The Foyle Foundation’s Main Grants Scheme awards one-year grants, typically up to £50,000, to UK registered charities whose core work covers Arts and Learning.

Arts

The Foundation seeks applications that make a strong artistic case for support in either the performing or visual arts. The Arts programme aims to help sustain the arts and to support projects that help to deliver your artistic vision. The Foundation seeks to support organisations to stabilise and recover from the impact of Coronavirus, so look for value for money, long-term benefit and sustainability in projects that they support. Typical areas of support include: 

• helping to make the arts more accessible by developing new and more diverse audiences
• encouraging new work and supporting young and emerging artists; skilled freelancers and independent practitioners
• projects that encourage sustainability by reducing overheads or which help generate additional revenue. This might include environmental improvements to save energy and lower carbon emissions where a cost benefit can be demonstrated

Grants can be used towards:

• core costs – favouring those with no, or without significant, public funding
• essential equipment or re-equipping to enable ongoing service provision, delivery of on-line digital services and education work
• projects/schemes that employ or support skilled freelance and independent artists and practitioners
• capital projects. Note, the Foundation does not fund feasibility studies and if RIBA stages apply, you must have reached at least RIBA Stage 3 before applying

Please note, requests from social and community charities or start-up costs for new charities are unlikely to be considered.

Learning

The Foundation will support projects which facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and which have a long-term strategic impact. Key areas for support are:

• libraries, museums and archives
• special educational needs
• projects that encourage sustainability by reducing overheads or which help generate additional revenue. This might include environmental improvements to save energy and lower carbon emissions where a cost benefit can be demonstrated
• projects and activities which increase access and widen the diversity of attenders/visitors

State funded mainstream schools may be funded from time to time under the Main Grants Scheme for other projects with direct educational/arts benefits but must demonstrate why their project cannot be funded from statutory or other funding and also explain their long-term commitment to this activity. The main initiative for state funded mainstream schools is the Foyle School Library Scheme. For Universities the Foundation will support arts, museum, archive or special collection projects, usually for capital, which meet a clear public benefit. All University projects should enable general and not just specialist use, the majority of time, and not be limited to out of term use, or be relatively inaccessible by being sited in remote parts of University buildings or campuses where public access will be restricted. In all cases the Foundation will expect Universities to be contributing to the project in financial and not just in-kind terms. Some grants may be offered on a matched funding basis. Grants can be used towards revenue costs. If applying for a building project and you are requesting £75,000 or more, please submit an enquiry form first.

Deadline: Ongoing

This fund is not managed by Funding for All. Please click ‘Funder’s website’ above and contact the funder directly for more information.