Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund

Using museum collections to improve inclusion and equitable working with community partners

The Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund is now open for applications. It is the evolution of the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, with a new name that better represents our dual focus on collections and inclusion. We award the fund on behalf of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and have awarded over £14m in nearly 200 grants since 2011.

The overall purpose of the Communities and Collections Fund remains the same as in 2023-24. However, we have updated our processes to better support the best of the types of application we have been receiving; and to take the fund further in the direction of the changes made in 2022.

The fund will place more emphasis on equitable working, supporting wellbeing and legacy planning. We now offer core grants to single museum organisations for strategic development of their inclusive collections work; and partnership project grants for museums and community organisations working equitably with collections to achieve shared aims for inclusion.

In the case of partnership grants, we would encourage you to have this partnership in place before approaching us for an initial conversation.

For more information, visit Museums Association

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