Grant Directories

The Swire Charitable Trust makes grants to charities supporting some of the UK’s most vulnerable people to overcome barriers and realise their potential, and to charities who are protecting the  environment and heritage.

The Castle Studies Trust is a UK based charity which awards funding to individuals and organisations for study and research projects that increase the understanding and knowledge of castles. The Trust will award grants of up to £10,000 (incl. VAT) for projects which will, at first, focus on new work, such as architectural and geophysical surveys, radio-carbon dating, or projects that enhance the general public’s understanding of castles. The funding will cover costs specific to carrying out research and site work, such as travel to and from a castle site, and can be used in conjunction with other funding sources to co-fund large-scale projects.

ChurchCare supports all those in parishes, dioceses and cathedrals caring for their buildings today and for the enjoyment of future generations. Through the Churchyard Structures programme the Church of England provides grants of up to £10,000 for the conservation of individually listed churchyard structures such as tombs, external monuments, grave markers, churchyard walls, railings and gates, in Anglican parish churches in England.

ChurchCare supports all those in parishes, dioceses and cathedrals caring for their buildings today and for the enjoyment of future generations. Through the Bells and Bell Frames programme the Church of England provides grants of up to £10,000 for the conservation of bells and bell frames in Anglican parish churches in England.

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.

The Wolfson Foundation awards grants to support and promote excellence in education, science & medicine, the arts & humanities and health & disability. Through its Funding for Historic Buildings and Landscapes funding stream the Foundation aims to support organisations managing sites of outstanding historic, architectural and cultural significance and that have a clear emphasis on public access and engagement. Grants are awarded towards conservation and restoration work, interpretation, and education spaces.

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.

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 Beaverbrook Foundation is a UK registered charity established in 1954; the foundation supports a variety of causes in the United Kingdom and Canada, including preserving heritage buildings and supporting charitable appeals. The trustees wish to support charities where their funding will make a meaningful difference, and often the most significant grants are the small ones to small organisations. Funding is available to registered charities for capital expenditure; for revenue/running costs and for special projects. The trustees are able to make grants to all faith organisations and are not willing to discriminate against any charity due to its focus on race, nationality, sexual orientation or age.

Historic England is the government’s expert advisory service for England’s historic environment. They give constructive advice to local authorities, owners and the public and champion historic places helping people to understand, value and care for them. Local authorities can apply for funding under the Partnership Schemes in Conservation Areas (PSICA) scheme; these are designed to target funding for the preservation and enhancement of conservation areas. Partnership schemes make grants available to the owners of individual properties, within a conservation area, who want to carry out repairs or other appropriate work which will enhance the area. The PSICA is based on a partnership between Historic England, the Local Authority and other funding bodies.

The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee that promotes the conservation and sustainable re-use of historic buildings at risk for the benefit of the public. The Project Viability Grant (PVG) scheme is intended to be an initial assessment of whether it is viable to bring an at risk building that is listed or in a conservation area and of acknowledged architectural or historic merit back into a sustainable use. In particular it aims to enable not for profit organisations to explore the evidence of need for a suggested use, or uses, for a building and the sustainability of that use, with a view to the likely requirements of grant funders. Grants are available up to £15,000.

The AHF is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee that promotes the conservation and sustainable re-use of historic buildings at risk for the benefit of the public. The Project Development Grant (PDG) scheme is intended to assist not for profit organisations looking to put to beneficial use an at risk building that is listed or in a conservation area and of acknowledged architectural or historic merit. Funding will cover some of the costs of developing and co-ordinating a project and taking it towards the start of work on site and can include a combination of non-recoverable professional fees and project organiser costs. Organisations must have established that the end use of the project is likely to be viable and have decided to take the project forward. Grants are available of up to £20,000.

The Ove Arup Foundations mission is to stimulate and educate those working in the built environment, and particularly to encourage them to develop a wide understanding of the issues and the technologies involved. Its principal focus is within postgraduate and undergraduate education, promoting new thinking and initiatives that are likely to reach a wide audience all around the world. The funding amount is discretionary. Small, one-off donations are occasionally considered for a purpose or activity that the Foundation views as worthwhile in itself. Applications may be submitted at any time

The Idlewild Trust is a grant making organisation that supports registered charities concerned with the encouragement of the performing and fine arts and crafts, the advancement of education within the arts and the preservation for the benefit of the public of lands, buildings and other objects of beauty or historic interest in the United Kingdom. The Trust awards around £140,000 each year in grants and considers making grants of up to £5,000. In 2020 Idlewild Trust awarded 33 grants totalling £128,055, an average of nearly £3,880.

The Marc Fitch Fund makes small grants towards the costs of publishing scholarly work in the fields of British and Irish national, regional and local history, archaeology, antiquarian studies, historical geography, the history of art and architecture, heraldry, genealogy and surname studies, archival research, artefact conservation and the broad fields of the heritage, conservation and the historic environment. It provides funding under a number of schemes: Publication grants - to assist with production costs; Research grants - to cover costs such as travel and accommodation within the UK/Ireland to visit archives; Special Projects Grants - projects that do not fit easily into one of the other categories and Journal digitisation - towards the costs of archaeological and historical societies publishing their journal backlists online. 

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 Sylvia Waddilove Foundation focuses on providing grants to charities CICs and Registered Societies for projects relating to the following purposes: Education (organic farming, animal husbandry, veterinary science, animal welfare and animal surgery); The visual and performing arts; Medical Research; The relief of disability and severe illness; The preservation of buildings of historical or architectural significance; The accommodation of those in need; The skills based training of young people.

The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts is the operating office of 18 grant-making trusts established by three generations of the Sainsbury family. Each trust works autonomously as an independent legal entity with a separate board of trustees, actively led by an individual member of the family.
The Headley Trust Grant funds many areas such as Arts, heritage and conservation projects in the UK of outstanding creative or architectural importance. They are also keen to help with repair work to cathedrals, restoration of buildings and development projects in sub-Saharan Anglophone Africa, and Ethiopia (This is not an exhaustive list, please see website). The amount of funding is discretionary and applications can be submitted at any time.

The Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) promotes the study, preservation and presentation of Britain's industrial heritage. The AIA Restoration grants are available for the restoration of historically, technically, architecturally, and/or archaeologically important industrial buildings, structures, machinery, vehicles and vessels within the UK. To be eligible for funding the heritage asset must be covered by a Conservation Policy and/or Statement; and must be sustainably managed, displayed and interpreted for the public, therefore the public must have full access to the asset. Funding is available for a maximum of £20,000 and can only cover capital expenditure.

Historic England is the public body that looks after England's historic environment, they champion historic places, helping people understand value and care for them. The Regional Capacity Building Programme offers funding for activities and projects which are local or regional in coverage and which promote the understanding, management and conservation of the historic environment. Under this programme, Historic England provides funding for activities and projects that help to reduce or avoid risk to the historic environment.

The Heritage of London Trust runs a grant scheme for the restoration of historic buildings or monuments which are in community or public use of some kind. Buildings do not need to be listed but must be considered of historic or architectural interest. The grants are available for the restoration of specific architectural features on historic or listed buildings and monuments which are in community or public use of some kind. These might include clocks, decorative stonework, monuments and tombs, mosaics, fonts, reredos, or similar historic features that are integral to a building. Applications should be received at least six weeks before the next board meeting.

The Charles Hayward Foundation is a grant-making charitable Trust that makes grants to charities and charitable organisations which are registered in the U.K. The Foundation runs two grants programmes: Main grant programme, this focuses on Social & Criminal Justice, Heritage & Conservation and Overseas (UK registered charities undertaking projects in the Commonwealth countries of Africa) and is aimed at charities with an income of more than £350,000; Small Grant Programme, this focuses on Social & Criminal Justice and Older People and is for charities with an income of less than £350,000.

Benefact Trust makes grants to churches and charities to benefit the people in their local communities across the UK. In 2017, the Trust distributed grants totalling £9.7m, the most the Trust have ever given in a year, which went to a wide range of churches, cathedrals, and charities throughout the British Isles. The Trust particularly welcome applications from less well-off parishes and for projects which benefit mission and help local communities.  Grants will be considered for Churches, Church establishments, religious charities, charities preserving UK heritage, theological colleges, schools promoting Christian religion, charities sponsored or recommended by the Church in the United Kingdom. Grants tend to be made for general works, repairs, refurbishment and the renovation of buildings.

This scheme covers grants for the repair and conservation of some of England's most significant historic buildings, sites and landscapes. Grants are primarily offered for urgent repairs or other work required within two years to prevent loss or damage to important architectural, archaeological or landscape features. Most grants will be conditional upon an agreement to provide public access. The amount of public access required will depend on the circumstances of the case and the size of the grant. Applicants must be organisations or individuals who have a legal responsibility for the repair of a historic building, scheduled monument or designed landscape.

This grant scheme is designed to encourage and support local authorities in the use of their statutory powers to ensure that work urgently necessary for the preservation of a vacant or partly occupied listed building is undertaken. Under this scheme grants are available to assist local authorities both to Serve Urgent Works Notices under Section 54 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 on owners who allow historic buildings to fall into an unacceptable state of decay; and to carry out the work required themselves if necessary. Projects must involve Grade I or II* buildings, Grade II buildings within a conservation area or any listed building in London.

This grant scheme focuses on help to local planning authorities to underwrite the cost of serving a Repairs Notice under sections 47, 48 and 52 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 on historic buildings which have fallen into a serious and dangerous state of decay. Grant eligible expenditure can include the cost of professional services brought in by an authority to enable it to serve Repairs Notices, as well as the acquisition price. As well as funding local authorities to underwrite the cost of serving a Repairs Notice, Historic England can also, in extreme cases, help with the subsequent acquisition of a building if such action, as a last resort, is deemed necessary.