With the support of the Julia Rausing Trust, our new Museum Fundamentals grant programme will provide grants of up to £20,000 for core museum activities like collections care, documentation, research, and exhibition development.
AIM has a long-standing partnership with Pilgrim Trust which has supported small museums to care for and conserve their collections for many years. We know that this funding is invaluable to AIM members, but also that more support is needed. In response, we are very pleased that with new support from the Julia Rausing Trust, alongside our existing Pilgrim Trust funding, we are opening a new grant programme – Museum Fundamentals.
AIM understands that our members need support, advice and funding to help with core museum activities, including caring for collections – the most fundamental part of being a museum. Our members have told us that grant programmes are the most essential service we provide, and in particular have asked us for support on:
- Funding core costs
- Funding for building maintenance
- Funding for back of house projects.
Museums use their collections to tell stories and connect with visitors: to discover meaning behind objects and heritage, educate and entertain, inform and inspire.
To do this, they must know what is in their collection and have well-looked-after objects they can research, interpret and display. Museum Fundamentals will support AIM members with these core activities.
The new fund will support AIM’s small and medium museums, i.e. museums with under 50,000 visitors per year. It will be open to AIM members that are a UK registered charity and recognised public bodies such as local authority museums.
AIM Director, Lisa Ollerhead:
“With the generous support of the Julia Rausing Trust we are now able to help museums with activities they often find difficult to fund. Museum Fundamentals strengthens and broadens the scope of the support AIM can now offer, in direct response to member needs. It will help the many small and medium-sized museums that form the backbone of the UK’s heritage sector, and whose hard work keeps collections cared for and accessible to all.”
Through the fund we will continue to support activities that we already fund through our Pilgrim Trust conservation grants – collections care audits and remedial object conservation. But we are very excited that we are now able to fund additional costs to support collections care and new areas of activity. So, in addition to the activities we already support, AIM members
will now be able to apply for up to £20,000 for:
- Collections documentation and research
- Collections review
- Development of new exhibitions or other access to collections
- Purchase of equipment and software
- Small scale building work to support collections care
- Improvements to heating, lighting and other building services
- Staff time
- Volunteer recruitment and expenses.
The programme will also provide mentoring to grant recipients.
As with all our funding streams, we encourage applicants to talk to AIM staff about their project proposals and to receive feedback on draft submissions. Look out too for online workshops to introduce the new grants – we really want to help you put in as good an application as possible!
AIM Museum Fundamentals opens to applications early 2025. The programme is generously supported by The Pilgrim Trust and The Julia Rausing Trust.
Other news
Museum Renewal Fund opens
Arts Council England opens new £20 million fund to support local authority museums. Timetable for MEND Round five also published.
Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum and Markfield Beam Engine announce merger
AIM members Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum and Markfield Beam Engine and Museum are pleased to announce their merger under a new umbrella organisation, the Heritage and Communities Trust.
Arts Council England recommends extension to current NPO Investment Programme
Arts Council England not proceeding with its current timetable for the National Portfolio Investment Programme.