The Purple Guide Grants Scheme celebrates a decade supporting 24 diverse outdoor event projects with £318,000 of funding, April 2025.
The Purple Guide Grants scheme is managed by The Events Industry Forum (EIF), which brings together 32 trade associations involved in the outdoor event sector, committed to supporting, development and wellbeing.
The Forum operates as a not-for-profit organisation, allocating money raised from Purple Guide subscriptions into the Grants programme, to promote and fund projects that help to improve good practice and advancement across the outdoor events industry.
E.I.F. Chair, Steve Heap, stated: “We’re very proud that the Purple Guide Grants have enabled a hugely diverse range of projects to help develop the industry over the past decade. It’s been a pleasure to be part of the team with the (E.I.F.) board, which has been diligent in selecting recipients that reflect a breadth of activities encompassing socio-economic impact practices, research projects, sustainability, welfare and accessibility.
“We hope to continue to help organisations navigate future opportunities and challenges for the betterment of the outdoor events sector.”
The positive impact of 10 years of Purple Guide grants is best seen through comments from some of the recipient projects.
Alex Covell, Interim Head of Live Events Access, Attitude is Everything, stated: “We’re incredibly grateful to EIF for their invaluable support. Thanks to their Purple Guide Grant funding, we’ve made real strides in improving access to festivals and community events.
“We have delivered training to 165 event organisers, contributed new accessibility guidance for the Purple Guide, and built stronger connections across the industry. We were proud to provide our Disability Equality training to 41 community event organisers, around 25% of attendees, empowering them in their roles.
“We also worked with three major festival organisers, allowing us to showcase the importance of our work in the live music sector. I authored the new Purple Guide chapter to set access standards across the industry, covering five key areas including policies, marketing and communication, and production.
“With The Purple Guide Grant investment, we have given confidence to event organisers to create more inclusive experiences for disabled audiences, artists, and workers. We’re excited to keep building on this momentum and look forward to the lasting impact of this work. Thank you for being part of it!”
Emanuela Pagliei, Artistic Director, NEON Performing Arts, said: “The Purple Guide Grant was instrumental in bringing our vision to life. It gave young people—many facing systemic barriers—the tools, confidence and real-world experience to lead a major public event. It has established NEON as a recognised leader in EDI, demonstrating that inclusive, youth-led outdoor events can be powerful agents for change.”
The Power Of Events and Northampton University are the most recent Grant recipients, launching an industry research project, (April 2025), to gather data and feedback about the economic and social impact of the outdoor events industry.
Rick Stainton commented: “The Purple Guide Grant is a vital supporter of so many initiatives and projects across the Outdoor Events and Festival sector that align with our own mission and values – to help them with this essential research project using the Events Industry Insight app is a privilege and our team look forward to working with the EIF board over the coming months.”
The next round of Purple Guide Grants funding applications will close on 1st October 2025.
