The Topic, for which I do the website, has, as far as I'm aware, only had one subsidy in recent years. This was capped, and only payable in the event the door take did not reach the guaranteed minimum for one specific act. It was part of Yorkshire Arts' Musicians in Residence scheme, and required either the line "This project has received funding from Arts Council England" or the ACE logo on all relevant publicity and the website. But it was a one-off.

As per the Topic website FAQ (so I'm not giving away any big secrets), all the door take on a guest night goes to the headline act/s. Money in, money out - none of the take goes to running the club, so raising the ticket price by £1 would benefit the artists, not the club. (Singers' and musicians' nights - singarounds - are free entry).

All club costs - publicity, making up minimum guarantees &c - are paid from annual membership fees and the raffle income, though of course there are considerable individual contributions of unpaid time and services (eg, donation of raffle prizes) by club members. The club room isn't rented, which helps; the idea is the audience (and musicians) will boost the host pub's bar take by £000s over the year.

So in answer to Northerner's questions, yes, a rent-free venue and a raffle would be good starts for the circle you're concerned about. As mentioned in the December Newsletter the Topic managed to record a small surplus last year with this setup (plus membership fees). What would be hard for a club like the Topic would be a succession of relatively high profile/expensive acts where the door take fell far short of the minimum guarantee, which would mean soaking up any surpluses built up and chomping into individuals' pockets.