Using museum collections to improve inclusion and equitable working with community partners
The Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund is the evolution of the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, with a new name that better represents our dual focus on collections and inclusion. We award the fund on behalf of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and have awarded £16m in over 200 grants since 2011.
The overall purpose of the Communities and Collections Fund remains the same as in 2023-24. However, we have updated our processes to better support the best of the types of application we have been receiving; and to take the fund further in the direction of the changes made in 2022.
The fund places more emphasis on equitable working, supporting wellbeing and legacy planning. We now offer core grants to single museum organisations for strategic development of their inclusive collections work; and partnership project grants for museums and community organisations working equitably with collections to achieve shared aims for inclusion.
In the case of partnership grants, we would encourage you to have this partnership in place before approaching us for an initial conversation.
The changes are informed by a spring 2024 review of our impact in the context of the wider UK museum sector and the society in which it exists. Below are links to two documents that have shaped our thinking:
- The key findings of a group of museum and community researchers who contributed to the review
- A practice insights briefing from the facilitator who convened our action learning sets of grantees
Expressions of interest are now open for December 2026 grants. The next deadline is 22 July 2026.
Key downloads
- Expression of interest form – core funding (doc)
- Expression of interest form – partnership projects (doc)
- Guidance for applicants 2025-26 (pdf)
- Working Equitably: A toolkit for museums and community organisations (pdf)
- Gweithio Mewn Ffordd Deg: Pecyn cymorth ar gyfer amgueddfeydd a grwpiau cymunedol (Cymraeg) (pdf)
- Wellbeing Guidance: Creating a culture of care for museums and community partners (pdf)
- Canllawiau llesiant: creu diwylliant o ofal ar gyfer amgueddfeydd a’u partneriaid cymunedol (Cymraeg) (pdf)
“We are delighted to be able to launch this next phase of the Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund. The development of the fund over the past 11 years has shown a real desire on the part of museums to forge strong connections between collections and communities and our research earlier this year told us that the fund should have a focus on people and should support community organisations to have a say in how the funding is spent.
“In order to do that well, we have to look after the people that we work with – staff and community partners – and make sure relationships between museums and communities are truly equitable. These exciting changes will be part of the new fund and I hope will support museums across the UK to put people at the heart of what they do.”
Sharon Heal, director, Museums Association
Key dates
June 2026 decisions
- November 2025 onwards: contact the MA to discuss your ideas
- 21 January 2026: deadline for submission of the expression of interest form
- w/c 23 February 2026: confirmation of whether shortlisted for funding
- 13 May 2026: shortlisted applicants make a second stage application
- End June 2026: grants awarded
December 2026 decisions
- February 2026 onwards: contact the MA to discuss your ideas
- 22 July 2026: deadline for submission of the expression of interest form
- w/c 10 August 2026: confirmation of whether shortlisted for funding
- 4 November 2026: shortlisted applicants make a second stage application
- Mid December 2026: grants awarded
Further downloads and links
- Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund: lessons learned, June 2025 (pdf)
- December 2025 Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund awardees
- Successful EFCCF projects to December 2025 (pdf)
- Sustaining Engagement with Collections: successful applicants (pdf)
- Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund 2024 review – key findings (pdf)
- 2024 review key findings – Eleri Butler Consultancy practice insights briefing (pdf)
- Practice insights – case studies (pdf)
- Collections Fund impact report 2022
Schedule a call or contact us
Please contact Sarah Briggs or Sally Colvin for advice on eligibility for the fund and help to develop applications.
- Sarah Briggs, grants manager: sarah@museumsassociation.org, 020 7566 7834
- Sally Colvin, programmes manager: sally@museumsassociation.org, 020 7566 7851
“This new phase of the Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund marks the next chapter in what has been more than a decade of an invaluable source of funding for museums across the UK and an important opportunity to develop relationships with their communities. The feedback we have received has clearly demonstrated the importance of strengthening this partnerships even further and we look forward to seeing how things develop going forward.”
Rachael Rogers, MA board member and EFCCF panel member
Case studies
Museums Northumberland
Shaping the future of collections with the community through Femmer to Firmer
Horniman Museum and Gardens
Addressing colonial legacies through co-production with 茶, चाय, Tea (Cha, Chai, Tea)
Museum of Free Derry
Working towards a representative recounting of history through the Conflict and Legacy Interpretive Network
Buxton Museum and Art Gallery
Deaccessioning of material from the Derbyshire and Derby School Library Service
The Foundling Museum
Engaging audiences at the heart of the museum's story with Shared Stories, Shared Voices
