AIM Arts Scholars Brighter Day Grant Scheme

AIM is grateful to the Arts Scholars Charitable Trust for funding the AIM Arts Scholars Brighter Day Grant Scheme for a third round.  

• Eligibility: Museums with historic and decorative art collections that are registered charities. No size restriction.
• Grant award: £1,500 – £8,000
• Closing date: applications are now closed.

Priority of the grant scheme

Our priority is ensuring museums at risk of closure, losing vital skills and knowledge, or unable to provide effective collections care, are supported to ensure future viability. The scheme has a special focus on small museums and others that have found it difficult to access support. The fund will support education, training, curation, and exhibition projects that address collections care and sustainability of historic and decorative arts collections.

Eligibility

1. Applicants must be an AIM member.
2. Applicants must have historic and decorative arts collections that meet the charitable purposes of the Arts Scholars Charitable Trust.
3. Applicants do not need to be Accredited.
4. This grant scheme is open to local authority and independent museums that are registered charities and those operating with charitable purposes for clear public benefit.
5. There is no size restriction, but priority will be given to applications from small to medium sized museums.
6. Application to this scheme does not prevent museums from applying to AIM for other, unrelated projects.

What we will fund

This fund will support museums to achieve one or more of the following outcomes.

1. Carrying out collections surveys and cataloguing to establish priority areas of collections care.
2. Conservation of artefacts within the collection. This can include paper archives, paintings, archaeology, textiles, jewellery, ceramics etc. This may refer to physical work to the items or digitisation of an archive to avoid future wear and tear to the collection.
3. Improvement of galleries or storage areas that will enable collections to be held in appropriate conditions.
4. Skills sharing and upskilling of museum staff and volunteer teams with an emphasis on upskilling which leaves a legacy in the organisation.
5. Creating training opportunities for people from backgrounds under-represented in museums, for example non-university or from a culturally diverse background.
6. In the current economic circumstances, to support organisational sustainability through back of house and collections care projects.

Developing your project

The Arts Scholars Charitable Trust is committed to supporting the historic and decorative arts. In your application, please describe your collection and show how your project meets the Arts Scholars objectives to support education, training, curation and/or exhibition of historic and decorative arts collections. We are unable to fund projects around industrial heritage or other collections without artefacts relevant to the Arts Scholars’ charitable purposes.

Examples of projects that we can consider for support include:

• Work that will improve collections care and reduce energy use and costs
• Improvements to gallery or storage areas that enable collections to be displayed or stored appropriately
• Purchase of equipment for storage and display of historic and decorative art collections
• Business reviews that consider how collections can be used to increase visitors and income
• Digitisation of historic and decorative art collections
• Upskilling and skill sharing for staff and volunteers in ways that will leave a legacy for your organisation
• Creating training opportunities for people from backgrounds under-represented in museums, for example non-university or from culturally diverse backgrounds

How much can applicants apply for?

Grants of £1,500 to £8,000 can be applied for. Museums can only apply for one grant per round. Match funding is not required. Please note that projects need to be completed and funds claimed no later than Friday 29 November 2024.

Timeline

Applications open Thursday 19 October 2023

Applications close 5pm Friday 8 December 2023

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications in late January 2024

Projects will need to be completed and grants claimed by Friday 29 November 2024

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the AIM Grants Administrator Fiona Woolley on programmes@aim-museums.co.uk or 07784 359247, to discuss their prospective project.

For further details, please see the grant guidance notes and application form:

Click here to download the Brighter Day guidance notes>>

Click here to download the Brighter Day 2023-24 application form>>

Example projects

To read case studies from completed Brighter Day projects, please click here>>

To see the full list of projects funded in round 1, please click here>>

To see the full list of projects funded in round 2, please click here>>