THE VICTORIA WOOD FOUNDATION
Grants, generally for up to £5,000, are available to UK registered charities for arts projects in the United Kingdom.
__________
o Application deadline: The Foundation will reopen to applications in mid-January 2026 for its July 2026 meeting. To apply, applicants should complete the Contact Form on the Foundation’s website in the first instance.
o Funder: The Victoria Wood Foundation (founded 2016. Charity number 1170494. Total value of grants awarded during the year ended 5 April 2024: £245,684 (2023: £191,940; 2022: £164,440 2021: £348,176)).
o Who can apply: UK registered arts charities. The Foundation tends to prioritise areas of the country when Victoria Wood spent most of her life, principally the North of England, Lancashire and London, although applicants from other parts of the UK are also supported.
o Key words: All Art Forms, especially Arts, Theatre, Music, Dance, United Kingdom.
___________
The BBC report yesterday that The Old Laundry Theatre in Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District will be renamed the Victoria Wood Theatre in January 2026 in honour of the late comedian and musician, reminded us that the Victoria Wood Foundation has meetings in December 2025 and July 2026 to consider applications for grant support. Applications for the December meeting have closed earlier than expected due to a high volume of requests for grant support. Applications for the July 2026 meeting should open in mid-January. Early application is advised.
The Victoria Wood Foundation, founded in memory of the musician and comedian Victoria Wood CBE (1953-2016), is a grant-making charity which provides grant to a wide variety of UK arts organisations, encompassing all aspects of theatre, music and dance in the community. The Foundation has a specific interest in supporting arts organisations in areas where Wood spent most of her life. Places with a connection to Victoria Wood include Prestwich, Bury, Rochdale, Manchester, Birmingham and London.
Funding is not available for:
o Animal/Wildlife/Heritage/
o Courses of study.
o Expeditions or travel abroad.
o General appeals.
o Individuals.
o Places of worship or which promote religion.
o Retrospective costs.
o Statutory bodies (including in Education and Health), or
o Youth and Community Associations.
To apply for a grant, arts organisations are asked to use the Contact Form on the Foundation’s website.
The trustees meet in July and December to review requests for grant support. The Foundation has announced that, due to a high volume of applications, no further applications are being considered for the December meeting. The fund is expected to reopen in January 2026 for the July 2026 funding round. We expect there to be a similarly high number of applications for the July round and that the Foundation is again likely to close to applications early. We recommend therefore that applications should be made well in advance of July 2026.
Contact details for the Foundation are:
Catherine Edis
Administrator
The Victoria Wood Foundation
Plumpton House
Bents Drive
Sheffield
S11 9RN
Email: cathyedis@gmail.com