Highlighting the importance of financial literacy for artists, creative organisations, and collectives seeking to sustain and grow their work by bringing together practical articles, case studies, tools, and videos that help creatives better understand, access, and combine different sources of funding.
We all need money to sustain ourselves and our work. Your artistic vision might come first, but financial know-how is just as important. Whether you’re an independent maker, a creative organisation, or part of a creative collective, understanding how to access, plan for, and manage finance is essential to unlock new possibilities for your work, grow your impact, and strengthen your long-term sustainability. That is where the Finances section comes in.
In this section, you find a growing collection of articles, guides, case studies, practical tools, tips, and curated resources to support your financial journey. All content offers tailored information and inspiration, helping you to find your own financing mix and becoming less dependent on only one or two financing sources.
The case studies offer insight into different strategies for new and successful financing mixes. These are real experiences from peers who have gone through financing journeys. The challenges they faced, the strategies they used, and the lessons they learned. The videos help to reflect on why you need finance, define what values you bring to the table, and thinking through how different forms of support (grants, loans, crowdfunding, partnerships) can align with your goals.
Finding money for your creative work can feel like navigating a maze. That is why we set up the interactive “So You Need Money” tool. This guide helps you discover financing sources that match your specific needs and situation, whether you seek support for a project, look to bridge a funding gap, or planning long-term growth.
By answering a few questions, why you need money, what stage you are, and what type of organisation or activity you are, the tool will generate a personalised overview of funding opportunities from regional, national, and private sources that are relevant to you. This is more than a list of funds. It’s a starting point for strategy that helps you understand who might fund your creative endeavour, what they’re looking for, and how you can prepare yourself to make a strong approach.
Try the tool here
Across five short videos, this series invites you to pause and think about what it really takes to build a sustainable, resilient organisation. Here, finance is not treated as a separate topic, instead, it is connected to the bigger questions of how your work is set up, who your audiences are, and how you bring in money. The videos encourage you to regularly revisit these questions, understand how your funding needs change as you grow, and clearly articulate the values you bring to any partnership. They also introduce impact investing as an emerging way for mission-driven work to connect with investors who care about more than just profit.
Start watching here
The case studies show you real, practical ways other creatives have mixed and matched different types of funding. These are honest accounts from across Europe, covering a wide range of creative disciplines: fashion, film, music, heritage, design, journalism, and beyond. Whether you are a freelancer, a small organisation, or a large institution, you will find stories from peers at different stages and with different structures. Each story looks at the challenges faced, the approaches tried, and the lessons learned along the way. They are here to inspire you and give you ideas for your own financial journey.
Explore the case studies here
The world of creative funding is changing fast. The Talking Finance interview series brings you conversations with experts who are watching these shifts up close. These are not step-by-step guides, but rather reflections on areas where clear funding paths are still being formed – such as match funding, cross-sector collaboration, and impact investment. The aim is to help you spot new opportunities, understand where financing is heading, and stay informed about what might be available to you tomorrow.
Explore the interviews here
