Esmee Fairbairn Foundation: Museum and Heritage Collections

Overview

The Foundation continues to have a broader interest in strengthening the heritage sector through their Main Fund, which will continue to build on previous work that has supported museums and other heritage organisations with grants towards staffing, exhibitions and skills development.

The Museum & Heritage Collections strand will specifically build on their previous collections work, which has supported museums and other heritage organisations with grants towards curatorial work, conservation and collections management.

The strand complements previous schemes such as the Regional Museums Initiative which aimed to improve access to and understanding of collections by encouraging the research and development of ambitious exhibition programmes. It also complements on-going support to projects such as the Museums Association’s Effective Collections programme, funded by the Foundation, which aims to make more effective use of the nation’s collections by encouraging long loans and a more active approach to disposals.

The aim to support collections work including research, documentation and conservation that is outside the scope of an organisation’s core resources.

• The budget is £3million over three years from 2008, subject to annual review.
• The strand will be able to make grants of up to £100,000.

Priority will be given to proposals that have one or more of the following characteristics:

• They are interested in supporting collections work that is difficult to fund from core or other sources, or is in need of partnership funding
• They are interested in supporting work at an early stage of development, where wider programmes such as education and exhibitions cannot yet be fully developed
• They are interested in supporting proposals where it may be difficult to guarantee tangible outcomes
• They are also interested in proposals that have the potential to share knowledge with other organisations through partnership working or dissemination
• Proposals must be for time-limited projects of up to three years.

How to Apply

Applicants should complete a First Stage Application, clearly marked "Application to the Museum and Heritage Collections Strand" at the top of each page, comprising:

a) a form. Download an electronic version of the form.

b) a short statement summarising what you would like to do and why on no more than two sides of A4, using a font no smaller than 12-point. Please use the following headings:

• A brief description of your organisation and its track record
• What you would like us to fund
• Why you want to do this work
• How the project meets the criteria of the Museum & Heritage Collections strand
• How much the project would cost and how much you are asking Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for
• Additional information that could advance your application.

c) a copy of your organisation's most recent accounts (or a budget for the current year if your organisation is new, or the appropriate departmental budget if you are a local authority).

d) your organisation's constitution (if you are not a registered charity, with the exception of local authorities).