The Jerwood Foundation was recently established as a grant-making charity after merging with the Jerwood Charity (more commonly referred to as Jerwood Arts). Many of the trustees of the new Foundation were also trustees of the Jerwood Charity,   The Jerwood Foundation is expected to continue Jerwood Charity’s role as a leading independent funder dedicated to supporting outstanding UK arts and crafts organisations develop and thrive. The Foundation expects to award grants totalling up to £2 million annually to arts-based organisations for activities and projects that support the promotion of the arts for public benefit.

The following message has been posted on the Jerwood Charity website:

“The merger of Jerwood Arts (the Jerwood Charity) with Jerwood Foundation has been completed and took effect from 1st January 2024.

“Up to £2 million of grants will be awarded each year. Any arts organisation is invited to apply for funding and the streamlined application process can be found on the Jerwood foundation’s website.

“In accordance with John Jerwood’s original philanthropic vision, the charity will support excellence and emerging talent in the arts and crafts in the UK.

“The merger has created a single, future-facing UK charitable Foundation, relevant for the political, social and financial climate of the 21st century and with the purpose of ensuring a sustainable future with maximum funding available to beneficiaries”.

During the year ended 31st March 2024, the Foundation awarded 12 grants totalling £423,520.

Although the majority of grants were expected to be for between £1,000 and £20,000, in actuality awards during the Foundation’s inaugural year of grant-making ranged from £1,000 to £192,000 (to Glyndebourne, known for providing world class opera in the UK).

Funding is not available for:

o Capital endowments (endowments are generally considered to be a donation of money or property to a not-for-profit organisation, which uses the resulting investment income for a specific purpose).
o Core funding.
o Educational courses, or
o Individuals.

The next deadline for applications is Friday 15th June 2024 (the programme will open to applications on Wednesday 1st May 2024).

There will also be an Autumn 2024 application window. This will open on Thursday 1st August 2024 with a deadline for applications of Friday 4th October 2024.

Applicants are initially required to email the following information to info(at)jerwood.org:

1. A single-page summary of the project with a short description and start date.
2. A budget and fundraising plan, and
3. Any further relevant information.

Further information and guidance can be found on the Foundation’s website.