The recent suspension of the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund is a blow for those looking to raise funds for capital projects (see link below).
Since the fund started in 2002, it has given £28m to support hundreds of projects. The 2009-10 round, announced in August, awarded a total of £4m to 34 schemes. Grants ranged from £18,00 to £300,000.
One of the winners was Wolverhampton Art Gallery, which was awarded £33,000 to redisplay its Black Country collection. This is the third time the gallery has gained DCMS/Wolfson Fund money.
Marguerite Nugent, head of curatorial services at Wolverhampton, says each time the money was part of a wider funding package.
This is often the way DCMS/Wolfson money is used. The Bowes Museum in County Durham won £300,000 as part of a major redevelopment that has also attracted money from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), English Heritage, Monument Trust, Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and others.
There are many funding sources that museums can tap, although finding the type of smaller grants that DCMS/Wolfson gave could be difficult. The HLF does not give capital grants of less £50,000. The Monument Trust and the Foyle Foundation are among those that provide sub-£50,000 grants for museum and gallery capital projects.
But even with these other sources, the DCMS/Wolfson fund will be missed. The department for culture has described the break in 2010-11 as a "pause" but will not rule out closing the fund.
Since the fund started in 2002, it has given £28m to support hundreds of projects. The 2009-10 round, announced in August, awarded a total of £4m to 34 schemes. Grants ranged from £18,00 to £300,000.
One of the winners was Wolverhampton Art Gallery, which was awarded £33,000 to redisplay its Black Country collection. This is the third time the gallery has gained DCMS/Wolfson Fund money.
Marguerite Nugent, head of curatorial services at Wolverhampton, says each time the money was part of a wider funding package.
This is often the way DCMS/Wolfson money is used. The Bowes Museum in County Durham won £300,000 as part of a major redevelopment that has also attracted money from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), English Heritage, Monument Trust, Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and others.
There are many funding sources that museums can tap, although finding the type of smaller grants that DCMS/Wolfson gave could be difficult. The HLF does not give capital grants of less £50,000. The Monument Trust and the Foyle Foundation are among those that provide sub-£50,000 grants for museum and gallery capital projects.
But even with these other sources, the DCMS/Wolfson fund will be missed. The department for culture has described the break in 2010-11 as a "pause" but will not rule out closing the fund.
Links
DCMS and Wolfson suspend £4m joint fund, Museums Journal October 2009, p8
www.foylefoundation.org.uk
www.sfct.org.uk/monument.html
DCMS and Wolfson suspend £4m joint fund, Museums Journal October 2009, p8
www.foylefoundation.org.uk
www.sfct.org.uk/monument.html
