NEUSTART KULTUR (A NEW START FOR CULTURE) special programme - Profile: Soziokultur (Profile: Socioculture)

Please note that there are special guidelines for the “Profil: Soziokultur” (Profile: Socioculture) funding programme within the scope of the NEUSTART KULTUR (A NEW START FOR CULTURE) rescue and future programme.

WHAT costs are eligible for funding?

• Costs incurred for fees
• Personnel costs for permanent members of staff (employer’s gross costs for employees subject to social insurance contributions who are not already otherwise financed = no double financing)
• Lump sums for voluntary work and compensation for expenses
• Artists’ Social Security Fund (KSK)
• Statutory social security contributions, for example for mini jobbers

Members of staff and freelancers must be resident in Germany to qualify for funding within the scope of applications for funding. The aim of the NEUSTART KULTUR (A NEW START FOR CULTURE) federal programme is to stabilise the situation of creative artists in Germany.

What costs are NOT eligible for funding?

• Remuneration (including lump sums for voluntary work) of unsalaried members of boards of directors
• Administrative expenditure, materials, travel and accommodation expenses, provision of food and beverages, rent, insurance (e.g. employers’ liability insurance association, business liability insurance or similar)
• All other costs which are not listed above, such as office expenses or fees

Services for which there is no flow of money (work which is completely voluntary, fee waiver, so-called benefits-in-kind)

What do we NOT fund?

• Artistic and cultural projects and productions
• Preparatory and research work for projects
• Scholarships, festivals or regular programme offerings
• Training courses to gain technical skills (e.g. Excel software)

“Profil: Soziokultur” (Profile: Socioculture) is a funding programme which supports the further development processes of applicants. Applications for projects can therefore not be accepted.

WHAT must be included in the COSTS and FINANCIAL PLAN?

• The cost plan may only include the above-mentioned expenditure which is eligible for funding.
• The co-financing of 10 % cannot be provided via administrative expenditure which is not eligible for funding; all expenses must therefore be either personnel costs or costs incurred for fees.
• The cost plan should present the total process costs, i.e. not just the costs and income which are the subject of your application to the Fonds Soziokultur.
• The cost and financial plan may only include calculations regarding costs/ income for which there will be a subsequent verifiable flow of money.
• Please note that the cost plan for the application will form the basis of the grant agreement if your application is successful.
  
  

HOW can CO-FINANCING be provided?

• Co-financing (at least 10% of the total budget) can be provided from own capital; income and/or third-party financing.
• Third-party financing means all funding/project grants received from private or public institutions (e.g. foundations, banks, regional governments, local authorities, etc.). Private donations, membership subscriptions and, for example, sales revenues should be included as own capital or own cash sums.

Co-financing from other NEUSTART KULTUR (A NEW START FOR CULTURE) programmes or other funding programmes of the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM, Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media)) is not possible.

HOW does the selection process work?

• All funding applications will be evaluated by the Fonds Soziokultur board of trustees after the closing date for applications (no ‘first come, first served’ principle!).
• The selection conference will take place at the beginning of December 2022. Following this, all applicants will be informed of the outcome by email by mid-December 2022.

WHAT criteria do the jury take into consideration for their selection decisions?

• Does the project plausibly address important issues which are fundamentally relevant for the institution respectively for the coordinator’s work and stabilisation?
• Does the application provide a detailed presentation of the resources, partners and planned procedures which are required for efficient implementation?
• Do the planned activities and the budget match? Is the budget reasonable, realisable and well planned?
• Is the idea convincing and does it engage with the formulated challenges in a new way?
• Are the teams integrated into development and raising of the profile?
• Is the time horizon realistic?

For information purposes: Tips for tomorrow and preparation for possible approval

What must you do if your application is successful and what can you prepare in advance?

If your application is successful, then a grant agreement will be concluded with the coordinators who have been awarded a grant. The following documents must be submitted to receive this grant agreement:

• Copy of the current charter or articles of association
• A current, full excerpt from the register of associations or the commercial register (excerpt may be a maximum of 1 year old; excerpt dealing solely with a new entry of new board members/ managing directors will not be accepted; a full excerpt with all the names of the current board of directors/ managing directors must be provided).
• Last notice of exemption from corporation tax.

The cost and financial plan submitted with the application will form the basis of the grant agreement. Updating of the cost plan is possible. In such cases an updated cost plan must also be submitted together with the above-mentioned documents. Failure to do so will automatically result in the cost and financial plan submitted with the application being used as the basis for the funding agreement.

The regulations of the Vergabeordnung des Bundes (German Federal Regulation on the Awarding of Contracts) must be complied with. Where services are comparable - e.g. graphic art, photo/video documentation, programming of a website, technical support, etc., - and the order value is EUR 1 000.01 or more (net), you must obtain written quotations based on a written service request from three service providers.

In the case of permanent members of staff: If a new position is created, then it must be publicly advertised (e.g. newspaper, website, newsletter) in a medium which is visible to the public for at least 2 weeks. This does not apply for members of staff who are already employed.

If you receive funding approval from the Fonds Soziokultur, then you may conclude contracts with the individuals listed in the cost plan from 15 December 2022 onwards under the condition that the service does not begin before 1 January 2023.

The Fonds Soziokultur provided project coordinators who were awarded grants the option to participate in the accompanying “Re:Vision” series of bilingual workshops parallel to their project work. The programme included international networking, joint reflection and the cooperative transfer of knowledge. Within the scope of 8 series comprising a total of 40 episodes, some 310 representatives of projects awarded grants came together to discuss topics with each other and with 20 international experts from four different continents.