Arts group on brink of closure due to funding issues

A Co Armagh community group, which facilitates art sessions for children with complex needs, says its on the brink of stopping its services due to funding issues.
‘Don’t Box Me In’ has been operating in Keady since 2017.
Providing art classes and drama sessions to children and young people, the group has availed of a variety of funding since its inception.
However, facilitators now say that securing funding is getting more difficult than ever before – blaming an increase in the number of groups applying for money and a lack of available funds.
Rosemary Murray is the group’s vice-chairperson.
“We have run for the last six months on an underspend that we had due to Covid, which enabled us to run a summer scheme and run on until September,” she told UTV.
“At the end of September we had to let our staff go. We are not able to take in young people who have more complex needs because we had to stop offering personal care assistants.
Rosemary estimates that the group currently holds around £3,000 which she believes might see it through until February. However, long term funding is needed.
Up until now, the National Lottery Community Fund has provided the majority of money to help sustain ‘Don’t Box Me In’.
It’s understood the group has once again applied for funding from the Community Fund.
A spokesperson for The National Lottery Community Fund said, “We always receive more applications than we can fund, which means we have to make difficult decisions. We work closely with organisations that apply and receive grants from us, supporting them through the process and giving feedback if unsuccessful. Groups can be turned down for several reasons including issues with their governance or receiving stronger applications that would make a bigger impact if funded.
“We recently opened a new funding programme, Strengthening Communities, as part of our strategy to 2030, which puts greater focus on where National Lottery funding should be targeted. It was devised after extensive consultation with communities and aims to prevent problems before they arise and prioritise those experiencing poverty, discrimination and disadvantage.
“The priorities against which we make decisions for each of our programmes are clearly outlined on our website. We continue to award around £30 million each year in Northern Ireland.”
Working in a rural location means other options for those who use the vital service are hard to come by.
For Rosemary and her team, they’ll be hoping a resolution is found soon.
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