: Funds projects that address the long-term challenges facing Morris dancing, like developing youth programs or establishing permanent performance spaces.
  • Raising the Profile: Enables the creation of high-quality media content that showcases the diversity and dynamism of Morris dancing.

Evaluation and Impact Assessment

• Establish clear criteria for evaluating grant applications:
  • Artistic merit
  • Community impact
  • Sustainability
  • Innovation
• Develop a framework for measuring the impact of the grant scheme on the vitality of Morris dancing in the UK.

Conclusion

• Reiterate the importance of investing in the future of Morris dancing.
• Emphasise the potential of a grant scheme to revitalise this unique cultural tradition.
• Call to action for stakeholders to support the implementation of the grant scheme.

Additional Considerations

• Inclusivity: Ensure that the grant scheme is accessible to all Morris dancers, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or ability.
• Sustainability: Encourage grant recipients to develop projects that have a lasting impact on the Morris dancing community, local, regional and national.
• Collaboration: Foster partnerships between JMO, Morris teams, possible funding organisations, and other community groups.
• Limits should be in place of no more than £10,000 given in grants in any one year to make this sustainable over many years, given our deposits on hand, and be fiscally responsible to reduce this in line with accepted limits.
• Exclusions: it is NOT the intention of these grants to be in any way targeted for the use of what would be regarded as a Sides running costs ie kit, bells, hats, programme printing, hall hire, subsidy for transport to events, fuel, accommodation, camping etc
• Future ONLY. This does not apply to funding for current events, i.e. 2025
• Availability. Full members ONLY up to date with subscriptions

Application Process

Sides are to submit a written application to the Treasurer via this Google Form outlining;

• What Grant is being applied for
• What type of event/programme/workshop/DoD it is
• Its aims
• Expected audience
• Expected duration and impact
• Any special considerations

This will then be discussed between the Officers and a decision made, ideally within 10 days of receiving the application and the transfer of monies made within 5 days after agreement with the Side.

Accounting and Post Event Feedback

Grants are awarded on the merits of the applications received. These need to be supported with proper accounts for the event, showing how the grant monies have been spent. Any surplus achieved must be returned to the Morris Ring within 3 months of the event taking place.

It is important that the MR receives feedback from the Side as to the success or otherwise of the event via this Google Form 

What was its impact

What was the size of the audience

How do you gauge its success

Has it grown the Morris

What would you do differently

How would you improve it

Can this be replicated

This framework outlines the potential benefits of a grant scheme to promote Morris dancing in the UK. The proposed grant tiers offer a range of funding options to support a variety of projects, from small-scale initiatives to national programs. By investing in the future of Morris dancing, the MR ensures a vibrant cultural tradition that will continue to thrive for generations to come.

Clayton Francis

Treasurer Morris Ring