Since 2022, Arts Council England has funded Crawley’s Creative Playground
Creative People and Places focuses on parts of the country where involvement in creativity and culture is significantly below the national average. It funds partners in local areas to empower residents to decide what kind of creative activity they want to experience on their doorstep. And it’s all made possible thanks to National Lottery players, who raise £30 million for Good Causes each week.
Between 2026 – 2029 Arts Council England are investing £43 million from the National Lottery in 46 Creative People and Places Programmes across England, covering 64 local authority areas.
Find out more HERE
From July 2026 to June 2027, Garfield Weston Foundation contributes towards Creative Crawley’s core costs.
The Garfield Weston Foundation is a family founded grant-maker supporting charities operating in a wide variety of sectors across the UK that make a positive difference within their communities.
Established by W. Garfield Weston in 1958 through an endowment of shares in the family business – now known as Associated British Foods plc – the Foundation continues to be guided by the Weston Family. The Trustees, each of whom are direct descendants of the founder, play an active, informed role in its work.
This successful model has ensured that our charitable donations have grown as the businesses have grown, enabling the Foundation to award grants totalling nearly £1.7 billion since its establishment. The most recent financial year 2024-2025 saw the Foundation give away almost £130 million to 2,967 charities.
The Backstage Trust contributed to some new sound equipment for Creative Crawley in 2026/27.
You can find out more about them HERE
In 26/27 we have been give a Strategic Grant to support The Playground Tour. Find out more HERE
Crawley Borough Council also give us 100% rate relief for Unit 79/80 County Mall.
Since July 2025 the Arora Group (owners of County Mall Sopping Centre) have given us Unit 79/80 County Mall rent free and have also paid for the power so that we can continue to run our creative hub. Creative Crawley raises the money to keep the space running (staff, maintenance etc) and to pay for the programme costs.
From 2021 – July 2026, Crawley College gave Creative Crawley free office space in exchange for us giving free creative experiences to their students and tutors.
