Dear all,
Last year many of you received 25k or 100k grants for four years from the municipality of Enschede. As Stichting De Sektor we advise (cultural) organisations in and around Enschede on topics ranging from internal organisation, real estate, finance, strategy, events and much more, but we also strategically look to the future together with the municipality. And we are noticing a disturbing situation…
Even though the Municipality and especially the Cultural departments are very impressed with the overall achievements of the subsidized (and non-subsidized) organisations in our city, there is NO GUARANTEE there will be a new round of 4-year subsidies coming up in 2028. This depends on the political parties in power and the priorities of the Council as a whole and of course your ability to be applicable for the next round.
Therefore we have taken it upon ourselves to provide you with a course program to prepare you to survive after 2028, called ‘Prep Time 2028’. In this program, we will set up a curriculum with several course periods and sessions. The sessions focus on making your organization more resilient to changing local environments and surviving after the first round of subsidies ends in 2028.
COURSE PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Session 1: 29th of October – 19.30 – 22.00u (election day)
> Lobby & Politieke invloed
Guest speaker: Mara van Waveren (Stichting Lobby lokaal)
Location: Black Brick
Session 2: 12th of November – 19.30 – 22.00u
> Monitoring & Verantwoording (?)
Session 3: 26 november – 19.30 – 22.00u
> Schijnzelfstandigheid
Session 4: 10 december – 19.30 – 22.00u
> Bestuur & Beleid
session 5: 14 januari – 19.30 – 22.00u
> Arbeidsongeschiktheid & Pensioen
session 6: 28 januari – 19.30 – 22.00u
> Alternatieve financieringsvormen
QUICK Q&A
> Are you sure there will be no (4 year) subsidies after 2028?
No we are not, but we can’t guarantee that there will be new rounds of (4-year) subsidies. So we aim to widen your focus and build a resilient cultural field of organisations.
> Are the courses free?
Right now they are. We pay them from our own budgets, which is also partially subsidized by the Municipality. We will also add workshops and courses that are subsidized through other means. So some are paid by us, some are paid by De Creatieve Coalitie and other national organizations that try to support emerging organizations. We decide what fits with the cause and what doesn’t. We are open to suggestions!
> Are the courses in Dutch of English?
We aim to keep the courses accessible, so we communicate in English. The courses are in Dutch, unless the guest speaker is comfortable presenting in English.
> Is this course only for organizations who have been granted a 4-year subsidy by the Municipality of Enschede?
No, everybody is welcome. But, if the sessions are becoming too full, we start prioritizing locally subsidized organisations. Most sessions will focus on organisations, whereas some sessions will have a stronger the individuals working in the cultural field
> Is this course also applicable to organizations who received 4-year Event Subsidies?
We think it is. Our expertise is on cultural organizations, but event organizations seem to be in the same situation.
> Anything else we can do to make sure the 4-year grants for Cultural and Event organisations are available in 2028?
Actually there are many things you can do:
1. Provide active monitoring of the positive influence the grant money makes in your organization. This also includes the members of your organization and the people visiting your activities. Don’t forget to include social welfare, youth participation, creative impact and economic power in your monitoring to provide a wide supportbase for culture and events in Enschede
2. Talk to your local politicians (and not only the Municipality) about the necessity for these subsidies. The municipality itself already sees the positive influence we have in the city. In the end it’s a political decision. In our first course on the 29th of October (on the day of national elections) we will deep dive into the topics of lobbying and pushing interests in the political system.
Hope to see you all on the 29th of October and don’t forget to vote first!