I would argue that English trad music is 'native minority' rather than 'ethnic' but that's being picky I suppose. Still, it carves you out a separate niche ...

Many many people and groups are successful in playing the grant game in Britain. The Feis movement and the Plockton High School Centre of Excellence in Scotland are publically funded. Most of the traditional arts get 'some' level of funding in Wales - although admittedly not a patch on other art forms.

One problem is that people don't sit down and think laterally about funding opportunities. You DO have to have a well thought out programme, and one that hits the targets of the public bodies, but that isn't always difficult. Also, Arts Councils aren't the only sources of funds: National Lottery (Heritage, Community, etc apart from Arts), Local Authorities, Tourist Board(s), Training and Enterprise Councils, etc. I'm not saying that they're easy, but there are ways ...

Of course, a lot depends on where you live.

sian