Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021, the John Ellerman Foundation aims to advance the wellbeing of people, society and the natural world, by focusing on the arts, environment and social action.
The Foundation’s Regional Museums and Galleries Fund, which is now open to applications for 2021/22, is designed to help strengthen regional museums and galleries in the UK by helping organisations enhance and sustain curatorial development to attract a broader public.
The Fund is open to a wide variety of collection types and has supported visual and decorative arts, archaeology, and social and natural history collections. The Foundation is particularly interested in receiving applications from those areas where it has made fewer grants, such as the East Midlands, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The average grant award is expected to be around £90,000. For the 2021/22 financial year the Foundation anticipates awarding up to 6 grants from its Regional Museums and Galleries Fund. Grants will be awarded over 2 or 3 years. Applicants should plan for funded activities to commence from June 2022.
Priority will be to small and medium-sized museums and galleries with an income between £100,000 and £10 million and which are located outside of London. National and/or London-based institutions may also apply if their project brings significant benefits in the regions. Universities are eligible to apply but due to their size and relative financial stability are less likely to be successful and should contact the Foundation to discuss their proposal before applying.
Applicants should demonstrate:
o A commitment to collaborative approaches, either as the focus of the request, or at a minimum with a strong track record of partnership working.
o Excellence in their field at a national level, and
o National significance, usually through a unique or high-quality collection.
Applicants to the programme will also be expected to evidence:
o A commitment to excellence and innovation.
o An emphasis on the value of curatorial skills.
o Effective financial management.
o Strong leadership and commitment from senior management, board or governing body, and
o The difference a grant will make to the organisation, the general public or other audiences.
Funding is not available for:
o Capital development projects.
o Education and outreach work projects, or
o Individual conservation projects. However, conservation work may be considered as part of a wider request.
The Foundation has a 2-stage application process. Applicants successful at Stage 1 will be invited to submit a full application form at Stage 2.
Further information, guidance and details about how to apply is available on the Foundation’s website.
The 2021/22 application round is open from 18 October 2021, and has an application deadline of 5pm on Friday 7 January 2021. Decisions are expected to be announced in April/May 2022.
Contact details for the Foundation are:
Gareth Clayton
Grants Manager
The John Ellerman Foundation
Aria House
23 Craven Street
London
WC2N 5NS
Tel: 020 7930 8566
Email: museums(at)ellerman.org.uk
