Trusts and funds
We administer a number of funds designated to enhance collections and to aid our members and their families in unexpected financial distress. Applications are welcomed from anyone working within the profession, provided they meet the criteria governing each fund.
Under the terms of the will of the late Walter G Beecroft the residue of his estate was bequeathed to the Museums Association to form the Beecroft Bequest.
The income deriving from the bequest was to be distributed as grant-in-aid to art galleries and museums in the British Isles towards the purchases of paintings and works of art not later than 1800 in date.
The bequest is administered by trustees who are appointed by the MA.
To be eligible:
1. Museums must
· be institutional members of the MA and based in the UK
· be accredited / registered under the MLA scheme or have applied for accreditation
Preference will be given to organisations with annual revenue expenditure not exceeding £1,000,000.
In the case of branch museums, the revenue budget of the parent organisation applies.
2. The purchase
· Must not be later in date than 1800:
· Can be of fine or decorative arts (eg paintings, watercolours, sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, furniture, textiles) and other items of aesthetic merit.
For other items, e.g coins, the case for their aesthetic merit must be made in the application.
· The object must be genuine and of good quality
· Must represent good value for money
· There must be a sound reason for the acquisition.
The applicant must demonstrate how it meets the organisation's acquisition policy/ aims and objectives
· The cost must be at least £500
Applications for grants for items which have already been purchased will not be considered.
3. The grant
· Up to 75% of the purchase price can be awarded
· No single grant will exceed £5,000
· An element of local financial contribution is required
Any grant awarded will be paid upon production of the receipt for the full value of the purchase.
4. The process
· Applications can be considered at any time
· In the case of auction sales at least five working days are required although the trustees cannot guarantee to consider any application made at short notice.
Any known queries regarding provenance or questions raised by other bodies must be disclosed.
For application form please click here (word)
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
The Museums Association Benevolent Fund was established in 1953, following the gift of £100 to the Association by Sir Frank Markham MP, a past-secretary and past-president of the association, and has since been bolstered by generous gifts from members and affiliated organisations.
The purpose of the fund is to alleviate financial distress of members of the Museums Association and their immediate dependents. Application is by letter and decisions will be made quickly.
applications will be considered for family-related matters such as: child-care while a member or dependent re-skills, respite care for member or dependent, school fees
specialist equipment for disabled living, nursing home fees, following bereavement or serious illness.
Applicants must have been an individual member of the MA for three out of the previous five years.
For grant making criteria please contact Georgie Stagg
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
The trust was set up in 1973 on the initiative of the family of the late Mrs Daphne Bullard, the keeper of Worcestershire County Museum at Hartlebury Castle, to promote the work of dress and costume conservation, display and publication.
The trust considers applications from students of or persons engaged in the conservation and study of dress and textiles of any period and their display.
Conditions governing grants from the fund:
grants of £300-£1,000 are available
preference will be given to projects aimed at conservation or display of dress or textiles where there is a long-term material benefit to a collection or project
grants are not given to assist with living costs or course fees
a written progress report on the work assisted by the grant must be made to the trustees by 30 November of the year following the award of the grant, or as soon as the project is finished, whichever is the sooner
a photograph of the item(s) would be helpful for the application
applications can be made at any time using the form available on this website.
For application form please click here (word)
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
The trust was founded in 1994 from part of the residue of the estate of the late Kathy Callow.
Kathy Callow, the curator of the Priest's House Museum, Wimbourne, was an active and long-standing member of the Museums Association.
The trust makes awards to small museums for the purposes of assisting with the costs of conservation projects.
Such projects might include an exhibition, improving stored collections or running workshops for people connected with museums.
Conditions governing grants from the fund:
aid is restricted to smaller galleries or museums with an annual gross revenue expenditure of less than £600,000
the total sum available each year is approximately £1,000
the sum awarded will be influenced by the long-term value of the project and the degree of preparatory thought that has been put into determining the content of the work and its costs
the trustees particularly welcome applications on the following aspects of social history conservation:, the disadvantaged in society, women, the sea, industrialisation, and small localities
applicants should make clear whether the full cost or part is being sought as a grant. Any other funding bodies that have been or will be approached should be mentioned
a written progress report on the work assisted by the grant must be made to the trustees by 30 November of the year following the award, or as soon as the project is finished, whichever is the sooner
applications should be made using the form available on this website.
For application form please click here (pdf)
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
If you have recently retired or are about to retire from a UK museum and would like the chance to share your collections-related expertise with your successor and the wider museum community, we want to hear from you.
The Fellowships will not support new research but aim to record and share existing knowledge that might otherwise be lost.
Fellows will be paid expenses of £100 a day and Fellowships will be either 50 or 100 days in length, typically spread over 6 months or 12 months.
All applications will require the support of a host museum, which should be the Fellow's former place of work.
We particularly welcome applications that also have the support of an organisation from the wider museum community, such as a regional museum hub or subject specialist network.
For more information, please click here
Each year, the trustees announce the amount that is available to individual members undertaking activities to support continuing professional development leading to the Associateship of the Museums Association (AMA).
Preference is given to those paying their own expenses rather than to those subsidised by an employer.
Last year grants were awarded for formal education courses, travel and accommodation costs for visits to specific collections and curators, and to buy study materials, but other activities can also be supported.
Click here for more information about the Trevor Walden Bursary
Click here to read case studies of past Trevor Walden nominations
Applications will be assessed on 1 March and 1 September each year.
For application form please click here (pdf)
To download a supporting statement form, please click here (pdf)
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
The Beecroft Bequest
'…for the purchase of pictures and works of art (furniture or textiles can be considered) not later than the 18th century in date...' Under the terms of the will of the late Walter G Beecroft the residue of his estate was bequeathed to the Museums Association to form the Beecroft Bequest.
The income deriving from the bequest was to be distributed as grant-in-aid to art galleries and museums in the British Isles towards the purchases of paintings and works of art not later than 1800 in date.
The bequest is administered by trustees who are appointed by the MA.
To be eligible:
1. Museums must
· be institutional members of the MA and based in the UK
· be accredited / registered under the MLA scheme or have applied for accreditation
Preference will be given to organisations with annual revenue expenditure not exceeding £1,000,000.
In the case of branch museums, the revenue budget of the parent organisation applies.
2. The purchase
· Must not be later in date than 1800:
· Can be of fine or decorative arts (eg paintings, watercolours, sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, furniture, textiles) and other items of aesthetic merit.
For other items, e.g coins, the case for their aesthetic merit must be made in the application.
· The object must be genuine and of good quality
· Must represent good value for money
· There must be a sound reason for the acquisition.
The applicant must demonstrate how it meets the organisation's acquisition policy/ aims and objectives
· The cost must be at least £500
Applications for grants for items which have already been purchased will not be considered.
3. The grant
· Up to 75% of the purchase price can be awarded
· No single grant will exceed £5,000
· An element of local financial contribution is required
Any grant awarded will be paid upon production of the receipt for the full value of the purchase.
4. The process
· Applications can be considered at any time
· In the case of auction sales at least five working days are required although the trustees cannot guarantee to consider any application made at short notice.
Any known queries regarding provenance or questions raised by other bodies must be disclosed.
For application form please click here (word)
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
The Museums Association Benevolent Fund
'... to alleviate financial distress of members of the Museums Association and their immediate dependents...' The Museums Association Benevolent Fund was established in 1953, following the gift of £100 to the Association by Sir Frank Markham MP, a past-secretary and past-president of the association, and has since been bolstered by generous gifts from members and affiliated organisations.
The purpose of the fund is to alleviate financial distress of members of the Museums Association and their immediate dependents. Application is by letter and decisions will be made quickly.
applications will be considered for family-related matters such as: child-care while a member or dependent re-skills, respite care for member or dependent, school fees
specialist equipment for disabled living, nursing home fees, following bereavement or serious illness.
Applicants must have been an individual member of the MA for three out of the previous five years.
For grant making criteria please contact Georgie Stagg
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
The Daphne Bullard Trust
'… to promote the conservation of dress and textiles of all periods and their display....' The trust was set up in 1973 on the initiative of the family of the late Mrs Daphne Bullard, the keeper of Worcestershire County Museum at Hartlebury Castle, to promote the work of dress and costume conservation, display and publication.
The trust considers applications from students of or persons engaged in the conservation and study of dress and textiles of any period and their display.
Conditions governing grants from the fund:
grants of £300-£1,000 are available
preference will be given to projects aimed at conservation or display of dress or textiles where there is a long-term material benefit to a collection or project
grants are not given to assist with living costs or course fees
a written progress report on the work assisted by the grant must be made to the trustees by 30 November of the year following the award of the grant, or as soon as the project is finished, whichever is the sooner
a photograph of the item(s) would be helpful for the application
applications can be made at any time using the form available on this website.
For application form please click here (word)
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
The Kathy Callow Trust
'… to provide awards with a long-term benefit for the conservation of social history artefacts and evidence in small museums....' The trust was founded in 1994 from part of the residue of the estate of the late Kathy Callow.
Kathy Callow, the curator of the Priest's House Museum, Wimbourne, was an active and long-standing member of the Museums Association.
The trust makes awards to small museums for the purposes of assisting with the costs of conservation projects.
Such projects might include an exhibition, improving stored collections or running workshops for people connected with museums.
Conditions governing grants from the fund:
aid is restricted to smaller galleries or museums with an annual gross revenue expenditure of less than £600,000
the total sum available each year is approximately £1,000
the sum awarded will be influenced by the long-term value of the project and the degree of preparatory thought that has been put into determining the content of the work and its costs
the trustees particularly welcome applications on the following aspects of social history conservation:, the disadvantaged in society, women, the sea, industrialisation, and small localities
applicants should make clear whether the full cost or part is being sought as a grant. Any other funding bodies that have been or will be approached should be mentioned
a written progress report on the work assisted by the grant must be made to the trustees by 30 November of the year following the award, or as soon as the project is finished, whichever is the sooner
applications should be made using the form available on this website.
For application form please click here (pdf)
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
Monument Fellowships
With funding from The Monument Trust, the Museums Association has launched a programme of Fellowships for retired museum professionals, aimed at capturing their unrecorded collections-related knowledge. If you have recently retired or are about to retire from a UK museum and would like the chance to share your collections-related expertise with your successor and the wider museum community, we want to hear from you.
The Fellowships will not support new research but aim to record and share existing knowledge that might otherwise be lost.
Fellows will be paid expenses of £100 a day and Fellowships will be either 50 or 100 days in length, typically spread over 6 months or 12 months.
All applications will require the support of a host museum, which should be the Fellow's former place of work.
We particularly welcome applications that also have the support of an organisation from the wider museum community, such as a regional museum hub or subject specialist network.
For more information, please click here
The Trevor Walden Trust
'...to advance the education and training of museum and gallery personnel...' Each year, the trustees announce the amount that is available to individual members undertaking activities to support continuing professional development leading to the Associateship of the Museums Association (AMA).
Preference is given to those paying their own expenses rather than to those subsidised by an employer.
Last year grants were awarded for formal education courses, travel and accommodation costs for visits to specific collections and curators, and to buy study materials, but other activities can also be supported.
Click here for more information about the Trevor Walden Bursary
Click here to read case studies of past Trevor Walden nominations
Applications will be assessed on 1 March and 1 September each year.
For application form please click here (pdf)
To download a supporting statement form, please click here (pdf)
Contact:
Georgie Stagg
Tel: 020 7426 6953
Fax: 020 7426 6962
Email: georgie@museumsassociation.org
