OUDS Funding
Who are we?
OUDS is an umbrella term for all things Oxford University student drama. We are essentially two entities in one:
1) We encompass all student production companies and,
2) We act as a funding body, providing pro rata loans to enable student drama to occur.
This section of the website concerns the latter.
What does a ‘pro rata’ loan mean?
‘Pro rata’ is quite simply a fancy way to describe the dividing of a whole amount into equal portions, based on the share of the whole amount.
In practical terms that means we ask that repayments are our money back + the % we make up of your funding. For example, if we give you £100 and make up 10% of your funding, we would get back our £100 + 10% profits. However, if a loss is made, we would minus a percentage of your loss, rather than demand all our money back. The purpose of these loans is to reduce the burden of financial risk on one student production company, whilst also ensure the viability of future financial support for OUDS productions in years to come.
When can you apply?
OUDS loans do not have any set deadlines. This means you can apply for funding at any time, all year round. Usually, the treasurer will put out funding calls at the end or very start of each term, to remind people of this possible funding source.
At the beginning or end of each term, the treasurer will highlight OUDS as a funding body and direct applicants towards the ‘Funding Provocations’ document, as found both at the end of this page, and on our applications page.
A form of deadline may be temporarily introduced for efficiency and to help the general organisational purposes for the treasurer and president when there is a high concentration of applications within a short time frame. However, these deadlines are flexible and missing these deadlines will by no means stop applications being considered. Missing these deadlines may cause a slight delay in when your bid meeting will occur when this high concentration of applications is being considered, but this is purely due to the timetables of committee members being Oxford students themselves.
What do you need to be considered?
Firstly, no application will ever be rejected purely on grounds of a technicality. We, the treasurer and president, are here to help guide production companies to put together a strong bid that aligns with our ethos and commitment to the society.
1. To be a registered production company under OUDS.
2. A production company email address from which communications will occur between you and the committee
3. A production company bank account - we will require any loans received to be under a production company bank account (so we will not send money to a personal bank account). These are easy to set up, but may take a bit of time, so start the process early if you wish to get a loan next term. This committee suggests a Monzo account or similar.
4. Bid documents as detailed below.
How can you apply?
To apply four main documents are required:
A bid – To find guidance in the specifics in how to put together a bid document please see this page on how to apply.
A budget - The template for a budget is linked at the end of this page, and on our application page. Just put your figures in, following the guidance on that page.
A copy of the script - this is only needed if the show is a piece of new writing. This is to ensure the script we may support is not a welfare concern from our end.
A risk assessment - this is quite simply just a list of all things that might put someone at risk of harm, the likelihood of it happening, and the severity of the harm that might be caused.
These documents can either be submitted on the OUDS website on this application page or emailed to BOTH [email protected] AND [email protected].
What happens next?
After your application has been received by the treasurer and president, the treasurer will be in contact via the production company email. Here, the email will confirm receiving all required documents, the amount you have requested, and a suggested time for a bid meeting.
What happens in a bid meeting?
A bid meeting is a 15-minute (or so) meeting between 2+ members of the production team (usually producer and director) and the OUDS treasurer and president. If either of these committee members are involved within the project, appropriate alternative executive committee members will step in instead.
For convenience, usually these meetings occur via Zoom, however in-person meetings are also a possibility.
Within this meeting, the president will discuss the artistic and directorial visions for the project with you, whilst the treasurer will go through any concerns or questions surrounding the budget provided. The treasurer or president will make notes during this meeting to inform the rest of the committee of what was mentioned during this meeting – so please don’t be alarmed if you hear some typing (it is not them being rude!)
These meetings are not intended to be an interview, but a collaborative space to share advice, suggestions, or concerns, surrounding either the project, the budget or conflicts with the by-laws/welfare manifesto.
What happens next?
After this bid meeting has occurred, your bid documents and the minutes from the meeting are shared with the committee, who will then vote on whether your project will be given a loan. During this process, the financial viability of the project, in addition to how the project aligns with our ethos as a society, will be considered.
If your project is approved via this voting process, then a contract will be sent to you within a confirmation email.
This contract includes:
1. Decided amount to the loan
2. The % this loan makes us of your total budget (to inform the pro rata rate)
3. The project dates and location
4. Contact details of the production team
5. The signatures of the director and producer (you and your team), and of the treasurer
6. Your production company bank account details
7. The current OUDS bank account details
8. An agreed date for loan repayment
Following the return of this contract, the agreed upon amount will be sent to your production company bank account.
If, unfortunately, the committee decides to not accept your application, then you will receive an email stating this fact in a timely manner.
Still have questions?
If you have any concerns, questions, or would like further guidance, please contact the treasurer via [email protected].
No question is too big or too small – we understand that this process may appear confusing, but we are here to help and guide you to the best of our ability!