Aims/Priorities: The Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund supports museums and their community partners to improve inclusion and equitable working with community partners.
The fund offers:
- 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 funding to support social and climate justice, in ways that are relevant to local contexts and relationships.
- Partnership project grants to museums and community organisations that work equitably together and share aims for DEI, and which have ambitious and compelling ideas for inclusive project work with collections.
Who can apply? Applications are open to all Museums Association institutional member museums and galleries in the UK.
Eligible applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Partnership applications must include at least one MA 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 this). 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.
- For core grants, the funders expect to fund smaller and medium sized museums where funding of this size can make the most long-term difference, for example as a higher proportion of turnover. National and larger museums may apply, but applications should reflect their capacity to influence the sector more widely and to develop museum practice.
- Applicants must have a safeguarding policy to protect people with whom they work.
Organisations that have received a Collections Fund grant in the past are welcome to apply for core or partnership grants that build on their experience.
Those that have received core funding may reapply for a new phase of work when their funding period is ending. It is likely that only two grants per year will be made to recent grantees as it is not intended for this fund to offer continuous funding.
Grant Amount: The Fund will offer £1.185 million per year in 2025 and 2026.
Grants of between £40,000 and £100,000 are available over a period of up to three years.
It is expected that around 12 grants will be awarded per year.
Application Process: There are two funding rounds per year.
Guidance notes and the expression of interest form are available on the Museums Association website.
There is a two stage application process:
- The first stage is to submit the Expression of Interest form by the deadline of 21 January 2026.
- Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a second-stage application by 13 May 2026.
- Grants for this round to be awarded at the end of June 2026.
Applicants should initially contact a member of Communities and Collections Fund staff at the MA before submitting an EOI to ensure that the fund is a good fit and to help draw out the strengths in their application.
Contact the Museums Association for further information.
Deadline: Wednesday 21 January 2026
Contact Information: sally@museumsassociation.org
Website: Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund - Museums Association