Category: funding

Seven Industrial Museums Share £7.25m as Part of £270m Package of Support for Museums and Heritage Venues

Seven Industrial Museums Share £7.25m as Part of £270m Package of Support for Museums and Heritage Venues

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Land of Iron, North Yorkshire. Image copyright Dr Michael Nevell

Museums, arts venues, libraries, and heritage attractions in urgent need of financial are to recieve significant Government funding. The ‘Arts Everywhere Fund’ totals £270m, and is to be shared between organisations the UK Government deems in most urgent need of financial support. It consists of both new and renewed funds for the sector.

As part of this package of support, five Industrial Heritage museums and sites will share grants from the 5th round of MEND support worth £7,253,849. These sites are:

  • Bletchley Park – £2,451,350
  • Land of Iron – £655,907
  • London Museum of Water & Steam – £2,626,277
  • Queen Street Mill – £813,115
  • Wheal Martyn Clay Works – £707,200

The £270m package of support will be targeted at organisations in urgent need of financial support to keep them up and running, carry out vital infrastructure work, and improve long term financial resilience. The support includes: 

  • A fifth round of the Museum Estate and Development (MEND) Fund worth £25 million
  • A new £20 million Museum Renewal Fund offering much-needed support to 29 civic museums  
  • An additional £120 million to continue the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund
  • An additional £15 million for Heritage at Risk through Historic England 
  • A new £4.85 million Heritage Revival Fund
  • A 5% increase to national museums and galleries budgets  
  • Confirmation that DCMS will be providing £3.2 million in funding through the Museums and Schools Programme, the Heritage Schools Programme, the Art & Design National Saturday Club and the BFI Film Academy. 

The Association for Independent Museums (AIM) Director Lisa Ollerhead said, “We very much welcome this significant investment. It is fantastic news for the sector, not least given the pressure the public purse is under.  It also underlines the important role museums and heritage organisations play in strengthening our communities, boosting our economy and providing strong foundations for our creative industries.” 

The full announcement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-investment-to-boost-growth-and-cement-britains-place-as-cultural-powerhouse

The weaving shed at Queen Street Mill, Burnley, Lancashire. Image copyrighht Dr Michael Nevell.

Post-Medieval Archaeology Research Grants 2024

Post-Medieval Archaeology Research Grants 2024

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The deadline for the Society Post-Medieval Archaeology‘s 2024 Post-Medieval Archaeology Research Grant application is Friday, 1 March. The Society makes small research grants, twice a year.

SPMA grants enable research projects and publications to be undertaken on the post-medieval archaeology of Britain, Europe, and the wider world, from c.1500 to the present day. Deadlines are 1 March and 1 September each year and the total fund available in each round is £2000.

For details, please visit https://spma.org.uk/research-grants

Middleport Pottery Bottle Oven Online Appeal

Middleport Pottery Bottle Oven Online Appeal

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Middleport Pottery, Stoke-0n-Trent, has launched an online appeal to raise £1600 to help with maintenance work on its iconic Bottle Oven. In particular the charity Re-Form Heritage, who own and run the site, need to remove foliage and to ensure the structure remains safe.

Middleport Pottery was established in 1888-89 by Burgess & Leigh Ltd, as a ‘model pottery’ for the period. The Grade II* Bottle Kiln was first fired in the late 19th century and continued working until the 1960s. During the kiln’s working life heat from the regular firing destroyed any plant seeds attaching themselves to the brickwork and in the mortar joints, which protected it from vegetation growth; with no firing, it lost its mechanism to defend its structure.

To help Re-Form Heritage reach their target of £1600 for removing and cleaning the exterior of the bottle kiln please follow this link: https://localgiving.org/appeal/Bottle-Kiln-Makeover/…

The iconic bottle kiln at Middleport Pottery. Image courtesy of Re-Form Heritage.

AIA 50th Anniversary Conference Online Access

AIA 50th Anniversary Conference Online Access

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The AIA’s 50th Anniversary Conference will take place online via Zoom and in-person at the University of Bath this September! Full details of this historic event are now available on the AIA website https://industrial-archaeology.org/conferences/service001/ .

Want to attend online? The seminar and conference take place from Friday 1st September – Sunday 3rd September. Tickets cost £10 for members or £20 for non-members. Book online (see point 7 of the booking form available from the AIA website) to secure your spot.

Want to attend in-person? The full programme runs from Friday 1st September – Wednesday 6th September and includes a suite of brilliant talks and tours. You can pick and choose from the sessions to build the perfect programme for you. Book online.

And remember…the AIA want to make this historic conference accessible to all, and there is plenty of financial help available if you need it. A legacy from the late Patrick Knott, a former member of AIA, can provide a 50% discount (up to a maximum of £500) on the conference fees to eligible attendees from the UK or Ireland. Visit the AIA website for more details here: https://industrial-archaeology.org/index.php/aia-awards/peter-neaverson-awards/

Historic England Launch ‘History in the Making’ Fund

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Historic England has launched a new ‘History in the Making’ fund aimed at encouraging work with young people (aged 13-25) to create place markers across the North of England. These projects will mark and celebrate important local histories that have been overlooked and bring them to a broader audience. The scheme is about a place’s identity and what makes it special, from remembering local inspirational events, figures and histories, to physically connecting them to the places and spaces they occupied.

Historic England will provide grants of up to £15,000 to organisations or community groups who want to work directly with young people out-of-school hours, across the North of England in Levelling Up category 1 places, many of which contain industrial heritage and archaeology sites. Projects must be co-created, with young people’s voices at the heart of decision-making.  

The deadline for applications is 14th July 2023. Details on how to apply and guidance notes on what might be funded can be found by following this link:  https://historicengland.org.uk/get-involved/help-write-history/history-in-the-making/

Cromford Mills Receives Funding for Next Stage of Conservation Works

Cromford Mills Receives Funding for Next Stage of Conservation Works

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The Arkwright Society has been awarded a £249,599 grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. This will support engagement activities at Cromford Mills and aid education about this internationally important textile site.

Critical to the long term sustainability of the site is the next phase of regeneration at Cromford Mills, which will focus on the repair and repurposing of the remaining buildings on the site, in particular the iconic ‘First Mill’ built by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1771.  With £20,000 match funding from the Duke of Devonshire Charitable Trust, a refreshed masterplan will be commissioned, outlining a roadmap for the continuing regeneration of the Mills and a business plan for their future use. Sustainability is also a key theme for the Society, highlighted by the forthcoming installation of a turbine powered water wheel in one of the historic wheel pits at Cromford Mills. This work will help the Society make informed decisions as it writes the next chapter in the Cromford Mills story.

For further details follow this link: https://www.cromfordmills.org.uk/249599-funding-for-cromford-mills/

Cromford Mills courtyard
Museum and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief Service from ACE

Museum and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief Service from ACE

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The Arts Council England’s new Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) Support Service is designed to enable more organisations to benefit from this relief. In addition to a new guide, companies based in England can also benefit from a new helpdesk service. The service is completely free.

The support service will help address some of the common questions and misconceptions associated with the tax relief, as well as providing a straightforward, step-by-step guide to preparing and making a claim. The Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief is an important source of additional funds that is applicable to a large number of arts and cultural organisations. Up to 40p in each £ could be claimed as cash-based support to invest in your organisation’s ambitions.

Click here to find out more>>

Heritage Digital Fundraising Seminar, 30 November 2021

Heritage Digital Fundraising Seminar, 30 November 2021

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On the 30th November Heritage Digital will be running its latest business support session, a webinar on ‘Developing a fundraising strategy for your heritage organisation’. Digital methods are now the most popular way to give money to charitable causes in the UK, yet conservation, environment, and heritage charities took only 4% of online giving in the UK in 2019, the year before the pandemic hit. 

This free session will specifically benefit those small and mid-sized heritage organisations receiving under £1 million per year in income, and those within heritage organisations responsible for digital/fundraising. The session will provide participants with: 

  • The basic principles of digital fundraising
  • The main methods of effectively fundraising with digital
  • The core elements of a digital fundraising strategy

To read more details and sign up follow this link: https://charitydigital.org.uk/heritage-digital-academy-modules-page/webinar-developing-a-fundraising-strategy-for-your-heritage-organisation?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Heritage%20Digital%20Academy%20aq%2E

Digital Fundraising Advice from Charity Digital

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With face-to-face fundraising events cancelled over the past 18 months, many not-for-profit organisations have turned to digital fundraising. Charity Digital’s latest e-newsletter looks at some of the strategies available to charities (and indeed other groups) for such fundraising activities.

One new innovation is Zoom’s donations button. The donations button, which is integrated into the video calling software through an app called Donations by Pledge, allows charities to turn Zoom meetings into virtual fundraisers. The app is free for all charities to use and doesn’t take a percentage of the donations. This means you can use all the money raised to deliver your charitable activities. The Pledge website says the only fees are standard credit card fees (2.9%+.30) and a $5 (£3.58) a month disbursement fee.

As Zoom has become a popular way to keep in touch during the pandemic for many industrial heritage sites this might be an easy way into virtual fundraising, since the new app gives supporters a quick and easy way to donate online. More details, and other digital fundraising strategies, can be found here: https://charitydigital.org.uk/topics/topics/how-to-fundraise-on-zoom-9056?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Digital%20Fundraising%20Newsletter

Charity Digital

AIM Funding News: New Stories New Audiences

AIM Funding News: New Stories New Audiences

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Funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, ‘New Stories New Audiences’ aims to inspire museums to stay relevant to their audiences and to increase their impact. It is open to all AIM members in the small museum category (up to 20,000 visitors) and is designed to fund projects that result in a wider range of people being involved in heritage at your organisation. AIM expect you to have identified a new story that you wish to tell and undertaken some initial research to identify who the new audience will be. AIM also expect you to work with a new partner, to work differently and to try something new.

AIM will fund projects that could include:

  • Developing new interpretation
  • Creating a small display or exhibition
  • Developing new educational resources
  • Creating art works
  • Undertaking new collecting
  • Developing a website or other digital resource
  • Organising an event
  • Creating new volunteering opportunities
  • Developing a new tour

Examples of partners could include a school, local history group, university, local charity, community, social, or volunteer groups or individuals such as artists. Examples of new audiences could include members of BAME communities, people with a disability, young people or local people from particular socio-economic groups.

Click here for more details.