The new Domestic Support Fund was designed to offer financial support to kick start the return of business events and to showcase that the UK is ready to meet again and has adapted to new ways of meeting in a COVID-19 secure environment.
What did the fund cover?
Financial support was based on number of delegates attending a live event, or the live component of a hybrid event. The event organisation could apply for £30 per delegate (cash incl. VAT) attending an event. Approved applications have received financial support, after the event has taken place, and submission of evidence to support total number of attendees.
Offered as a ‘Small Amount of Financial Assistance’ grant scheme, this support was available for events from 100 to 500 people, to a maximum value of £15,000 support. In applying for this fund applications were required to be clear on why support was needed.
All activities needed to take place within the dates 21 June to 17 December 2021, and all evidence provided by 1 March 2022.
Eligibility
Applicant organisations were eligible if met the following criteria to apply:
- The applicants were UK not-for-profit organisations, including associations and charities
- The applicants must have been in operation for more than a year at the time of application. In exceptional circumstances, applications have been assessed on a case-by-case basis
- The events were defined as: meetings and conferences. VisitBritain did not support award ceremonies, AGM’s, incentives, social or family groups, weddings, student, or leisure tour groups
- The events targeted a domestic audience
- The events attracted from 100 to 500 attendees
- The events were live and could have included a virtual component. Support was for total attendees to the live element of a hybrid event
Summary
All funds have been allocated by end of July 2021.
With the Domestic Support Fund, VisitBritain has supported 29 events across the UK, including Glasgow, Manchester, Aberdeen, London, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol, Leicester, Harrogate, Durham, Nottingham and Southampton. In total all the events were attended by 6,845 delegates.
