Checklist for applying for operating grants under the Arts Decree

It is important that the organisation or collective already has an active role in the professional arts field, as well as an artistic identity. In the dossier for operating subsidies there will be a question about the organisation’s history. This history gives the assessment committee confidence in what the organisation can do and what networks already exist. Collective artists who want to organise themselves can refer to the professional trajectories that the artists have already undergone.

Organisations active in disciplines covered by VAF (Flemish Audiovisual Fund), Literature Flanders, or involved in experimental construction projects are not eligible to apply for subsidies under the Arts Decree.

Only organisations based in Flanders or Brussels, and with one of the following four legal entities, can apply for an operating subsidy:

• association (non-profit organisation);
• foundation;
• autonomous municipal company;
• cooperative company recognised as a social enterprise that excludes the distribution or provision of direct financial benefits to its members from its statutory objectives.

Most organisations in the professional arts are non-profit organisations.

Gaat het om een kunstenaarscollectief die reeds professioneel actief was maar zonder rechtspersoonlijkheid, of is je organisatie professioneel actief geweest maar via een feitelijke vereniging? Dan vind je via deze link terug hoe je een vzw opricht. Hou er rekening mee dat nu nog een vzw oprichten naar aanleiding van de deadline behoorlijk laat is. Je brengt dit best zo snel mogelijk in orde. 

Is it an artists’ collective that was already professionally active but without legal personality, or has your organisation been professionally active but through a de facto association? Then you can find out how to set up a non-profit organisation via this link. Please note that setting up a non-profit organisation now, given the deadline, is quite late. It is best to get this sorted out as soon as possible.

Although it is not a formal criteria, it remains important that the organisation or the artists involved have already applied for and received short-term grants from the Arts Decree (such as grants or project subsidies).

In addition to knowledge of the Arts Decree and the preparation of subsidy applications, it can also be included in the applicant’s positioning or history. It also gives the assessment committee confidence that you can deliver what you write in your application.

If you are not yet fully familiar with the specific language of the Arts Decree, it is best to seek external assistance in preparing your application well in advance. You can also find or request this assistance from experts in the organisation’s administrative body or through collaborations with partners who can support the application.

Does the organisation not yet have any experience with grant applications? In that case, applying for an operating grant may be a step too early, and we recommend starting with project grants.

From autumn 2025 onwards, it is best to take the time with your organisation to reflect, develop and grow. With this development tool from Cultuurloket, you can zoom in on your organisation and map out where it currently stands and what you can do to grow to the next phase.

In addition, you can already start taking the necessary steps within fair practices and associated good governance for the organisation. You will ultimately need to include this in the grant application. Comprehensive guidelines on good governance can be found here, and for fair practices, we refer you to the Juist is Juist website.

Would you like to focus on specific areas within this phase? If so, be sure to review the issues below.

For the application, you will need to explicitly articulate a strong and detailed mission and vision for the organisation. This can help demonstrate the organisation’s relevance within the professional arts field.

A strong organisation also has a strong governing body.

Directors advise and members of the general meeting supervise the organisation. A strong governing body therefore also provides sufficient confidence for the assessment committee.

Ensure that the organisation has a sound personnel policy and concrete measures to implement it. Does the organisation already have experience with permanent staff? Or will the organisation need to hire (new) staff for the plans within the operating subsidies?

It is best to start organising this in good time, for example by drawing up employment regulations and finding a social secretariat.

But it is also important to work out the details of well-being at work. For example, do you have an (external) confidential advisor?

In addition, it is also important to have a workplace or office in order to actively engage with staff and artists. For smaller organisations, it is common practice to share space. Here too, it is best to make clear agreements in advance with the various parties involved.

It is important that the organisation develops a long-term vision with clear objectives for its artistic and associated business plans.

Consider the artistic identity of the organisation and its relevance to the (international) arts field and the (sub)disciplines in which the organisation is active. This will also be examined in the dossier, with the assessment committee looking at both the history and the future vision of the organisation.

Translating plans into strategic and operational objectives will also help to transfer them into the budget later on.

• To develop your artistic plans, relevance and collaborations, we recommend that you review the Landscape Sketch of the Arts. When compiling your dossier, it is important that you have a good understanding of the Flemish arts scene in order to translate this into a well-thought-out and detailed dossier.

Which function(s) of the Arts Decree are relevant to your objectives and artistic plans? Have you decided which function you will apply for? If so, review the function-specific criteria to prepare your application.

You can consult our information manual on project subsidies, where you can read about the five different functions and the associated function-specific criteria on pages 22 to 30.

For small organisations, we recommend choosing only one function. When creating the dossier and in terms of the ultimate effective operation, it is important to realistically assess whether the organisation has the organisational capacity to perform multiple functions. If you choose multiple functions, you will also have to meet multiple function-specific criteria.

Start mapping out your current networks, as well as potential new collaborations in the context of your artistic plans, well in advance. What national and international networks and collaborations does the organisation already have? What new networks do you still need to find? And what collaborations are crucial to establish in order to have a strong application?

This includes both professional artists and arts organisations! If your application does not demonstrate strong collaborations with professional artists or arts organisations linked to the professional Flemish arts sector, it will be rejected.

Within the Arts Decree, fair practices are not only important for personnel policy, but also for applying them to artists and art workers with whom you will be collaborating.

• To develop your artistic plans, relevance and collaborations, we recommend that you review the Landscape Sketch of the Arts. When compiling your dossier, it is important that you have a good understanding of the Flemish arts scene in order to translate this into a well-thought-out and detailed dossier.

It is important to carefully consider whether your artistic plans are organisationally and financially feasible in order to avoid potential problems once operations have effectively commenced. It is also important that the artistic and content-related plans translate into a sound business strategy. The assessment committee attaches great importance to this.

Has your organisation already built up sufficient experience and knowledge in the business field? Based on the organisation’s history and the necessary expertise, you can carefully and realistically develop your artistic plans in organisational and business terms.

Here, you will also further explore your personnel policy in preparation for the subsidy application. Is the organisation capable of implementing the financial policy, or is a business profile required for its operation? Are there sufficient staff members to implement all the plans that have been made? Ensure that you include sufficient capacity in terms of staff, equipment, and financial resources in your application and budget.

For the budget you will draw up for the dossier, you will need to demonstrate 7.5% to 20% of your own income, depending on the position(s) you are applying for. Here too, business experience, financial expertise and a translation of your artistic story are important. Make sure you do not overestimate your planned income so that you do not run into financial problems during the actual implementation.

It is also possible that you will receive less money than you requested. A well-structured file is a useful basis for finding solutions. Please note that you cannot combine operating subsidies with project grants.

It is therefore important for both your file and your operations to build up a sustainable financing mix alongside subsidies, with your own revenues from your revenue model and other sources of financing.

Once you have worked out the above elements, you can start planning for the policy period from 2028 to 2032. For your application, the first year must be worked out in artistic and business terms. Within these artistic plans, you also draw up the budget with which you submit the application. For the operating subsidy application, you will need to work out the first year in full, and you can extrapolate for the following four years. Unless you anticipate that the operating years will differ greatly from each other. In that case, you will need to clearly state this in your plan and draw up a separate budget for each year.