Revenue grants of between £90,000 and £300,000 over 3 years are available to UK charitable organisations and social enterprises that recognise and act on the potential of the arts to achieve personal, cultural and social transformation.
This is a revenue grant scheme that aims to support a portfolio of organisations to develop, learn from each other and further explore the potential of art for personal, cultural and social transformation. It wants to:
- Build capacity and resources for culture within historically underfunded communities.
- Explore the role that artists can play in addressing issues of social justice, and
- Create the infrastructure for a more equitable cultural sector.
It is looking to work with organisations for whom these aspirations are central to their vision and mission.
The Arts Fund supports the long-term development and transformation of these organisations as a route towards social justice and sustainability.
The Fund is focused on supporting organisations to become more sustainable and to deepen the impact of their work. This can include:
- Support for specific posts.
- Skills development.
- Underpinning of the strategy or business model, and
- Project delivery which is central to an organisation’s mission and vision.
The Foundation’s definition of ‘arts’ includes crafts, creative writing (including poetry), dance, design, film, music, opera, photography, digital arts and media, theatre and drama, the visual arts and cross-arts practices.
The Arts Fund will support eligible organisations (see list above) who:
- Use their creative practice to help us engage with the complexity of the world around us.
- Centre the lived experience of those affected by injustice in their programmes, leadership and governance.
- Are exploring how values of care, equity and justice can be embedded in their own organisational culture.
- Have a clear sense of their own role in supporting change as part of a wider ecosystem.
- Are generous with their learning and working with other organisations towards mutual aims, and
- Use their creative practice to challenge traditional cultural hierarchies of genre and art form.
Revenue grants of between £90,000 and £300,000 are available for a period of 3 years. A bursary of up to £500 is also available to help organisations apply to the Fund. Grants can cover up to 50% of an organisation’s annual turnover over 3 years, based on their last published audited accounts.
A blog discussing some previously funded projects is provided on the Foundation's website.
The application process is as follows:
Complete the online first stage application form, which opens on Monday 4 November 2024 with a deadline of Friday 31 January 2025 at 12pm (midday). If applicants have an organisational business plan and budget, they are asked to include it with the first stage application form.
All applicants are expected to receive a decision on their first stage application by Monday 31 March 2025, although this may vary depending on the volume of applications that the Arts Fund receives.
For applications that progress to the second round, the Foundation will make contact to arrange an conversation at a convenient time between April and June 2025 and request any additional information it needs. The Foundation will send applicants questions for the conversation in advance, and only request additional information that they already have and use.
It is anticipated that final decisions on grant awards will be announced by the end of June/beginning of July 2025.
The Foundation is likely to schedule one or more online Question and Answer sessions once the Fund opens in early November. Please check its website for updates.
Further information, guidance and details about how to apply to the Fund is available on the Foundation’s website.