The Audio and Radio Emergency Fund has been created to help those in the radio and audio sector who are facing hardship because of the coronavirus crisis.
The urgent need to provide support for freelancers and other individuals who are the lifeblood of radio, podcasts, and audiobooks, has brought together the Radio Academy, AudioUK, the BBC, Audible, ReelWorld and Folder Media to create the new Fund.
It has been kick-started with a contribution from the Radio Academy’s benevolent fund and boosted by contributions from the BBC and internet audio company Audible. Funding from other organisations will be announced shortly.
The scheme will give grants of up to £1,000 to individuals who need extra support during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as those in hardship who are receiving no government assistance; people who need help with radio or audio development projects, or those who need new equipment or software.
Funding will operate on a rolling basis. That means we’ll have a new round every week. It will open every Monday at noon and be open for a week at a time. As soon as one round closes, the next opens straight away. This enables us to keep a rolling fund going, and distribute funds as quickly as possible to meet immediate needs.
First round funding open for applications noon: Monday 20th April
First round assessments begin: Monday 27th April
Panel meeting: Tuesday 28th April
Notifications: Wednesday 29th April
The second round opens on Monday 27thApril and so on.
It doesn’t matter when you apply in the one-week period, it’s not on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications will be assessed based on need, not when we receive them.
If you do not receive funding in the first funding round, you are able to re-apply in the second or future rounds.
We may also make partial funds in any given round, again, you can apply again if needed.
We want to make the Fund go as far as possible to help as many industry colleagues affected by COVID-19 as we can, so we’re asking you to only apply for what you need. We’re expecting high demand for this fund, and we may not be able to give grants to everyone who applies.
The maximum that can be applied for is £1,000, although we expect most grants will be up to £500. This guidance will be kept under review, dependent on the demand for, and availability of funding.
The Fund will also seek to offer non-financial support such as using the Radio Academy and AudioUK’s networks to match skills and services of individuals with places where there may be a demand for them. We can signpost people to online training tools to enable skill development during isolation.
Applications will be treated in the strictest confidence and in the first instance, will only be seen by the Fund Project Manager and the Radio Academy CEO.
They will then be anonymised, with all identifying details taken out before being sent to the panel for review. Confidentiality is paramount to us and we will go to every length to protect those that are applying.
The fund must be used for individuals who require additional support as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as those who:
The Fund is open to individuals who are recent active workers in UK-based audio and radio including podcasts and audiobooks. This includes anyone working for a radio station or audio-led production company, or as a freelancer working predominantly in the audio and radio sector.
This fund is specifically targeted to offer help to individuals and unfortunately is not able to offer any assistance to companies, charities or other organisations.
Those working in UK audio and radio, including podcasts and audiobooks, who are freelancers and whose main source of income is from freelance work in the audio and radio sector.
No. If you are successful in your request, you will be gifted a Radio Academy membership for a year. This is because the Radio Academy is a member-based organisation and this meets the criteria for financial support and you also benefit from the membership.
Follow the link on this page to a secure site with a form to fill in and submit. If you have any questions about the form or something isn’t clear, please contact aref@radioacademy.org (please be aware the team are volunteering their time and may not get back to you straight away).
The maximum that can be applied for is £1,000, although we expect most grants will be up to £500.
Yes, in order to make the fund work most effectively over time, there will be a limit the panel can distribute each week.
Yes. If you are not successful in one round, you can apply in the next round. There is no limit on how many times you apply, however, the panel need to make sure that as many people as possible benefit from the fund overall.
This fund is for individuals whose primary source of income is audio and radio, and where this has been impacted by the effect of coronavirus. Unfortunately, it is therefore unable to support volunteers or those who do not earn an income from the work they do. We can only support people whose living is made in the audio and radio sector and where that has been impacted by the current pandemic.
Yes, you do. We ask for proof of UK address if you are successful in funding. This is to ensure that you meet the criteria.
Once you fill in the form, it is sent to the Fund email address at the Radio Academy. Only two people have access to this account, the Project Manager and the CEO. They will then prepare the pack for the deciding panel and take out all identifying information, i.e. your name/where you have worked etc. Only the Project Manager and CEO will be in contact with you directly and know your personal details. These will be stored in a secure password protected file on a hard drive and only kept as long as is necessary, in accordance with GDPR requirements and the Radio Academy’s privacy policy.
The panel are industry professionals and will be guided by the criteria and the information you provide to demonstrate how you meet these.
The Project Manager will write to you with the outcome following each round. If you haven’t been successful, you may apply again. If we feel that you need to provide more information, we will also give this feedback to you asap.
The Project Manager will write to you with the outcome. There may be additional information required to ensure you meet the criteria, for example passport or driving licence to confirm identity. They will then ask for your Bank Account details in a safe and secure way. This email will only come from the Fund address at the Radio Academy. More details on this will follow. Please do NOT reply to any other emails, texts, phone calls or whatsapp messages that request your bank account details. This will only come from the aref@radioacademy.org email address.
Payment will be made via Bank Transfer and within three working days of a decision, based on the details in the application form are correct.
It’s really important that we are confident that we are supporting the right people, so If you are successful we will also ask for a copy of your passport or driving licence and proof of address to ensure residency in the UK. More advice on this will follow with your successful outcome email.
Yes, please email aref@radioacademy.org and the Project Manager will get back to you in the strictest confidence. We are here to support and assist you.
We welcome contributions to the Emergency Fund – we’re currently working on the best way to accept these via the website, but in the meantime…
We need to prioritise our limited administrative resources to help applicants. If you wish to make a donation of £1,000 or more, please email aref@radioacademy.org. Otherwise, we appreciate that every little helps, but for smaller amounts, we’ll be very grateful to receive them in the next few days when we’re able to accept online donations.