Wimborne Minster Folk Festival, Walford Mill Education Trust and East Dorset Heritage Trust are amongst 24 cultural organisations which are to receive funding from Dorset Council.

The authority’s Organisational Revenue Support Fund has agreed a three-year funding agreement from 1 April.

Last November the council launched a new grant application process for cultural organisations to gain revenue support.

The new grant awards will replace all historic funding agreements to cultural organisations originally awarded by former district councils, although Dorset Council continues to fund three museums in which it has a reversionary interest.

Cllr Jill Haynes, Dorset Council portfolio holder for customer and community services said, “I’m delighted Dorset Council is able to offer this support to the county’s cultural and community organisations, despite pressure on our budgets, as we know they play such a key part in the health, wellbeing and learning of so many people.

“We know that Arts Council England invests £2.5 million revenue funding into Dorset’s arts and cultural organisations and one of the reasons they do this is because Dorset Council continues to invest in the cultural sector.”

The new fund has a grant budget of £279,000 and a substantial number of museums, heritage and arts organisations submitted applications totalling £759,000.

Applications were assessed against how organisations delivered economic and social outcomes aligned to the council’s priorities listed in the Dorset Council Plan.

In addition to Wimborne Minster Folk Festival (£4,000), Walford Mill Educational Trust (£10,000) and East Dorset Heritage Trust (£5,000),  other organisations to receive funding are  Charmouth Heritage Centre (£5,000), Dorchester Arts (£20,000), Emerald Ant (£10,000), Lyme Regis Philpott Museum (£20,000), Marine Theatre (£10,000), Nothe Fort (£20,000), Portland Museum (£5,000), Shaftesbury Abbey and Museum (£5,000), Sherborne ArtsLink (£10,000), Sherborne Museum (£5,000), Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum (£10,000), Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust (£5,000), the Tank Museum (£10,000) and Weymouth Museum (£5,000).