Possible Funding Sources For Arts, Culture and Heritage

11th May 2010

ARTS, CULTURE & HERITAGE
The information provided here was compiled by Jeannie Graham, External Funding manager for Education, Culture and Sport, Highland Council.

BRIT TRUST
The BRIT Trust is funded by the UK music industry and supports the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre. However, it has some funding available for new projects which meet its mission statement - to encourage young people in the exploration and pursuit of educational, cultural or therapeutic benefits emanating from music. Funding is not available for individuals, or for scholarships or for capital projects. Potential applicants should complete the form on the Trust's website to find out if their project is one which might be of interest. More information: http://www.brittrust.co.uk/main.php?section=funding&subsection=grantapp

CINEMA EQUIPMENT GRANTS
Grants of up to £5k are available for small scale cinema equipment and venue improvements to allow programmes of screenings in remote, rural, costal or other non-metropolitan locations. Grants are intended to fill gaps in provision and raise the quality of cinema screening presentations. It is anticipated that most awards will be in the region of £2k - £3k. Commercial organisations are not eligible to apply. There is a two stage application process: the deadline date for Stage 1 applications is 14th June and the deadline for Stage 2 applications is 2nd July.
More information http://www.cinemaconsultant.co.uk/funding.html

CONNECTIONS THROUGH CULTURE
Connections through Culture is a British Council programme which aims to support collaborative working between the UK and India in the arts. Arts producers or representatives of arts organisation in the UK or India can apply if there is a clear commitment from a producer or organisation in the other country. Grants of between £500 and £5k are available for exchange visits, development of ideas or showcasing events. More information http://www.britishcouncil.org/india-arts-connectionsthruculture.htm


FESTIVALS AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
The final deadline date for Regional Screen Scotland's Festivals and Audience Development Grants for events taking place between 1st July 2010 and 31st March 2011 is 17th May. Grants of up to £5k are available to help groups provide a public film festival or for audience development activities.
More information: http://www.cinemaconsultant.co.uk/funding.html

MUSICIANS BENEVOLENT FUND YOUNG TALENT AWARDS
The Musicians Benevolent Fund provides grants to help young musicians with one of the following:- the cost of buying an instrument; music lessons with a private teacher; fees for a Saturday music centre; travel expenses to attend a Saturday music centre. Grants of between £200 and £1k are available to young people under 18 or those about to enter their first year of university of college. Awards are available for young people who are in financial need and who can demonstrate a high level of musical achievement. The deadline date for applications is 11th June.
More information: www.mbf.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=schoolageinstrumentalists

NAN BURSARIES
NAN (Networking Artists' Network) provides bursaries of up to £500 to support exchange visits between artists' groups and networks within the UK and abroad (funding is not available for individual artists). There are 3 application rounds each year and applications for the next round must be submitted by 1st June.
More information http://www.a-n.co.uk/nan/topic/473133

NEW ARTS SPONSORSHIP GRANTS
The New Arts Sponsorship grants aim to increase the number of businesses sponsoring the arts in Scotland. Arts and Business Scotland administers this Scottish government scheme under which arts organisations receive £1 for every £1 of eligible business sponsorship they attract. Sums of between £1k and £30k are available for both arts activities and capital developments. A range of organisations are eligible including public bodies where support for the arts is outside their normal sphere of activity (local authorities are not eligible). More information:
http://www.aandb.org.uk/Scotland/Arts-services/New%20Arts%20Sponsorship.aspx

OLD POSSUM'S PRACTICAL TRUST
Old Possum's Practical Trust provides grants of between £500 and £5k for projects which aim to increase knowledge and appreciation of any matters of historic, artistic, architectural, aesthetic, literary, musical or theatrical interest. Grants are more likely to be given for projects that involve: -
• children or young people
• disabled or disadvantaged people
• communities
The initial step is to complete an on-line application form which is available on the website http://www.old-possums-practical-trust.org.uk/page.cfm?pageid=300

PRS FOR MUSIC FOUNDTION
PRS for Music Foundation provides a range of grants to support music creators, performers and promoters involved in creative, adventurous or pioneering musical activity. It does this by offering a wide range of funding schemes. Each scheme has its own criteria, eligibility rules and application processes. The average level of grant is in the region of £3k. More information http://www.prsformusicfoundation.com/funding/index.htm

QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOLARSHIP TRUST
The Trust makes awards up to £15k craftsmen and women to help them develop their careers. Potential applicants must be permanent UK residents with a high level of skill and commitment to their craft or trade. There is no age limit and awards have been made to a wide range of crafts and trades - from stonemasons to blacksmiths and from textile designers to landscape artists. There are two application rounds each year and the next opportunity to apply is 28th May. More information http://www.qest.org.uk/

RACLIFFE TRUST
The Radcliffe Trust provides music and heritage and craft grants of between £1k and £5k to registered charities based in the UK. Music grants are available for project which support classical music performance and training and in particular chamber music, composition and music education. Heritage and craft awards are mainly available to projects which help retain or develop heritage and craft skills such as building conservation or traditional creative crafts. There are two application rounds each year. More information http://www.theradcliffetrust.org/index.asp?ID=231

SCOTTISH ARTS COUNCIL DEADLINE DATES
The Scottish Arts Council (SAC) provides grants for across a wide spectrum of art forms - craft, dance, drama, literature, music, visual arts. Although funding is available for both individuals and organisations it is targeted to support specific areas. SAC has recently provided up-dated information about the funding that is available in 2010/2011. If you are considering applying to SAC it is worth checking the details of the individual grant schemes particularly as some of them have application deadline dates in June. For an overview of what is available from SAC and for information about the individual schemes http://www.scottisharts.org.uk/1/funding/apply.aspx