THE ESMEE FAIRBAIRN FOUNDATION: COMMUNITIES AND COLLECTIONS FUND
Revenue grants of between £40,000 and £100,000 are available to Museum Association members for work that improves inclusion and equitable working with community partners to improve access to museum collections.
o Application deadline: WEDNESDAY 21st JANUARY 2026 for Expressions of Interest.
o Funder: The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation (founded 1961. Charity number 200051. Total charitable expenditure for the year ended 31 December 2024: £56,416,000 (2023: £66,530,000)). The Fund is being managed by the Museums Association (MA) on behalf of the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.
o Who can apply: Museums Association (MA) institutional member museums and galleries across the UK. Partnership applications are welcomed where the lead applicant is a member of the MA.
o Key words: Museum Collections, Improving Diversity, Inclusion and Equitable Working with Communities, Encouraging Participatory Practice, Social and Climate Justice,United Kingdom.
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The Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund is the evolution of the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, with a new name that better represents the Foundation’s dual focus on collections and inclusion. Since 2011, grants totalling £16 million have been awarded on behalf of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
The Fund, which is being managed by the Museums Association on behalf of the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, now places a greater emphasis on supporting work with museum collections to improve inclusion and equitable working with community partners. It offers:
o Core grants to museums that have established strategic aims for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and that are ready to use their collections and the Foundation’s funding to support social and climate justice, in ways that are relevant to local contexts and relationships, and
o Partnership project grants to museums and community organisations that work equitably together and share aims for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) with ambitious and compelling ideas for inclusive project work with collections.
Revenue grants of between £40,000 and £100,000 over a maximum of 3 years are available. The Foundation expects to award around 12 grants per year in 2 funding rounds. This is the second funding round for 2025/26.
The Foundation wants to support a range of museums and partnerships through the Fund, from those that are starting out in their participatory practice, to those that are leading change on behalf of the museum sector and working equitably with communities.
Partnership applications must include at least one Museum Association institutional member museum partner. It is expected that the museum partner(s) will hold collections that will be used during the partnership project and that a museum partner is typically well positioned to receive and coordinate funding on behalf of the group.
Applicants, or one applicant in a partnership, are normally expected to be accredited or working towards accreditation. However, occasional exceptions may be made for organisations that are not accredited museums but whose activities are based on the care and interpretation of collections of historical, artistic or scientific interest, provided they are in the public sector or have charitable status.
Funding is most likely to go to organisations where applicants can demonstrate the Foundation’s investment can make the most difference.
For core grants, it is expected that grants will be awarded to smaller and medium-sized museums where the grant is a relatively high proportion of turnover or where the museum has few other sources of core funding.
Museums that have previously received project funding are welcome to apply again to the Communities and Collections Fund for work that builds on earlier experience. In the future, core-funded grantees may also reapply for the next stage of their work. However, the core grants are intended to support a particular stage in a museum’s strategic development so repeat funding will be rare and continuous funding is unlikely to be offered.
Please note that all applicants will be required to have a Safeguarding policy for Vulnerable Adults.
Funding is not available for:
o Capital costs, including building work, renovations and equipment.
o General circulars or appeals.
o Grants to individuals or to causes that will benefit only one person, including student grants or bursaries.
o Replacing or subsidising statutory income, although rare exceptions will be made where the level of performance has been exceptional and where the potential impact of the work is substantial.
o Retrospective costs, meaning support for work that has already taken place.
o The promotion of religion, or
o Work that does not have a direct benefit in the UK.
The timeline for decisions in June 2026 is:
1. From November 2025 onwards: eligible organisations interested in applying should contact the Museums Association (MA) to discuss their idea(s) – see contact details for the Programmes Manager and the Collections Development Lead below.
2. Wednesday 21st January 2026: deadline for submission of Expressions of Interest.
3. Week commencing Sunday 23rd February 2026: shortlisted applicants confirmed.
4. Wednesday 13th May 2026: deadline for shortlisted applicants to make their second stage application.
5. End of June 2026: grants awarded.
Further information and guidance is available on the Museum Association’s website.
Contact details for the Fund are:
Sally Colvin
Programmes Manager
Museums Association
42 Clerkenwell Close
London
EC1R 0AZ
Tel: 020 7566 7851
Email: sally@
and/or
Sarah Briggs
Collections Development Lead
Museums Association
42 Clerkenwell Close
London
EC1R 0AZ
Tel: 020 7566 7834
Email: sarah@