Norfolk and Norwich Festival Trust

The Norfolk and Norwich Festival Trust, founded over 250 years ago as the steward of one of the UK's longest-running arts festivals, drives its mission to enrich public life through world-class arts and culture in Norfolk and the East of England. As a Regional Bridge Organisation, it promotes arts in education, fosters creativity, curiosity, and community cohesion, with core values of inclusivity, artistic excellence, and the transformative power of culture—especially for children, young people, and under-served communities. Distinctively, it blends the flagship annual May Festival with year-round projects like Festival Connect & Create, nurturing talent, embedding socially engaged practice, and sparking cross-sector partnerships for health, wellbeing, and social change.

It prioritises funding arts, culture, heritage, science, education, and training initiatives that boost participation, develop creative skills, and reach marginalised groups, primarily through Bursaries for Young Creatives and Bursaries for Artists supporting socially engaged projects.

Eligible applicants include UK-registered charities, community groups, grassroots organisations, and individuals (emerging creatives/artists) based in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, or Peterborough, with a preference for small to medium-sized entities delivering community-based work; no strict income thresholds apply.

Bursaries typically award £2,500 each (eight per scheme annually), via unsolicited online applications opening in September, with the next deadline at 12 noon on 31 October 2025; decisions follow shortly after. It excludes core, unrestricted, or capital funding, standing out as a pivotal regional force combining spectacle with sustained, participatory arts impact.