If you need funding to help you care for or provide access to your collections, there are a number of grants that you can apply for including:
MDEM Collections Access Fund 2015-18
Organisations that are Accredited or listed with Arts Council England (ACE) as ‘working towards Accreditation’ can apply to MDEM for a collections access grant of between £100-£1,500 for activities that improve access to their collections. The grant can fund training costs, purchase of conservation, documentation or storage materials and equipment, costs of working with collections specialists/conservators over a defined period of time or improving collections interpretation. Further information about the Collections Access Fund can be found at https://mdem.org.uk/support-grants/grants/collections-access/#.VZ4e4flViko
Please contact the Regional Collections Adviser, Anita Hollinshead, on anitahollinshead@hotmail.com if you would like to discuss an application to the Collections Access Fund. This is a rolling programme and applications can be made at any time.
AIM Conservation Grants
Organisations that are members of the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) can apply to the AIM Conservation Grant Scheme and/or the AIM Preventive Conservation Grant Scheme. Organisations applying for an AIM Conservation or Preventive Conservation Grant must also be Accredited or ‘working towards Accreditation’ and have fewer than 60,000 visitors or a turnover of less than £300,000 per year.
For both grant schemes the maximum grant awarded will be £10,000 and the average grant awarded is around £5,000. The deadlines for applying for either of the AIM Conservation Grants are the 30th September 2015, 31st March 2016 and 30th September 2016.
The AIM Conservation Grant Scheme funds the practical or ‘remedial’ conservation of objects by a professional conservator including their labour, materials and transport costs. The work should be carried out by a conservator chosen from the ICON register http://www.conservationregister.com/ unless there are exceptional circumstances. Further information at http://www.aim-museums.co.uk/content/aim_conservation_grant_scheme/
The AIM Preventive Conservation Grant Scheme helps small museums to develop a more sustainable approach to the conservation and management of their collections through improvements to ‘preventive’ conservation on site. Under this scheme, AIM will consider supporting environmental surveys, professional advice, training for volunteers, environmental monitoring and control equipment, ultraviolet filters, integrated pest management, display cases and picture framing, storage containers and packing materials and the development of emergency plans. Further information at http://www.aim-museums.co.uk/content/aim_preventive_conservation_grant_scheme/
PRISM (Preservation of Industrial and Scientific Materials) Fund 2015/16
The PRISM Fund 2015/16 is now open for applications. All Accredited museums are eligible, except national organisations that are funded directly through central government and ACE advises potential applicants to contact them on prism@artscouncil.org.uk beforehand to discuss their project in more detail.
PRISM is managed by Arts Council England (ACE) and awards grants towards the costs of acquisition and conservation of science, technology and industry artefacts. The fund covers England and Wales and offers grants from £500 to £20,000. The maximum grant that can be awarded is up to 90% of eligible project costs. Applications can be submitted at any time of the year and ACE aims to give a decision within two months of receiving them.
Further information at http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-funding/apply-for-funding/prism/
Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund
The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund is run by the Museums Association and focuses on time-limited collections work outside the scope of an organisation’s core resources. Organisations can apply for sums between £20,000 and £100,000. Since it started in 2011, the programme has funded 51 projects in a range of different types and sizes of museum
Projects that are eligible to apply to the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund include research into collections, conservation, collections reviews and initiatives to develop the use of collections.
The next deadline for initial applications is 10 September 2015, this is the first part of a two stage application process. If you have an idea for a project, please contact Sally Colvin on sally@museumassociation.org for an informal discussionand advice on developing an application. Further information and case studies of successful projects at http://www.museumsassociation.org/collections/18022011-esmee-fairbairn-collections-fund
Kathy Callow Trust
The Kathy Callow Trust awards grants to small museums to assist with the costs of conservation projects, which might include an exhibition, improving stored collections or running workshops for people working with museums. The total sum available each year is approximately £1,000 and grant aid is restricted to smaller museums and galleries with an annual gross revenue expenditure of less than £600,000. Applications can be made at any time.
The Trustees particularly welcome applications on the following aspects of social history conservation: the disadvantaged in society, women, the sea, industrialisation, and small localities. Further information at http://www.museumsassociation.org/funding/kathy-callow-trust
The Leche Trust
The Leche Trust offers grants to charitable trusts for assistance with conservation, preservation of buildings and their contents and preservation of rural England and the landscape.
The Trustees will consider supporting the repair and conservation of buildings, artefacts and important historic gardens of the Georgian period or earlier. They are inclined to give grants to smaller projects, or specific elements of projects, where their contribution can make a greater impact.
The Trustees support the conservation and acquisition of items for historic collections, with preference given to objects of the Georgian period or earlier. Conservation projects may include surveys and assessments, remedial work and the cost of meeting specialist conservation requirements for display, including picture frames, cases etc.
The trustees meet three times a year in February, June and October to review applications received. The deadlines for receipt of applications are 20th December, 20th April and 20th August annually. Further information at http://www.lechetrust.org/
Daphne Bullard Trust
The Daphne Bullard Trust awards grants of between £300 and £1,000 for projects aimed at the conservation or display of dress or textiles where there is a long-term material benefit to a collection or project. The Trust considers applications from museums and galleries, conservators and students engaged in the conservation and study of dress and textiles of any period and their display.
Further information at http://www.museumsassociation.org/funding/daphne-bullard-trust
