On our main grants programme, we generally make grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 per year, for up to three years. Last year our grants ranged from £7,500 to £150,000 and the average grant size was around £97,000. To get an idea of the size of grant we make, take a look at the grants list
on our website or on 360Giving.
Before you apply, please make sure that you have read our funding guidelines carefully to ensure that your organisation is eligible and that your work meets our funding priorities.
In 2022/23, we received 357 applications of which 263 were eligible. 23% of the eligible applications were taken to second stage. Of the 61 applicants invited to submit a full proposal 13 were declined, representing a success rate of 79% at second stage. We look for work that has a high impact and achieves positive change or long-lasting benefits. This may include tried and tested approaches as well as new ways of working.
If you are unsuccessful, we will ask you to wait for one year before you reapply (based on the date the application was submitted). It is therefore important to make the best case you can at the first stage.
You can see a summary of the guidelines for each category in the ‘What we fund’ section, and detailed criteria in our full funding guidelines document.
Preparing and submitting your application
To support with developing your application we have summarised our two-stage application process below. We have also provided a detailed overview of what information we require for both stages here.
Stage 1
1. Please complete a two A4 page proposal using the following headings:
- A brief summary of your organisation’s aims and activities
- How your proposal meets our requirement that the work is of a national significance (explained more here)
- What you would like us to fund and why you are well placed to do this work
- How your proposal fits the criteria for the relevant category you are applying under
2. Ensure you have a copy of your most recent annual accounts to hand.
- You will need to upload a copy of your most recent audited accounts
- If the year-end date of your accounts is more than 10 months ago, we will also ask you to upload your latest management accounts
- If your accounts show a significant surplus or deficit, high or low reserves, we will ask you to provide a brief explanation
3. Create an online account and upload your first stage proposal and financial information.
Please go to our online portal here to create an online account. You can then upload you first stage proposal and financial information.
We make funding decisions throughout the year so you can apply at any time. However, if you are applying to the Museums and Galleries Fund there is an annual deadline and separate application process, so please check our website here for details.
We are committed to diverse, equitable and inclusive practices throughout our grantmaking, and have signed up to the DEI Data Standard. This includes a form that we ask organisations to complete when they submit their online application. These questions are included so we can understand more about your organisation and the people being supported, to help us to understand our applicants and funding better. This information is being used to inform our own monitoring and strategy and will not be used as the basis of individual funding decisions.
Once you have created your online account and uploaded your first stage application you will receive an instant confirmation. We will usually contact you within two weeks to let you know whether your proposal is eligible.
Stage 2
If your application proceeds to second stage, we will ask for a more detailed proposal and additional information. Then we will arrange to meet you to find out more about your work.
At this second stage we aim to make a decision within three months. If your application takes longer we will be in touch.
Application Timelines
Click here for additional information on our application timelines.
You might also be interested in
You should double check that you are not excluded by reading the list below. You can find further details in the FAQs on our website where indicated.
Find out more