Grant Directories

The Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund provides financial support for short-term loans of significant artworks and artefacts to regional and smaller museums in the UK. The programme aims to enhance public access to high-profile objects and strengthen relationships between museums. This initiative broadens museum collections' appeal, fosters institutional partnerships, and brings long-lasting benefits to borrowers, lenders, and audiences. Main grants range from £5,000 to £35,000, with smaller grants up to £5,000 for research and development activities.

The National Archives are a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. The Resilience Grants programme provides grants of up to £20,000 to support the archive sector in developing sustainable solutions that enable change and create stronger organisations. The programme will support archives to become adaptable, resilient, and sustainable by helping them to effectively respond to change and contribute to communities and the economy.

The Scottish Library and Information Council offers leadership focus and support to the Scottish library and information sector, co-ordinating and promoting national service developments to benefit Scotland’s people and enrich our cultural, educational and economic landscape. The Innovation and Development Fund supports pioneering library projects throughout Scotland which link to SLIC's strategic objectives. The Fund is ideal for projects and activities which encourage creative service delivery and development, including the creation of new resources, research and staff training. Previous awards have included the creation of pop-up maker spaces, new library collections and health and wellbeing projects.

The Scottish Library and Information Council offers leadership focus and support to the Scottish library and information sector, co-ordinating and promoting national service developments to benefit Scotland’s people and enrich the cultural, educational and economic landscape. Through the Public Library Improvement Fund the council plays a key role in helping public library services achieve the sustainable vision set out in Forward: Scotland's Public Library Strategy 2021-2025. Applications will be considered for a range of activities including: Research; Impact Analysis; External Project Managers/Facilitators; Service Development; Project specific staff training; Partnership working; The creation of new resources or services; Preparation of good practice guides

The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe aims to ensure that Jewish culture and heritage are actively supported, valued and looked after for generations to come. Through the Museums Language Grant programme the foundation provides funding of up to £2,000 to enable Jewish heritage professionals to take an online course in Hebrew or any Jewish language (e.g. Yiddish, Judeo-Spanish).  This opportunity is open to professionals working in a Jewish heritage institution (museum, library, archive, NGO, etc.) to enable them to take an online course in a Jewish language that can help them grow in their professional capacity. The course must be administered by an institution, whether university, community centre or language school, and must deliver a certificate of attendance.

The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe aims to ensure that Jewish culture and heritage are actively supported, valued and looked after for generations to come. Through the Museums Travel Grants programme the foundation provides funding of up to £1,000 to support a museum professional working in a Jewish museum or with a European Jewish collection to attend a conference, participate in a seminar or conduct a specific site visit within Europe. The grant may support some travel, accommodation and conference fee.

The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe aims to ensure that Jewish culture and heritage are actively supported, valued and looked after for generations to come. Through the Museums Expert Visit programme the foundation provides grants for a museum or heritage institution to receive the visit of an independent expert to help assess a collection, conservation needs, and digital strategies; give curatorial advice for new exhibitions or displays; or provide other sorts of professional guidance. The expert visit is designed to help the heritage institution make sound choices according to its location, size, collection, purpose, and target audience, and enhance the documentation, preservation, and visibility of its Jewish heritage.

The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe aims to ensure that Jewish culture and heritage are actively supported, valued and looked after for generations to come. Through the Museums Travelling exhibition programme the foundation provides grants of up to £75,000 to enable a European museum to rent a temporary exhibition (currently on display or a previous exhibition) of Jewish interest from another European museum (this excludes Israel and North America), to cover (some of) the following: loan fee, insurance, transportation, translation, staff visits, and design adaptations.

The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe aims to ensure that Jewish culture and heritage are actively supported, valued and looked after for generations to come. Through the Museums Temporary Exhibition programme the foundation provides grants of up to £75,000 to enable a European museum to create a new temporary exhibition of Jewish interest using items from its own collection, with the intent of renting it to other museums later on. The grant would cover (some of) the following: research, conservation, purchase of equipment, design, and loan costs.

The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe aims to ensure that Jewish culture and heritage are actively supported, valued and looked after for generations to come. Through the Museums Core Exhibition programme the foundation provides grants of up to £75,000 per year (maximum of two years) for new museums developing their core exhibition or for existing museums revamping their core exhibition. Funds are available for curating the exhibition, the acquisition of professional equipment, exhibition building and design, as well as outside consultants. Funds are not available for building renovations, new buildings or operational costs. 

The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe aims to ensure that Jewish culture and heritage are actively supported, valued and looked after for generations to come. Through the Museums Collection Management programme the foundation provides grants of up to £75,000 to support the conservation and/or preservation of individual objects, groups of objects, or the improvement of conservation and/or preservation programmes through the purchase of supplies and equipment, including security measures, insurance, and temperature and humidity controls. Grants are available to museums wishing to develop better and more accessible inventory of collections, particularly digitisation, online cataloguing and other technology-based improvements. 

The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe aims to ensure that Jewish culture and heritage are actively supported, valued and looked after for generations to come. Through the Archives and Libraries Digital Humanities Resource Development and Enhancement programme the foundation provides funding for the digitisation and transcription of Jewish archival or library collections, as well as the creation of accompanying metadata, using techniques such as OCR, TEI, or Linked Open Data. Collections may contain documentary, as well as audio-visual, photographic or born-digital materials. Eligible costs include additional staff hours for the creation, processing and indexing of digital materials, the ongoing development of projects’ technical architecture, equipment costs (no more than 35% of the overall budget), and travel for project partners to meet. 

The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe aims to ensure that Jewish culture and heritage are actively supported, valued and looked after for generations to come. Through the Professional Development Language Grant programme the foundation provides funding of up to £2,000 to enable Jewish heritage professionals to take an online course in Hebrew or any Jewish language (e.g. Yiddish, Judeo-Spanish). The course must be administered by an institution, whether university, community centre or language school, and must deliver a certificate of attendance.

The Arts & Culture Impact Fund brings together public, private and charitable funding to provide affordable repayable finance to the UK’s arts, culture and heritage organisations able to demonstrate measurable positive social impact. The funding could be used, among other things, to acquire new assets, improve built infrastructure, develop new ventures or scale up existing revenue streams.

VisitScotland is the national tourism organisation for Scotland with the aim of contributing significantly to the advancement of Scottish tourism.   Through the Winter Festivals programme VisitScotland aims to bring together communities and visitors from all over the world to celebrate Scotland’s heritage, traditions and modern culture through the best of Scottish music, food and drink, arts and entertainment.

The Wellcome Trust is a research charity that funds research to improve human and animal health. The Trust supports both biomedical research and research into the public understanding of science. Through the Research Resource Awards in Humanities and Social Science programme the Trust helps collection and information professionals develop library and archive material for humanities and social science researchers.

The Wolfson Foundation awards grants to support and promote excellence in education, science & medicine, the arts & humanities and health & disability. Through its Funding for Public Engagement with Science Organisations funding stream the Foundation aims to support organisations that are in possession of significant scientific or natural history collections to improve public engagement with science through projects related to the history of science. Grants are generally awarded towards refurbishing or creating new galleries and, occasionally, education and learning spaces.

The Wolfson Foundation awards grants to support and promote excellence in education, science & medicine, the arts & humanities and health & disability. Through its Funding for Museums and Galleries funding stream the Foundation aims to support organisations undertaking projects to improve the display and interpretation of nationally significant collections for the public. Grants are generally awarded towards refurbishing or creating new galleries and, occasionally, education and learning spaces.

The Wolfson Foundation awards grants to support and promote excellence in education, science & medicine, the arts & humanities and health & disability. Through its Funding for Libraries and Archives funding stream the Foundation aims to support organisations caring for nationally significant collections and which have a clear emphasis on public access and engagement. Grants are generally awarded towards collection storage facilities and research, education or interpretation spaces.

Museums can apply for grants of between £15,000 to £50,000 (or up to £60,000 for museums caring for Recognised Collections for projects relating to those collections) for projects which will help your museum to make strategic steps towards becoming more resilient organisations in line with the aims of the National Strategy.  Funding is available for discrete projects that are additional to, or will help Museums to strategically develop their core work.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund uses money raised by players of the National Lottery to fund projects that connect people and communities to the national, regional and local heritage of the UK. This could include oral history; cultural traditions; nature; natural and designed landscapes; community archaeology; historic buildings, monuments and environments; collections of objects, books or documents in museums, libraries or archives; etc. Funding is available for repairs and conservation, digital technology, new staff posts, paid training placements and professional fees. Grants range from £3,000 to £5,000,000.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund uses money raised by players of the National Lottery to fund projects that connect people and communities to the national, regional and local heritage of the UK. This could include oral history; cultural traditions; nature; natural and designed landscapes; community archaeology; historic buildings, monuments and environments; collections of objects, books or documents in museums, libraries or archives; etc.  Grants range from £3,000 to £5,000,000.

The Association of Independent Museums supports independent museums, galleries and heritage organisations in the UK. The AIM Collections Care Grant Scheme which is funded by the Pilgrim Trust has been set up to help small museums develop a more sustainable approach to the conservation and management of their collections through improvements to collections care within their museum. Grants may enable museums to receive tailored, specialist advice about care of collections, equipment to implement that advice, training of staff or volunteers to use new equipment. The maximum grant available is £10,000.

The Association of Independent Museums support and champion independent museums, galleries and heritage organisations in the UK. The AIM Training Grants Programme helps to support member museums in developing the skills and expertise of their staff and trustees. Grants of up to £300 are available for course fees, conferences, museum study visits and mentoring placements. Priority will be given to smaller museums receiving fewer than 20,000 visitors per year. Funding can be used for fees, accommodation and travel costs

The Association of Independent Museums support and champion independent museums, galleries and heritage organisations in the UK. The Collection Care Audits programme is designed to enable small museums to undertake a basic professional collections care audit. Audits will be carried out by an accredited conservator to help smaller AIM members identify key issues and priorities for their museum. Funded by the Pilgrim Trust, the scheme will support museums to care for their collections more effectively and efficiently in the long-term, to meet the standards required for Accreditation and will give museums the option to undertake an audit before making a full application to the AIM Collections Care Grant Scheme. The funded support will be £1,200 plus travel and VAT if necessary to cover the costs of the accredited conservator undertaking the audit

The Foyle Foundation is an independent grantmaking trust that distributes grants to UK charities. It provides grants primarily in the areas of Arts and Learning. The Main Grants Scheme - Learning programme supports charities with projects that facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and which have a long term strategic impact. Key areas for support are: libraries, museums and archives; special educational needs; projects that encourage sustainability by reducing overheads or which help generate additional revenue. Examples of previous funding include: Imperial War Museum - redevelopment of First World War galleries; Lakeland Arts Trust, Kendal - replacement facilities for the Windermere Steamboat Museum and re-open it to the public. The majority of grants will be in the range of £10,000 to £50,000.

The Funding for Museums and Galleries programme aims to support museums and galleries undertaking projects to improve the display and interpretation of nationally significant collections for the public. Grants are generally awarded towards refurbishing or creating new galleries and, occasionally, education and learning spaces. Funding of up to £500,000 is available to registered or exempt charities (or equivalent) or local authorities. The project should aim to produce one or more of the following outcomes: Excellent interpretation of permanent collections of national significance; Better public engagement with and understanding of collections; Increased numbers of visitors to museums and galleries; Improved future sustainability of the organisation; Conservation of architectural heritage.

Founded in 1995, the Iranian Heritage Foundation is a non-political charity that aims to protect and promote Iranian cultural heritage. Concerned with the history, language and culture of Iran the objectives of the Foundation are pursued by encouraging and supporting top quality research and activities concerned with Iranian cultural heritage.  Support is given to academic projects and may include; archaeology; history; language. Grants of £500 to £3,000 may be available for research, travel, conferences, workshops and publications.  Priority is given to first time applicants.

The Leche Trust is a grant making charity that provides funding in the following areas: Historic buildings - the repair and conservation of buildings, artefacts and important historic gardens of the Georgian period or earlier; Church furnishings - the conservation of church features and furnishings of the Georgian and earlier periods, including monuments, tombs, wall paintings, historically-important glass, and furniture and fittings such as pulpits, fonts and pews; Museums and other institutions with historic collections - the conservation and acquisition of items for historic collections, with preference given to objects of the Georgian period or earlier; Arts - projects that promote excellence in professional performance in music, dance and theatre, with particular emphasis on new works. Under a separate programme, Trustees also provide hardship grants to Overseas PhD Students.

The Clore Duffield Foundation is a grant making charity which concentrates its support on cultural learning, creating learning spaces within arts and heritage organisations, leadership training for the cultural and social sectors, social care and enhancing Jewish life. Through its main grants programme, the Foundation makes grants of between £10,000 to in excess of £1 million to registered charities; the majority of support under this programme is directed towards the cultural sector. Funding is available for capital re-developments as well as project, programme and revenue funding. There is no deadline for the Main Grants Programme and applications are accepting on a rolling basis.

Museums, Galleries Scotland acts as the Scottish Executive's main adviser on non-national museums and is the main channel of Executive support for Scotland's local museums and galleries. Grants are available through a number of investment programmes to help Museums to develop in line with the National Strategy. Museums, Galleries Scotland want to invest in projects and initiatives that align with their vision for a welcoming museums and galleries sector that opens doors and celebrates collections, inspiring creativity, learning and enjoyment for all.

Any UK public collection accredited with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) may apply to the Art Fund for a grant to help purchase items including paintings, sculpture, coins, costumes, decorative arts, furniture, and installations dating from antiquity to the present day. The Art Fund will usually fund part of the cost of an acquisition, with the remaining funds coming from your own or other resources. In exceptional circumstances the Art Fund will provide 100% funding. The funding available ranges from a few hundred pounds to over £100,000 and falls under the following grant schemes: Main Grants; Small Grants; Auctions.