The Museums Association’s Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund supports museums and community organisations to strengthen communities through collections, with a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and locally relevant social and climate justice.
Who can apply:
- Museums Association institutional-member museums and galleries in the UK. Partnership bids must involve at least one member museum and one constituted community organisation with an existing relationship.
- A community organisation or museum can act as the partnership’s financial host. Museum applicants, or one partnership applicant, are normally expected to be Accredited or formally working towards accreditation; exceptions are possible.
What you can get:
- £50,000–£110,000 over up to three years, covering any proportion of the work, including its full cost. No match funding is required. Around 12 awards are expected annually.
- Partnership grants support inclusive work with collections developed equitably around community needs. Core grants support museums pursuing organisational or systemic change, rather than a stand-alone set of project outputs.
Key notes:
- Speak to fund staff before submitting an expression of interest. Shortlisted applicants are invited to a second stage; June-round applications are due 5 May 2027, with awards expected at the end of June.
- Capital costs, including equipment and building work, individuals, retrospective work and activity without direct UK benefit are excluded.
- Successful applicants must participate in learning, networking and evaluation, and have an up-to-date safeguarding policy. Resubmissions require an invitation.
- The later 2027 round has an EOI deadline of 14 July 2027, followed by second-stage applications on 27 October and decisions in mid-December.
Deadline:
Wednesday 20 January 2027 for the next expression-of-interest round. A further EOI round closes Wednesday 14 July 2027. No closing time is stated in the published guidance.