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

117 of 628 match your filters

Checked against verified programme data for 157 of 628 funders. 471 not yet verified are listed below; 40 that don't fit were excluded.

29th May 1961 Charity

Verified open

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, founded on 29 May 1961 by Miss Helen M. Martin from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, is an independent generalist grantma...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £15,000

Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: The Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust

The Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust, established in May 2019 by the Norwich-based independent insurance broker and risk management group, channels...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £25,000

Alfred Williams Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Alfred Williams Charitable Trust

The Alfred Williams Charitable Trust, established in 1973 by Mr. Alfred Williams and governed by trustees with deep Suffolk connections, is a grant-ma...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Anchor Foundation

Verified open

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

Anthony and Elizabeth Mellows Charitable Settlement

Verified open

Matching programme: Anthony and Elizabeth Mellows Charitable Settlement

The Anthony and Elizabeth Mellows Charitable Settlement is a London-based grant-making trust established on 7 November 1980, founded by philanthropist...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Architectural Heritage Fund

Verified open

Matching programme: Project Development Grants (PDG) - Scotland

The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), a UK-registered charity founded in 1976, champions the conservation and sustainable reuse of historic buildings...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £100,000

Art Fund

Verified open

Matching programme: Acquisitions Programme – Main grants

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

Artists' General Benevolent Institution

Verified open

Matching programme: AGBI Artist's Grant

The Artists' General Benevolent Institution (AGBI), founded in 1814 by J.M.W. Turner and granted Royal Charter in 1842, is the UK's oldest artist-led ...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £3,000

Arts Council England

Verified open

Matching programme: National Lottery Project Grants

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

Ashla Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Ashla Charitable Trust (via Ludlow Funding Enquiry Gateway – general or specific application)

The Ashla Charitable Trust is a family-based grant-making charity dedicated to advancing arts, humanitarian aid, education, and women's rights through...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £20,000

Authors' Contingency Fund

Verified open

Matching programme: Authors' Contingency Fund

The Authors' Contingency Fund, established in 1963 by donations from authors and supporters, is administered by the Society of Authors to provide imme...

Grant Range
Up to £2,000

Baring Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Strengthening Civil Society 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

Book Trade Charity

Verified open

Matching programme: Career guidance grants

The Book Trade Charity (BTBS), founded in 1837 by and for the UK publishing, bookselling, and book distribution sectors, serves as an essential safety...

Grant Range
£250 - £2,000

Brian Leslie Racher 2004 Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Application for a Grant (Organisations)

The Brian Leslie Racher 2004 Charitable Trust promotes diverse charitable purposes enhancing community welfare for local residents, embodying values o...

Grant Range
£250 - £16,901

Britford Bridge Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

The Britford Bridge Trust is an endowed family foundation established to perpetuate intergenerational philanthropy through structured, enduring giving...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £50,000

British Fashion Council Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: BFC Foundation Scholarships

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

Verified open

Matching programme: BFI National Lottery Creative Challenge Fund

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

Verified open

Matching programme: Project Grants (Armenian Communities Department)

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

Verified open

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

Verified open

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

Verified open

Matching programme: Clore Learning Spaces (Capital Projects)

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

Verified open

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

Coral Samuel Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Coral Samuel Charitable Trust

The Coral Samuel Charitable Trust is a long-established UK grant-making charity, registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under nu...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Cruden Foundation Ltd

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

Cruden Foundation Ltd, established in Edinburgh from a building business legacy, embodies a mission of community regeneration and enduring public bene...

Grant Range
£2,500 - £5,000

D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Small Charity Grants

The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, established in 1972 by Dame Bridget D'Oyly Carte—granddaughter of theatrical impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte—honour...

Grant Range
£500 - £6,000

David Laing Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The David Laing Foundation, an independent family grantmaker established in 1979 by philanthropist David Laing—former Lord-Lieutenant of Northamptonsh...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £25,000

Didymus

Verified open

Matching programme: Didymus

Didymus is a small grant-making charity founded in 2013 to widen access to and participation in the arts, supporting UK-registered charities that deli...

Grant Range
£7,000 - £10,000

Dorset Historic Churches Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Grants

Dorset Historic Churches Trust (DHCT), established in 1971, is a dedicated charity committed to preserving, repairing, and conserving Christian church...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £15,000

Elmgrant Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Individual Grants

The Elmgrant Trust, family-founded in 1936 by Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst and Beatrice, carries forward the Dartington Hall ethos of rural regenerati...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Elmley Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Programme

The Elmley Foundation is an independent grantmaking charity rooted in perpetuating the historic tradition of arts, crafts, and design from Madresfield...

Grant Range
Up to £2,000

Equity Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Educational Grants

Equity Charitable Trust, founded in 1989 by Equity—the trade union for performance professionals—is an independent UK grant-making charity dedicated t...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust

Verified open

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

Verified open

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

Verified open

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

Feisean Nan Gaidheal

Verified open

Matching programme: Fèis Development Fund (Stòras Leasachaidh nam Fèisean)

Feisean Nan Gaidheal, an independent Scottish charity established in 1991, serves as the umbrella body for the Fèis movement, which originated over 40...

Grant Range
£250 - £20,000

Forever Notts

Verified open

Matching programme: Kynan Eldridge Fund

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

Francis C Scott Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grants

The Francis C Scott Charitable Trust, established in 1963 by Peter Scott CBE and Dr Joan Trevelyan in honour of their father—a local philanthropist pa...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £10,000

Freelands Foundation Limited

Verified open

Matching programme: Learning Through Making Fund

Freelands Foundation is a UK charity dedicated to ensuring universal access to visual arts education and participation, empowering individuals regardl...

Grant Range
£500 - £300,000

Frieda Scott Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grants

The Frieda Scott Charitable Trust is an independent grantmaker rooted in a family legacy of compassion, established to strengthen community life by ad...

Grant Range
Up to £20,000

Friends of the Nations' Libraries

Verified open

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

Glasgow City Heritage Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Historic Environment Grants

Glasgow City Heritage Trust is an independent charity with a foundational mission to safeguard, repair, and promote Glasgow’s historic built environme...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

Glaziers Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Ashton Hill & Lever Grants

The Glaziers Foundation, the charitable arm of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass—a City of London Livery Company founded in the...

Grant Range
£250 - £6,000

Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust

Verified open

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

Grantscape

Verified open

Matching programme: Middlemoor Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund (Organisations)

Grantscape, established in 1997, is a specialist UK charitable grant-maker dedicated to strengthening local communities and protecting the natural env...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £50,000

Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation

Verified open

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

Verified open

Matching programme: General 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

Hemby Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Hemby Charitable Trust Grants

The Hemby Charitable Trust, established in 1998 by a local family with deep roots in Merseyside and Wirral, is a small, trustee-led grantmaker adminis...

Grant Range
£500 - £3,000

Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Cornerstone Grants

Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust (HHCT), established in 1954 by local heritage supporters, is dedicated to preserving, repairing, maintaining, an...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

Historic Houses Foundation

Verified open

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

Idlewild Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Arts - Nurturing Early-Stage Professionals

Idlewild Trust is an independent grant-making charity with a foundational mission to advance education and learning by nurturing creative talent throu...

Grant Range
£4,500 - £7,000

Showing 50 of 117 matching funders

471 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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