Funding applications have to relate to one or more of the priorities of the Bournemouth Town Centre BID:

• A Safer Town Centre – projects that contribute towards making town centre visitors, residents and workers feel safer
• A Welcoming Town Centre – projects that have a positive impact on the look and feel of the town centre, including appearance, cleanliness, and environment
• A Vibrant Town Centre – projects and events likely to bring significant extra footfall to the town centre, significant extra trade to levy paying businesses, and/or significantly raise the profile of Bournemouth town centre
• A Connected Town Centre – projects that promote Bournemouth town centre to the wider public, and / or work to connect town centre businesses with each other for mutual benefit

All projects MUST actively work to benefit multiple Bournemouth Town Centre BID levy paying businesses. This can be a sub-set of businesses (e.g. the night time economy, the office sector), or a particular area (e.g the Lansdowne, Richmond Hill).

Increased trade for levy paying businesses must be at the heart of your project, whatever it is, in order to gain BID funding.

Any funding applications are at the BID’s discretion and we reserve the right to add additional criteria and KPIs as a condition of funding. Applications are subject to sufficient funds being available in the relevant project budget.

Yes.

We will not fund any projects that actively compete with our levy paying businesses. Examples include, but are not limited to, events that feature a pop-up bar or multiple fast-food stalls which would compete with town centre restaurants and nightlife.

We will not fund any projects that do not contribute to any of our four priorities above.

We will not fund any projects which are for the exclusive benefit of one particular business, or a small number of businesses, to the exclusion of others.

We are less likely to fund events that only run for 1 day. To improve your chances of a successful application for an event, consider holding the event over a number of days instead of just one.

We cannot fund anything beyond the time frame of the current BID term, ending 30 June 2027

Yes.

For a project to receive funding from the Bournemouth Town Centre BID, it MUST take place within our boundaries. These can be found HERE

This means that you cannot apply to the BID for funding for a project taking place on Bournemouth Beach, Pier Approach, or Meyrick Park, for example.

You need to apply a minimum of 14 weeks in advance. Please be aware that the application process can take some time.

Stage 1: Your application will first be looked at by the BID team – they may wish to meet with you and discuss your application.

Stage 2: Depending on the type of application, it may need to be assessed by one of the ‘Quarter Groups’ – groups of businesses tasked to look at projects for specific areas, such as Westover Road or the Triangle. You may be asked to meet with them and present your idea.

Stage 3: Finally, the application needs to be assessed and approved by the BID board of directors, who will make a final decision. You will be notified of the decision by a member of the BID team.

If your application is for an event, it needs to be approved by the board in good time to allow for you to produce promotional assets, and marketing and promotion of the event to begin a minimum of 1 month prior to the event.

We regret that applications for funding received with insufficient notice will not be taken forward.

If approved, payment will be in three stages:

• Stage 1 – 15% of total – an initial payment after the funding application is accepted
• Stage 2 – 45% of total – available for payment 1 month before the project takes place
• Stage 3 – 40% of total – paid after a review of the project has taken place with the Chief Operating Officer. Please note that this final payment is subject to all requirements having being met.

You will need to invoice the BID at each stage. An invoice must be received within 6 weeks of the individual stage dates. Invoices should be provided in pdf format with an invoice number, and must include your bank details for payment.

Invoices should be addressed to: Bournemouth Town Centre BID, First Floor Burlington House, Burlington Arcade, St Peters Road, Bournemouth, BH1 2HZ and emailed to info@towncentrebid.co.uk

How much you can apply for depends on what the project is, the anticipated impact on town centre businesses, and how long it goes on for. Projects will be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

You must disclose all finances when applying. The amount you ask the BID for must not exceed your total costs minus any anticipated income. Please note the board are under no obligation to offer you the full amount you ask for.

The Town Centre BID is happy to seed-fund new events that will repeat and grow, but the expectation for annual events is that you will actively seek sponsorship opportunities and work towards your event becoming self-sustaining. As such, the amount that the BID is prepared to fund an annual event will reduce every year, and will cease after 3 years or at the end of the current BID term in 2027, whichever is sooner.

For example:

• Year 1 – £2,500
• Year 2 – £2,000
• Year 3 – £1,500
• Year 4 – BID will no longer fund

The BID is highly unlikely to fund 100% of your project. To improve your chances of a successful application, the BID expects to see your own contribution and/or match funding from other parties.

Multiple applications are possible as long as there is a reasonable amount of time between each project. For example, you can apply for funding for a project taking place in March and another in September. Each would be assessed separately.

In order to maintain quality and timeliness of projects, the Town Centre BID will not consider multiple applications from the same person or company if the dates of the project fall within 1 month of each other.

For example, if you are applying for funding for a project running from 1-5 January, you cannot also apply for funding for another project running from 20-25 January.

The BID requires the following as a condition of funding:

• The BID logo must be clearly visible on all marketing materials and assets
• The BID must be included in the design process and given the opportunity to approve the designs.
• Production of marketing materials, leaflets, and assets is your responsibility and must be included in the costings for the project.
• A copy of all marketing materials, assets and confirmed information about the project must be sent to the BID at info@towncentrebid.co.uk no later than 1 month prior to the project starting, to enable us to help to promote it.
• Promoting the project on social media is your responsibility. The BID can help but requires a minimum of 1 week notice for any specific requests for posts.
• If the project is an event, you must create a Facebook event page, and invite @makeitbmth to co-host. You must monitor this on a regular basis and answer any queries.
• You must provide a professional photographer for the project and provide the BID with copies of all photos taken. These must be received by the BID no later than 3 days after the project has started. They must be available for the BID to use for any purpose, and at no additional cost, and must be logo free.
• You must provide the Town Centre BID with an impact report within 1 month of the completion of the project

If any of the above are not done in a timely manner, the final 40% of funding will be forfeit.

The BID reserves the right to add additional criteria and KPIs as a condition of funding

The impact report for the final 40% of funding should contain the following information as a minimum:

1. A review of the project and what occurred
2. An estimate of numbers attending / participating and how these were calculated
3. Evidence of how you communicated with the levy paying businesses and what, if any, was the engagement level
4. Testimonials / feedback from levy payers as to the effect it had on their businesses
5. Pictorial evidence of the project
6. Any data from social media / website / event promotion as to how many people interacted online
7. Examples of how the Town Centre BID logo was used to demonstrate our involvement.
8. Any other information that you feel would demonstrate Town Centre BID return on funding for the town centre