Financial Support Fund

The Financial Support Fund of the Benevolent Fund aims to address difficulties for our members, including:

• The relief of poverty
• Alleviating financial distress suffered by members of the MA

Applications for alleviating financial distress will be considered for family-related matters such as: childcare, respite care for member, specialist equipment for disabled living, or difficulties caused by sudden bereavement.

Application criteria

Funds are available to current Individual Members of the Museums Association for the relief, in cases of need, hardship or distress; for example, death or serious illness or loss of employment. An application must be for a specific, time-limited purpose, not a regular amount for an indefinite period. The Trustees have absolute discretion to award or refuse grants.

2.1      Applicants must:

• Be a current individual member of the Museums Association and;
• Have been an individual member for at least three years.

2.2      The application must not be to replace any state benefits to which the applicant may be entitled and must not jeopardise the applicant’s entitlement to any state benefit.

2.3      The need must be genuine and measurable.

2.4      The amount of grant will be dependent on the circumstances and the financial situation of the applicant.

2.5      The types of situations for which assistance may be given include, but are not restricted to:

• Childcare while the applicant re-skills
• Respite care for an applicant
• Specialist equipment for disabled living
• Difficulties caused by sudden bereavement

2.6      The types of issues for which assistance will not usually be given include:

• Private medical treatment
• New student loans or vocational fees and expenses
• Business debts
• Research projects

2.7      To apply, please complete the form available on this site and forward to info@museumsassociation.org.