As part of our commitment to fostering folk traditions, we like to encourage volunteers – especially the talented individuals and groups who already come on holiday with us. Find out how you can become an even bigger part of it!
What is the Folk Camp Development Fund?
We are a charity, set up to preserve and promote traditional music, song, dance and games (this is set out in our Memorandum and Articles of Association). In order to help achieve this end, we have put aside monies that maybe given as grants to governing members who apply with a folk-based project in mind.
The Development fund is currently about £20,000, which has made grants available to Governing Members for projects considered worthwhile and of benefit to Folk Camps. Council has agreed that the remit of the fund can be enlarged to include sponsorship of appropriate events and also Folk Camps Bursaries.
The Development Fund is financed from a number of sources, including Folk Camps’ core funds and bequests from members. Folk Camps is grateful for the very generous legacy from Yvonne Hunt that is still funding the Folk Camps Bursaries.
If you are interested in leaving a charitable bequest to Folk Camps in your will, please contact the office.
So, what does Folk Camp get out of this?
Apart from helping to achieve one of our main objectives to support and encourage folk and traditional activities, you decide what to give back. It is really important to let us know what this might look like – in the past successful recipients have donated copies of the songs or music they have produced, offered to volunteer or given publicity for Folk Camps.
How do I apply for a grant?
First of all you need to have been a governing member for at least 12 months or your parent/guardian needs to be if you are under 18. You fill in a Development Fund Grant Application Form giving the details of what the grant is for – let us know about your project, including the link to tradition or folk, the amount you think you will need and any other useful information.
(To ensure that your project will be suitable, you should read the first few paragraphs of the Memorandum and Articles of Association. This explains what Folk Camps was set up to achieve, and any Development Grant project should support these aims).
You can post the completed application form to Folk Camps Society Limited, Tor View, Lakenham Hill, Northam, Devon, EX39 1JH, or email a scanned copy to the office.
Remember that there is currently a maximum limit of £1000 for any grant and that only 2 projects per family can be active at any time. If you need any help or advice filling in the form, please do not hesitate to ask.
What happens next?
We will let you know we have received your application and the awarding committee will decide upon whether to fund your project. You may be asked for more information, be granted part of the sum or the full amount.
Who decides to give me a grant?
The Development Fund awarding committee is made up of at least 5 members: 2 from the governing membership, 2 from the council of management and the Folk Camps Admin Manager who attends as a non-voting member. If you would like to find out more, please find further details in the application form or get in touch.
Can I find out about grants already awarded?
Of course you can. Previous successful grants have been given for collections of music, song and dance, courses attended, supporting festivals and other events. To find out more here is a summary of some of the projects supported and the beneficiaries.
Some successful grant applications…
Since the beginning of the development fund in 1996, there have been many different projects supported that have ‘Folk Camps’ written all over them. Amongst the earliest projects are Jean Bloomfield’s collection of children’s singing games ‘In a Cottage in a Wood’ and a collection of tunes by Derek and Jill Hammond, ‘A Folk Campers Tune Book’.
Richard Jones has had support in recording a CD for the Climax Ceilidh band and in helping to launch Selfolk, a folk choir and orchestra in South East London encouraging broader participation in music making.
Cat Kelly has produced work with folk songs and makaton, as well as having help to re-launch the Oxford Folk Weekend, now a thriving and successful event on the year’s folk calendar.
Sarah Malleson has had successful grants to help the band Matrix to produce two CDs: Gaps and Bridges. The band has included such Folk Camp luminaries as Paul Baker, Chris Jewell and Robin Middleton.
Keith Gregson has had several successful grants linked with his writing and also work with another long-time Folk Camper, John New, who writes his own tunes.
Sue Malleson and Chris Jewell used a grant to develop the Folk Tunes for Recorders book, which published multi-part arrangements of traditional music for descant, treble and tenor recorders. This is available for free download on this website. The arrangements were by Sue’s father Geoff Ginn, and this is a way to preserve and share the music for posterity.