Ofcom awards 16 radio grants, rejects 41

Ofcom has awarded just 16 community radio stations with grants, from the 57 applications made in the first round of grant awards for 2012/13.

Funding applications totalled over £1.1m but Ofcom gave out just under £200,000 to the successful 16.

Ofcom said the Community Radio Fund Panel reviewed each application and awarded funding based on the information provided, and with reference to the Community Radio Fund guidance notes.

“The Panel felt strongly that, as much as possible, grants from the Community Radio Fund should help further a station’s financial stability and future sustainability. Therefore proposals for posts to promote long-term financial security and which could become self-sustaining were favoured by the Panel, rather than applications for other support posts, even if they were considered core station functions,” Ofcom advised.

Some of the grants were rejected because they were asking for funding for items considered ineligible, such as website costs, printing and publicity. The regulator also points out care should be taken filling out applications forms – as a number of them included a job description that appeared to be different from the role described.

“The Panel has a limited amount of funding available, and so it cannot make grants to all applicant stations,” they say. The average grant in this round was £12,303, the size of award ranged from £3,000 to £16,500.

To find out who got what, see the Ofcom website.

Applications for the next round will be invited in October 2012 with a closing date in November.