Folk in Hull began in 2010 as a loose set of musicians and
promoters who put on gigs and music around the city focused on folk music.
After getting involved with the Hull Folk & Maritime Festival, they saw how
formalizing their structure could help them develop and grow their activity
into the future.
With this in mind Folk in Hull member Lloyd Dobbs approached Creative ENRG to explore how the group might formalize their business structure to gain charitable status. Advisor Denise Artley worked with them to examine their options and guide them through all the necessary paperwork. Once all documentation had been submitted and Folk in Hull were awarded charitable status they were able to apply to a range of funders for support to run the festival and this helped them gain funding from Hull City Council.
With this in mind Folk in Hull member Lloyd Dobbs approached Creative ENRG to explore how the group might formalize their business structure to gain charitable status. Advisor Denise Artley worked with them to examine their options and guide them through all the necessary paperwork. Once all documentation had been submitted and Folk in Hull were awarded charitable status they were able to apply to a range of funders for support to run the festival and this helped them gain funding from Hull City Council.
Lloyd says the support from Creative ENRG helped him gain a
much greater understanding of the voluntary sector and that making the move to
become a charity had been really positive as it’s given Folk in Hull access to
a greater range of funding options as well. Reflecting, Lloyd said, ‘When we
got the e-mail saying we were a charity, that was really good! So, we knew we
meant business, but then we were like ‘Oh, bloody hell, we’re a charity now, so
we’ve probably got a bit more work to do now!’ so that was a key moment, and it
really helped us get that first pot of funding. We wouldn’t have got that, I
don’t think, without the charitable status and, therefore, without the help of
Creative ENRG!’
When asked about how the business advisors helped him gain
Folk in Hull’s charitable status, Lloyd talked about their experience in this
sector. He commented, ‘The CENRG advisors who supported us work for a
voluntary sector organization themselves, they get the ethos and some of the
people who work on the project have been doing it for years, so there’s a
wealth of experience there.’
As
an organisation aimed at furthering folk and roots music in and around the city
of Hull, Folk in Hull’s new status has given them and their activities a bright
and sustainable future. Despite this amazing growth from a loose group
of musicians to running a festival under a charitable status, Lloyd confessed,
‘We still do some of our meetings in the pub though!’
Artist Website: facebook.com/FolkinHull
For more information about Creative ENRG visit our website
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