Keep it Fringe

The Keep it Fringe fund is designed to help reduce some of the financial barriers that prevent artists from bringing work to the festival.

While the fund isn’t designed to pay for every expense associated with a show, it helps lessen the strain on those artists who face a difficult funding landscape.

Background

Keep it Fringe was launched in 2023 with an initial £50,000 donation from the Fringe Society’s honorary president, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, via her Fleabag for Charity fund

‘Edinburgh Fringe gave Fleabag a game-changing platform for everyone involved and we are thrilled that the show can continue to pay it forward to the creatives of tomorrow and contribute to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to take their work to this amazing festival.'

– Phoebe Waller-Bridge

This was matched with £50,000 from the Fringe Society, gathered via donations and sponsorship, resulting in a £100,000 fund.

In its initial year, Keep it Fringe supported 50 shows with grants of £2,000 each. Some expenditures mentioned during the application process include childcare, transportation, media and PR support, help to meet Living Wage pay, access costs for artists and production costs associated with performing.

The grants were awarded in favour of artists who faced additional barriers to taking part in the Fringe. Nearly half the successful applicants were disabled or had a health condition, and one in three came from a working-class background.

‘The Keep it Fringe fund made the difference between me being able to pay people and not lose money. It was also the difference between suffering and making way too many sacrifices to go to the Fringe than not.’

– Elisabeth Gunawan, Unforgettable Girl (Pleasance)

Keep it Fringe 2024 / 2025

Thanks to generous support from UK Government, we have been able to expand the Keep it Fringe fund in 2024 and 2025.

Now, the fund can support 180 shows a year, providing grants of £2,500 per show. Having guaranteed funding over two years also means we can open the fund to artists earlier, helping them make Fringe plans well in advance.

41% of the successful applicants identified as disabled or had a health condition, and more than one in three came from a working-class background.

'The support from Keep it Fringe enabled me to rent accommodation with space for my little girl to come and stay for a couple of days. We took her to the Zoo on our day off and had a blast. The performing arts are really tough for parents and people with caring responsibilities and funds like this just tip it into doable.'

– Rachel E Thorne, Sketch Up (Laughing Horse) 

The future of Keep it Fringe

We want to keep running the Keep it Fringe fund for as long as we can, supporting as many artists as possible.

We need your support to do it.

Please donate whatever you can so we can keep supporting artists to bring their incredible work to the Fringe. Your donation will go direct to Fringe artists.

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