Guidelines for UK Applicants

The Digital Accelerator provides funding, expert technical assistance, and leadership development over two years to strengthen the digital infrastructure of nonprofit cultural organisations with the principal goals of growing revenue, increasing fundraising, engaging audiences, improving operations, and developing programming opportunities.

Implementing a successful digital project can pose significant challenges even for the most well-resourced organisation.  This program was designed in recognition of those challenges, providing participants support and structure to develop a viable project plan, build internal alignment, manage the competing demands of implementation, and document what works and what doesn’t to ensure organisational learning and growth.  The program is cohort-based, with peer organisations from across the country and internationally sharing difficulties and successes to help build a broader base of knowledge about technology and culture.

This document provides important information about the grant and outlines our expectations for organisations selected to participate. It should help you assess whether this program is right for your organisation at this time.

After reviewing this material, should you have additional questions, please reach out to arts@bloomberg.org.

Supported projects fall into the following categories:

• Content creation and distribution
• CRM/Ticketing (including donor management/fundraising systems)
• Digital Archives/Digital Asset Management
• Websites

Costs funded through this initiative include hardware, software, vendors/suppliers, staff time, and training. Note: content creation projects should focus on production infrastructure rather than fees for one-time digital projects.

TIMELINE

The two-year grant period has the following phases:

Project Planning

• Months 1-3: intensive work with assigned advisor
• Month 4: submit project plan
• Month 5: review for approval by Bloomberg Philanthropies

Implementation

• Months 6-12

Project Launch and Metrics/KPIs Reporting

• Months 13-24

Following the Project Planning phase, the exact timeline will be developed as part of your project’s implementation plan.

CORE COMPONENTS

Expert Technical and Project Management Assistance: An advisor from Arts Council England (UK) or the Lapine Group (US) will provide guidance and tools throughout the grant period to aid in developing a plan to address your organisation’s specific digital infrastructure need, procuring the necessary hardware and software, and managing organisational change throughout implementation.

Bloomberg Tech Fellow (BTF): Each grantee will designate a staff member to serve as digital project lead, coordinating the project on behalf of their organisation. BTFs work one-on-one with the assigned advisor in putting together a project plan and budget. They also attend sessions on best practices in digital technology. BTFs should be prepared to dedicate 1-2 days per week (or longer for large/complex projects) to the project during the 3-month planning phase and then around 1 day per week (depending on the complexity of the project) over the following year. Selecting your BTF requires careful consideration, including whether parts of the individual’s current work responsibilities role may need to be reassigned during the most intense period of this grant. See the “Program Details” section below for more information on the BTF. 

Organisational Oversight: A designated individual on the board will advise on the project in a manner appropriate and consistent with grantee governance structure. And for the duration of the grant period, the Bloomberg Tech Fellow will directly report to the organisation’s chief executive about the project – regardless of whether that reporting structure is normally in place.

Metrics/Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Organisations identify success metrics/KPIs as part of the planning phase that are then tracked throughout implementation. These include “early wins” as well as longer-term benchmarks to understand the impact of each project and contribute to field-wide learning about effective use of technology.

Network: Grantees join a group of over 140 organisations already in the program. We encourage and support knowledge-sharing, and continuously facilitate it among Bloomberg Tech Fellows. The grant period includes online workshops, roundtables, and an in-person convening to encourage professional skills-building benefiting organisations into the future.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Eligibility

Non-profit cultural organisations in existence for at least 3 years based in the US or UK are eligible to apply.

UK organisations must be constituted as one of the below to apply:  

• Community interest companies (CICs) registered with the CIC regulator
• Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) registered with the Charity Commission 
• Charitable companies or charitable trusts registered with the Charity Commission.   

Organisations must have a turnover of at least £500,000 in FY23

Application Process

Applications are managed via the Submittable platform, which can be found here.

• Applications Due: March 13, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET
• Notification of acceptance: Spring 2024

Bloomberg Tech Fellow

Selecting a Bloomberg Tech Fellow (BTF)

• The BTF should be an existing, full-time staff member who has strong insight into the organisation’s operations and strategic objectives and will be a successful champion of innovation and change agent among colleagues.
• The person does not need to be a technology expert or have “technology” or “digital” in their title. Senior staff members in Development, Marketing, Education, and other areas have been outstanding BTFs.
• This person will report to the CEO/Executive Director for the purposes of this project but does not need to be a direct report otherwise.
• Given the time commitment required, the CEO/Executive Director cannot serve as the BTF.

Training and Professional Development Program

• In addition to one-on-one work with an assigned advisor, BTFs participate in a series of professional development webinars on topics related to successful use of technology at cultural institutions.
• BTFs must attend at least 5 webinars including the program kick-off session led by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
• Session topics range from project-specific (e.g., CRM, content distribution, website accessibility) to more general (e.g., change management). Most sessions will welcome and encourage participation from BTFs.
• BTFs also have access to the Digital Accelerator website, which includes webinar recordings, presentations, documents, and other useful information to support continued learning throughout the program.

Time Commitment for the Bloomberg Tech Fellow:

• The Bloomberg Tech Fellow will have to dedicate meaningful time to the project during the “accelerated” phase of project planning (months 1-4 following acceptance into the program). In the first two cohorts, our BTFs spent 1-2 days per week on their Digital Accelerator project (or longer for larger/complex projects) during the scoping phase and then around 1 day per week (depending on the complexity of the project) over the following year through substantial implementation.

Board Oversight

• The board subcommittee is responsible for overseeing and facilitating the project, ensuring it has full leadership buy-in. Accordingly, committee members should be available for regular updates about project progress so that they can be informed advocates for technology infrastructure investments long-term.
• In past cohorts, grantees have assigned an existing board committee responsible for this project or have created a new ad-hoc or permanent committee to oversee digital technology. In the case of the latter, some organisations have found this to be a productive way to engage younger board members. 
• Note: UK organisations need only appoint a single board member to receive updates and advise on the project, though you are welcome to appoint a full committee too.

Project Planning

Project Planning Materials: Once selected to participate in the program, organisations will be assigned an expert advisor to work one-on-one with your BTF to develop and/or refine your project plan. This process will differ based on your project and how much planning has taken place prior to starting the program. All organisations will submit the following deliverables, which are intended to help your key organisational stakeholders reach consensus around the goals, specifics, and cost implications of your project – and to help us assess it and make a decision regarding funding.

• Project Charter: Concise reflection of the specific components and larger ambitions of your project including success metrics/KPIs.
• Board Presentation: Framework for informing and engaging your board. 
• 5-year Budget Projection: Financial impact of the project (revenue and expenses) both during the program and in the years that follow.
• BP Grant Budget Template: Funds you’re requesting from BP.

Your advisor will work closely with your BTF on these documents to submit to Bloomberg Philanthropies for review and approval.

Project Types

We support projects that fall under the following categories:

• Content Creation and Distribution
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)/Ticketing (includes fundraising systems)
• Digital Archives/Digital Asset Management
• Website Upgrades/Redevelopment

We appreciate that digital projects often impact multiple areas of operation, but this grant initiative supports a focused approach as a way of catalysing meaningful benefits. Accordingly, the goal of the planning phase is to produce a scope of work that addresses a specific organisational need or opportunity and can be implemented within the 2-year grant period.

To that end, we understand that guidance received during the planning phase may lead you to choose a technology solution different from the one proposed in your application – and that’s fine. We want to support your development of the right project scope that identifies the optimal digital package to advance your organisation.

Metrics/KPIs

As part of this project, we will ask you to specify objectives and metrics/KPIs that help assess the effectiveness of your technology investment in addressing your organisation’s strategic objectives. Please be sure the project your application presents is clearly related to your strategic objectives.

Should you wish to designate metrics/KPIs not included in the application’s list, feel free to do so: we welcome an understanding of how digital infrastructure can serve your organisation’s mission and vision.

Following your project launch, your advisor will work with you to collect designated metrics/KPIs on a quarterly basis.

GRANT

Grant Period: The grant will cover a two-year period which we anticipate beginning late-spring 2024.  Most of the formal program activity will happen in the first six months – and the grant is front-loaded accordingly.

Grant Amount: There are two types of grants offered through this program. 

1. Most organisations will receive grants of up to £150K to implement proven technology that advances strategic objectives.

• We will also consider applications for a higher amount for bold, innovative projects that could be replicable or otherwise have impact across the cultural field.  Organisations wishing to apply for this funding should be able to demonstrate a track record of digital competence and innovation.  Please complete the addendum to the application if you are interested in applying for this track.  Please note: only a small portion of projects will receive this support.

Payments:

• In Year 1, you’ll receive £125K approximately 6 months into the program after approval of your project plan.
• In Year 2, you’ll receive £25K following submission and review of your interim report.
• If you have made a good faith effort during the project planning phase of the program and your plan isn’t accepted, you’ll receive £50K in recognition of the time and effort of your BTF during the planning phase.

Costs: Costs can include hardware, software, vendors/suppliers, staff time, and training. We do not cover additional overhead as we view all the costs of this project as supporting your organisational infrastructure. We also do not cover marketing costs unless they are directly related to building your digital infrastructure. For example, a consultant to help with SEO is acceptable; agency fees to run a digital marketing campaign are not. Your advisor will work with your BTF to help you build the project budget during the planning phase.

Matching Funds: No matching funds are required for this program, but if your project budget is larger than our funding, you’ll be asked to provide details on other sources of funding when you complete the project planning materials.

Communications and Crediting: As part of our support, we ask that you include our logo and credit line (“Bloomberg Philanthropies”) in all materials, both digital and printed, related to the institutional or programmatic areas that our grant supports, and at the commensurate level of visibility that your organisation implements for the level of funding. If you also receive support through a separate Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative (e.g., Bloomberg Connects) we’ll work with you to determine appropriate crediting. Further materials will be provided to organisations accepted to the program.

Reporting: In addition to regular metrics reporting to Arts Council England / Lapine as described above, an interim report will be due one year after the start of the program and a final report will be due one month after the end of the two-year grant period. Both reports will include narrative sections to share successes and challenges from your project, as well as a budget section to report on your spending.  We will also ask for periodic updates on key metrics following the conclusion of the grant program to better understand the long-term impact of digital upgrades on the nonprofit cultural field.

Online information sessions were held on February 8, 2024.

• Download the session materials
• View the Morning Session; 9:30am ET
• View the Afternoon Session; 2:00pm ET

We will be updating the FAQs as we receive questions.  Please send inquiries to arts@bloomberg.org.

Q: When is the application due?

A: Applications are due March 13, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET

Q: What projects are supported?

A: Supported projects fall into the following categories:

• Content creation and distribution
• CRM/Ticketing (including donor management/fundraising systems)
• Digital Archives/Digital Asset Management
• Websites

Q: How long is the grant period?
A: The two-year grant period has the following phases:

Project Planning

• Months 1-3: intensive work with assigned advisor
• Month 4: submit project plan
• Month 5: review for approval by Bloomberg Philanthropies

Implementation

• Months 6-12

Project Launch and Metrics/KPIs Reporting

• Months 13-24

Q: On the application form, it asks for staff information for 2022 and 2023. Are these for the calendar year or financial years 21/22 and 22/23? 

A: Please provide this information for your calendar year.  

Q: Do I need to provide my board subcommittee information or budget for the application? 

A: No, this will be part of the project planning materials completed by participating organizations.  

Q: Can organizations apply as a collaboration? 

A: No. The program is intended for individual organizational applicants. 

Q: What are the expectations of an organization’s CEO or Executive Director in the Digital Accelerator Program?  

A: The CEO/Executive Director’s primary role is to ensure the Bloomberg Tech Fellow has the resources and organizational support needed to execute the project effectively.  They are not required to attend any sessions or trainings. 

Q: Can we apply to both Bloomberg Connects and the Digital Accelerator Program?  

A: Yes, Bloomberg Connects is open to all interested cultural organizations. You can learn more about becoming a Bloomberg Connects partner here. 

Q: How much time investment is required for the Bloomberg Tech Fellow? 

A: The Bloomberg Tech Fellow will have to dedicate meaningful time to the project during the “accelerated” phase of project planning (months 1-4 following acceptance into the program). In the first few cohorts, our BTFs spent 1-2 days per week on their Digital Accelerator project during the scoping phase and then around 1 day per week (depending on the complexity of the project) over the following year. 

Q: Can we apply to more than one category listed on the application?  

A: We recognize that digital projects often involve multiple areas and the application allows organizations to select which categories their project falls under.  We recommend organizations consider applying with their highest need project.   

Q: What is Bloomberg Philanthropies’ definition of culture?  

A: We define culture broadly including community arts, historical societies, natural history museums, botanic gardens, educational organizations with robust arts and cultural programming, and beyond.  Please email us at arts@bloomberg.org should you have any questions. 

Q: Our organization’s FY2023 turnover was less than £500,000, are we still eligible apply to the Digital Accelerator Program?  

A: At this time, only organizations that meet the £500,000 threshold are eligible to apply. 

Q: Can past participants of the Digital Accelerator Program apply again with a new project? 

A: At this time, we are only accepting applications from new participants. 

Q: How does the time commitment of the Bloomberg Tech Fellow break down across the various program activities?  

A: The largest component of time will be working on the Digital Accelerator project itself. The Tech Fellow will meet with their advisor for roughly 1 hour per week during the project planning phase. Once implementation begins, that cadence can adjust depending on the needs of the project. There are currently 5 required webinars each 1.5 hours spread out over the first year of the program.

Q: Is the program open to organizations in Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales? Or is it limited just to England based applications? 

A: The program is open to organizations in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.