What we are fundraising for
To issue small grants, up to £1000 to provide urgent relief for creatives facing financial hardship.
Creative industries are being hit twice as hard as the wider UK economy.
(Creative Industries Federation - July 2020)
As creatives ourselves, we have experienced times when income and cash flow were tight... or non-existent. Not having to worry about next month's rent, being able to purchase software to complete a project or being able to afford travel to an interview / casting / audition can make a significant difference to a creative person's survival and mental health. It is hard to be creative when you are consumed with worry or unable to access the one thing that will change your situation enabling you to generate income.
The pandemic has been destabilising for thousands of people in the UK and the creative sectors have been hit particularly hard. Many creatives are not eligible for the same support as other working people because they are self-employed. They have also lost contracts, are unable to generate income during the lockdown and are struggling. The furlough scheme ends in October, compounding the dire situation for those working in the Arts, Film & TV and Media and Comms across the country.
We all benefit from creative people's talents and skills. Can you imagine a life without films, box-sets, art, books, music, furniture, clothes, games, architecture, craft...search engines?
The coronavirus pandemic is having an adverse impact on the job prospects of emerging creative talent from underrepresented communities.
(Creative Access Survey - Campaign June 2020)
Your donations will go to directly to creatives who are staring financial catastrophe in the face as a result of the coronavirus outbreak and its impact.
What we do
Greater than 11% is on a mission to contribute to more equal and diverse creative industries within years, not decades. We interview women and those who identify as non-binary through our podcast, events and blog, to raise awareness of creative roles and opportunities in addition to promoting their achievements and shining a light on their journey.
A self-funded initiative, the Greater than 11% podcast, now in its second series and having interviewed 100+ women and non-binary people, will hit 20,000 downloads in September. We, Renee Vaughan Sutherland and Crystal Eisinger, run and host the podcast are focused on raising £20k to coincide with the 20K downloads.
The rationale - £1 for every download equals £20,000 and could be used to provide small grants to those in dire need.
If we raise more than the target we will be able to help more people.
How we will distribute the money raised?
1. We will allocate grants of up to £1000 for female & non-binary UK based creatives, through an easy application process which can be in written, video, audio or any other visual form.
2. There are no restrictions on what creatives are planning to use the money for. It could be, for example: financial support for childcare to allow time to finish a piece of work, to purchase equipment or contribute to paying bills / rent etc.
We are not looking for a return on the grant - it is focused on alleviating some of the financial pressure that is bearing down on many creatives.
3. We have a panel of former Greater than 11% podcast guests to assess and collectively make a decision on who to allocate funding. Each member of the panel has been chosen to reflect diversity in creative discipline and background. These are: Sahdaish Pall, Penny Woolcock, Alexandra Waring, Rina Atienza, Davina Ajana, Samira Musa and Marilyn Ford.
We have all witnessed inequality in many forms globally during the quarantine and the creative sectors themselves are no strangers to a lack of diversity, inequality and has many barriers to entry. We will specifically be focusing our attention on supporting those creatives who have a lack of access to opportunities, which is impacting both their financial and mental wellbeing. It is for this reason we have made the application process broad and straight forward - we are aiming to be as inclusive as we can be.
Timeline
Our focus was to raise all the funds by August but we still have a way to go so we are keeping the Crowdfunder live whilst we open applications for grants in September and award funds in early October 2020.