Crowdmatch Fund

Crowdmatch doubles the money you raise from your own audience. You run a Crowdfunder campaign for a defined project — an album, a tour, a run of shows, a festival, studio or equipment costs tied to a specific piece of work — and Creative Scotland matches public donations pound for pound.

You need to be based and resident in Scotland: a self-employed or freelance creative aged 18 or over, an individual artist, a constituted cultural organisation, a collective or a creative business. One application per financial year. Multi-year funded organisations can apply, but only for genuinely new activity outside their existing funding, and they are asked to talk to Creative Scotland first. Anything already funded by Creative Scotland or Screen Scotland for the same work is out, as are full-time students applying for coursework, projects already under way, and entry fees for competitions.

The match is £1 for every £1 raised, capped at £250 per donor, one donation per supporter, up to 50% of your target and a hard ceiling of £10,000 — so the amount you can actually unlock depends on the target you set. It only pays out if your campaign hits 100% of its goal and draws at least 25 separate supporters, and matching runs for a maximum of eight weeks. Funding is first come, first served from a fixed pot.

You apply through Crowdfunder with your campaign page already built — target, description, rewards — ideally before you launch. Assessors look at the quality and ambition of the idea, whether it strengthens Scotland's creative sector, whether your target is realistic, and whether the page explains the project clearly. Decisions normally come within ten working days.