Funding Guidelines

We offer grants in two areas: performing arts and conservation.

As trustees we meet three times each year and at each meeting have an allocation of around £30,000 for performing arts projects and £30,000 for conservation projects.

We will consider offering grants up to £5,000 but, because of demand, £5,000 grants are exceptional. In 2019 we received 302 applications and awarded 84 grants totalling £175,300. The average grant was £2,000.

Performing Arts

Our priorities for music, theatre and dance are:

  • Excellence in professional performance;
  • The production and performance of new work;
  • The development of young, professional artists aged 18 or over.

We aim to achieve a broad balance between music, theatre and dance projects, and take into account the number and location of the audiences and/or individuals likely to benefit.

We do not normally fund:  

  • projects that will commence less than six weeks from the published date of the decision meeting concerned
  • amateur/non-professional performance
  • general arts programmes submitted without specific details of activities and events
  • training and development projects aimed at under 18 year-olds
  • projects with the primary purpose of health, therapy or social welfare
  • visual arts projects
  • capital developments at arts venues or purchase of equipment
  • recording projects

Conservation

We support the conservation of historic objects, collections and features of buildings and designed landscapes which are pre-Victorian in date, i.e. pre-1830s.

In the case of churches, we will consider supporting the conservation of items such as monuments, wall paintings, stained glass, and historic furniture and fittings.

We prefer to give grants to smaller projects, or specific elements of projects, where our contribution can have a greater impact.

Projects may include conservation surveys and preventive measures as well as remedial work, and we will consider grants towards the acquisition of items for collections.

We do not normally fund:

  • structural repairs to buildings;
  • new buildings or the installation of modern facilities and services;
  • general appeals for funding without details of specific, eligible works
  • displays and exhibitions;
  • general heritage education, outreach and audience development projects;
  • organ conservation, unless instruments are substantially pre-1830s in date and the aim is to conserve an original action and casework;
  • bell restoration projects, unless the bells and their fittings are substantially pre-1830s in date and the aim is to conserve these as far as possible, consistent with safe use.

We are unable to fund:

  • Buildings and objects in private ownership;
  • Schools and school buildings;
  • Natural environment and wildlife projects;
  • Health, medical or social welfare projects;
  • Projects promoting religion.