Applications are now open for AIM’s next round of Connected Communities funding, from which several industrial heritage sites have already benefitted. Grants of £15,000 – £100,000 are available to museums delivering projects in the eligible areas that will improve community connections through high-quality volunteering opportunities and/or reducing loneliness and increasing social bonds. Expressions of Interest must be made by Monday 27 November.
Over the last few years nearly £3 million has been distributed on behalf of the Government by Arts Council England via partners Libraries Connected, Creative Lives and AIM, through the AIM Connected Communities programme. This has created more than 1,000 volunteering opportunities and support more than 4,000 people experiencing, or at risk of, chronic loneliness.
Who can apply? Museums and partnerships or consortia including a museum in one of the 27 eligible areas in England. Organisations do not need to be members of AIM to apply. The scheme is also open to Accredited and non-Accredited museums. Eligible areas include several industrial connurbations, such as Barnsley, Barrow-in-Furness, Burnley, Doncaster, Kingston-upon-Hull, Middlesborough, Rochdale, Sandwell, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Tameside, Wakefield and Wolverhampton.
Further details on how to appley here: https://aim-museums.co.uk/for-aim-members/grants/aim-connected-communities/
To support potential applicants, AIM are hosting online workshops:
- 8 November – Introduction to Connected Communities.
- 21 November – The role of museums in supporting wellbeing and alleviating loneliness.
Industrial Heritage Networks 