Arts, Culture & Heritage628+ Funders

Arts, Culture & Heritage Grants & Funding

There are 628 UK funders offering grants for arts, culture & heritage charities, with typical awards from £100 to £1,150,000.

The UK has a rich ecosystem of arts, culture, and heritage funding. Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland provide public funding, while a wide network of trusts and foundations supports independent arts organisations and creative projects. Grants range from core funding for established cultural institutions to small project awards for emerging artists and community arts groups. Heritage funding covers historic buildings, archives, museums, oral history, and intangible cultural heritage. The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and Garfield Weston Foundation are major arts funders alongside more specialist trusts. Participatory arts — projects where communities actively create rather than just consume culture — have seen strong funder interest. Many grant-makers value arts projects that deliver social outcomes alongside cultural ones: improving mental health, building community cohesion, or engaging marginalised groups. Rural touring, digital arts, and diversity in cultural leadership are current funding priorities.

Quick Stats

Total Funders
628
Grant Range
£100 - £1,150,000
Open to Applications
54%

Arts, Culture & Heritage Funders

44 of 628 match your filters

Checked against verified programme data for 83 of 628 funders. 545 not yet verified are listed below; 39 that don't fit were excluded.

Alan Davidson Foundation

Matching programme: Alan Davidson Foundation Grants

The Alan Davidson Foundation, a UK-registered charity established in 2015 by pioneering architect Alan Hayes Davidson following his 2012 motor neurone...

Grant Range
£25,000 - £1,150,000

Ampersand Foundation

Matching programme: Annual Grants

The Ampersand Foundation, established in 2011 by philanthropist Jack Kirkland, is a UK grant-awarding trust dedicated to advancing education and publi...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Anchor Foundation

Matching programme: Grant Programme

The Anchor Foundation is a UK-based grantmaker dedicated to supporting Christian charities that address social exclusion through ministries of healing...

Grant Range
£500 - £12,000

Art Fund

Matching programme: Jerwood Art Fund Commissions

Art Fund, established in 1903 by Christiana Herringham and visionary artists and patrons, champions the acquisition and preservation of outstanding ar...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £100,000

Arts Council England

Matching programme: Capital Investment Programme (Round 2)

Arts Council England is the national development agency championing arts, museums, and libraries, rooted in a post-war vision to advance creativity fo...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £30,000

Baring Foundation

Matching programme: Arts Programme

The Baring Foundation, an independent London-based charitable foundation established in 1969 as Barings Bank's corporate arm and fully independent sin...

Grant Range
£20,000 - £90,000

British Academy for the Promotion of Historical Philosophical and Philological Studies

Matching programme: International Fellowships

The British Academy, formally the British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical, and Philological Studies, is the United Kingdom’s na...

Grant Range
£500 - £150,000

British Fashion Council Foundation

Matching programme: London Fashion Showcasing Fund

The British Fashion Council Foundation, a registered charity (1185152) established in 2019 as the philanthropic arm of the British Fashion Council, dr...

Grant Range
£20,000 - £50,000

British Film Institute

Matching programme: BFI and Film4 Future Takes

The British Film Institute, established by Royal Charter in 1933, leads UK efforts to advance film, television, and moving image culture through prese...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, UK Branch

Matching programme: Gulbenkian Exhibitions Fund

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch, established in 1956 from the bequest of Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian, is a London-based arm ...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £600,000

Cayo Foundation

Matching programme: General Grants

The Cayo Foundation is a UK-based discretionary grant-making trust established on 29 November 1999, dedicated to benefiting registered charities under...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £25,000

Clive Richards Foundation

Matching programme: Research

The Clive Richards Foundation, established in 1986 by entrepreneur Clive Richards and his wife Sylvia (renamed in Clive's honour after his 2021 passin...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Clore Duffield Foundation

Matching programme: Clore Learning Spaces – Schools Connect Programme

The Clore Duffield Foundation, born from the merger of visionary philanthropic legacies, drives transformative opportunities through excellence, innov...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Colwinston Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The Colwinston Charitable Trust, established in 1995 by Mathew Prichard CBE, sustains and supports high-quality artistic activities that enrich UK cul...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Medium Grant

The Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust (EKCT), established in 1963 by Ernest and Joan Kleinwort, is a family-led grant-making foundation dedicated to m...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £25,000

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

Matching programme: Grants

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, established in 1961 by Ian Fairbairn in memory of his wife, is one of the UK's largest independent funders, dedicated ...

Grant Range
From £30,000

Essex Heritage Trust

Matching programme: Essex Heritage Trust Grants

Essex Heritage Trust is an independent grant-making charity established in 1990 following Essex Heritage Year 1989, dedicated to preserving and making...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

Forever Notts

Matching programme: J N Derbyshire Trust

Forever Notts, formerly Nottinghamshire Community Foundation and established in 1997 as an independent registered charity, serves as a vital broker fo...

Grant Range
£350 - £10,000

Friends of the Nations' Libraries

Matching programme: Acquisition Grants

Friends of the Nations' Libraries (FNL), established in 1931 as the UK's only charity dedicated exclusively to safeguarding written and printed herita...

Grant Range
£200 - £20,000

Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust

Matching programme: Grants for repair and improvement of places of Christian worship

Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust is an independent charity dedicated to preserving and sustaining historic places of Christian worship across a...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

Goldsmiths' Company Charity

Matching programme: Open Grants Fund

The Goldsmiths' Company Charity, rooted in the historic Goldsmiths’ Company with charitable origins dating to 1334 and formal registration in the late...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation

Matching programme: Grants to Registered Charities

The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation advances Jewish life, learning, and broader charitable purposes through grant-making that fosters cultural enrichme...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

HDH Wills 1965 Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Martin Wills Fund

The HDH Wills 1965 Charitable Trust is an independent grant-making charity founded in 1965 with a mission to advance charitable purposes worldwide, pl...

Grant Range
£500 - £2,000

Historic Houses Foundation

Matching programme: Country Houses Foundation Grants (Buildings)

The Historic Houses Foundation is an independent UK charity with a foundational mission to preserve historic buildings—primarily country houses, garde...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £50,000

HM Treasury

Matching programme: Rapid Response Vehicles Grant Scheme

HM Treasury, the United Kingdom's economic and finance ministry established centuries ago and led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, serves as the gu...

Grant Range
£1,000,000 - £50,000,000

J P Marland Charitable Trust

Matching programme: The J P Marland Charitable Trust

The J P Marland Charitable Trust is a family-founded discretionary grantmaker with a mission to support worthy charitable causes delivering public ben...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £15,000

John Ellerman Foundation

Matching programme: Main Grants programme (2025-2030 strategy)

The John Ellerman Foundation, established in 1971 by John Reeves Ellerman with wealth from shipping, brewing, and other industries—acknowledging its h...

Grant Range
Up to £180,000

Mayfield Valley Arts Trust

Matching programme: AHT Enterprise Fund

The Mayfield Valley Arts Trust (MVAT), founded over 30 years ago by Tony and Scilla Thornton, began supporting music-making in Yorkshire—most notably ...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £20,000

Mayor of London's Fund for Young Musicians

Matching programme: Partnership Projects

The Mayor of London's Fund for Young Musicians, trading as the London Music Fund, is an independent charity established in 2011 with the Mayor as Patr...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £15,000

Mercers Charitable Foundation

Matching programme: Older People & Housing

The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation, established in 1983 as the principal grant-making trust of The Mercers’ Company—London’s premier livery company fo...

Grant Range
£25,000 - £150,000

Mobbs Memorial Trust Limited

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

The Mobbs Memorial Trust Limited, established in 1956 by Sir Noel Mobbs using family endowment funds, is a family-governed grantmaker dedicated to pre...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

National Lottery Heritage Fund

Matching programme: National Lottery Grants for Heritage £10,000–£250,000

The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the UK's largest dedicated heritage funder established in 1994 (with roots in the 1980 National Heritage Memorial ...

Grant Range
£25,000 - £100,000

National Manuscripts Conservation Trust

Matching programme: NMCT Conservation Grants

The National Manuscripts Conservation Trust is dedicated to safeguarding the UK's written heritage through preservation of at-risk manuscripts and arc...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

P H Holt Foundation

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The P H Holt Foundation is a legacy-driven grantmaker rooted in over a century of philanthropy aimed at improving everyday life for Merseyside residen...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £10,000

Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Limited

Matching programme: Apprenticeship

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), established in 1990 as the charitable arm of the Royal Warrant Holders Association to celebrate its 150t...

Grant Range
Up to £18,000

Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture

Matching programme: Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellowships

The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, established in 1999 through the vision of Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury, drives w...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Simon Gibson Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Simon Gibson Charitable Trust Grant

The Simon Gibson Charitable Trust, established in 1975 by farmer and philanthropist Simon Gibson, embodies a founding mission to provide sustained, pr...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £20,000

Suffolk Historic Churches Trust

Matching programme: Grants Programme

Suffolk Historic Churches Trust is dedicated to conserving and preserving Suffolk’s ecclesiastical heritage, safeguarding churches, chapels, and meeti...

Grant Range
£1,500 - £10,000

Summerfield Charitable Trust

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

Summerfield Charitable Trust advances community resilience, inclusion, creativity, environmental stewardship, and support for disadvantaged population...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £50,000

Theatre Development Trust

Matching programme: Theatre Development Trust Grants Programme

Theatre Development Trust, the charitable arm of the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, advances dramatic and performing arts for public benefi...

Grant Range
Up to £10,000

We Are Unlimited Arts

Matching programme: Micro Capital Grants 2025/6 (West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Unlimited)

We Are Unlimited Arts, the world's largest disabled arts commissioner, is an independent UK charity (CIO 1196665) established in 2022, evolving from a...

Grant Range
£15,000 - £80,000

William Wates Memorial Trust

Matching programme: Main Grants Programme

The William Wates Memorial Trust, established in 1998 by the Wates family in memory of William Wates—who died tragically during his 1996 gap year—cham...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £40,000

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Matching programme: Activate Fund

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, established in 1965 as a living memorial to Sir Winston Churchill through public subscription and government sup...

Grant Range
£4,000 - £8,000

Wolfson Foundation

Matching programme: Health & Disability programme

The Wolfson Foundation, an independent UK grant-making charity established in 1955 by Sir Isaac Wolfson, advances excellence and opportunity in scienc...

Grant Range
£15,000 - £1,000,000
545 funders not yet verified against these filters

We haven't confirmed these funders' programme details yet, so they may or may not fit. Showing the first 10.

Tips for Applying to Arts, Culture & Heritage Funders

Arts and culture funders look for applications that articulate both artistic quality and social impact. Describe the creative excellence of your work — the artistic vision, calibre of practitioners, and cultural significance — alongside the social outcomes it delivers. Avoid reducing arts to a mere tool for social change; instead show how high-quality cultural experiences create transformative engagement. Detail your participatory methods, explaining how communities actively shape creative processes rather than simply attending performances or exhibitions. Demonstrate diversity and inclusion in your programming, governance, and workforce, showing concrete steps you are taking rather than aspirational statements. Present your audience development strategy, particularly how you reach people who do not currently engage with arts and culture, including evidence of barriers and how you address them. If your project involves cultural heritage, articulate its significance using frameworks such as heritage values or cultural asset mapping. Include evidence from previous work — audience feedback, participant testimonials, evaluation reports, or critical reviews — that demonstrates both artistic merit and meaningful engagement. Strong applications show a clear connection between creative ambition and community benefit, with realistic budgets that fairly compensate artists and creative practitioners.

Frequently Asked Questions about Arts, Culture & Heritage Grants

What grants are available for arts, culture & heritage charities in the UK?

There are 628+ UK funders offering grants for arts, culture & heritage charities. These range from small community grants under £5,000 to large multi-year funding programmes exceeding £100,000. Use Fundermatcher to find the best match for your organisation.

How much funding can arts, culture & heritage organisations get?

Grant amounts for arts, culture & heritage charities vary widely depending on the funder and project. Typical grants range from £1,000 to over £100,000. Many funders offer multi-year funding for established organisations with a strong track record.

How do I apply for arts, culture & heritage grants?

Start by identifying funders whose priorities align with your arts, culture & heritage work. Fundermatcher matches your charity's profile against 628+ funders to find the best fit. Our AI assistant can then help you draft compelling grant applications.

How to Find the Right Arts, Culture & Heritage Funders

1

Describe Your Charity

Tell us what your charity does, who you help, and where you work. Takes 30 seconds.

2

Get Matched Instantly

Our AI ranks all 628 arts, culture & heritage funders by how well they fit your specific work.

3

Write Winning Applications

Our AI assistant helps you draft and refine grant applications tailored to each funder.

Which of These 628 Funders Are Right for You?

Browsing 628 funders manually takes hours. Describe your charity once and get your top matches ranked by compatibility — in seconds.

  • Personalised match scores
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