CultureDale is a vibrant celebration of what makes Calderdale unique—its history, creativity, places, and people—bringing everyone together for a memorable year of cultural expression.

While Calderdale’s Year of Culture 2024 came to a close in April 2025, the memory of the fantastic events and activities and the new relationships forged through shared cultural activity, will live on for a long time. As part of leaving a legacy for Calderdale, and working towards the councils Vision for 2034 Calderdale Council are launching CultureDale Connect Fund: Bringing people together through shared cultural activity.

The emphasis of this fund is to build social cohesion in Calderdale, through cultural activities. Social cohesion happens when people from different backgrounds meet, mix and get along. The work of cohesion and integration is about developing neighbourhoods, workplaces, institutions and social spaces where difference is welcomed and celebrated.  It is about creating opportunities where empathy and curiosity about people ‘not like me’ are encouraged. When this happens, we can move beyond ‘us’ and ‘them’ towards ideas of kindness, trust and social cohesion between groups of people.

How much can you apply for?

• The maximum you can apply for is £5,000 for the period September 2025-end September 2026. There is a total of £50,000 available.

The funders hope to see a range of applications and will prioritize the following:

• Applications made in partnership
• Smaller grassroots organisations or collaborating artists

How to apply

This programme is managed by the Community Foundation for Calderdale, on behalf of Calderdale Council.

Access the guidance documents and application form here: https://cffc.co.uk/culturedale-connect-fund/

Help to apply

If you have any questions about the CultureDale Connect Fund please contact Joanna.Fullman@calderdale.gov.uk

If you have any questions about the application process or need some help completing your application form, please get in touch with rachelb@cffc.co.uk 01422 349700

We invite all interested applicants to attend an online launch event for the CultureDale Connect Fund on Thursday 7^th August 11am-12pm. Please click here to join the meeting: Join the meeting now

Timescales

You can apply to the CultureDale Connect Fund from Tuesday 5^th August 2025.

The deadline for invited applications is 10am Tuesday 2^nd September 2025.

Project delivery will be September 2025 – September 2026

Please note that applications submitted at the last minute, may not meet the deadline. A surge in submissions can result in a delay in processing. These applications will not be accepted. As most funds are oversubscribed, priority is given to applications submitted on time. To be sure of your application arriving before the deadline, apply a minimum of a day beforehand.