Our grants are typically up to £100,000 per annum for a maximum of three years. We assess the size of grants relative to the applicants’ overall turnover and to our available resources. We welcome applications for one-off grants of £25,000-£100,000.

We are lean and focused, applying maximum resources to charitable purposes, and we expect the same of grant recipients. We want to see that funded organisations are well governed and managed, that they have good finance and risk management systems and that they have the necessary skills and expertise to deliver their objectives.

We consider applications for emergency funding only exceptionally and where we are satisfied that robust management structures are in place to ensure that our funding generates long-term value.

We fund specific initiatives and projects rather than providing unrestricted funding.

Please note that we do not consider applications:

Outside our three areas of special interest
For retrospective funding
For capital appeals for construction projects
For campaigning and lobbying work
From statutory bodies or where there is a reasonable expectation of public funding
For endowments
For core running costs
From individuals
From organisations based outside the UK
From organisations which have applied and been rejected within the last twelve months

The Hamish Ogston Foundation was established in October of 2019. Philanthropy has long been an important part of Hamish’s life; from 2008 to the registration of the Foundation, Hamish donated over £8.5 million to numerous causes.

The Foundation’s underlying principles are key to the approval of its donations and the outcomes that are expected from them. Although small donations with little or no oversight can be impactful, the Foundation opts for a different approach. 

This strategy welcomes initiatives that promise long-term sustainability, maximal financial impact and measurable social outcomes. Drawing on the commercial acumen and subject expertise of the team, successful applicants can expect a minimum investment of £1.5m and close cooperation with the Foundation over a number of years.

The Wood Awards is the UK’s premier competition for excellence in architecture and product design in wood. Established in 1971, the Wood Awards recognises, encourages and promotes outstanding wood design, craftsmanship and installation.

The Wood Awards’ elite independent judging panel not only judges all submitted entries but also visits the shortlisted projects in person, making the Wood Awards a uniquely rigorous competition. The Awards are split into two main categories: Buildings and Furniture & Product. The Gold Award is given to the project that the judges deem to be the winner of winners.

The buildings judging panel is led by Jim Greaves of Hopkins Architects. The furniture and product panel is led by design critic, curator and journalist Corinne Julius. The full 2021 judging panels will be announced in due course.

The Wood Awards shortlist and winners all receive exposure through the competition’s PR and marketing. The Wood Awards shortlist will be announced in September and everyone involved in a shortlisted project will be invited to attend the Wood Awards ceremony held in London in November. The shortlisted projects will be on display at the ceremony as well as at an exhibition held earlier in the year. All Wood Award winners receive certificates.

The loss of traditional building skills has been rued for many years now, but the extent and impact of this loss was confirmed in a 2005 National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) report commissioned by the government. The report highlighted shortfalls in traditional skills and an ageing workforce in these areas throughout England. Subsequent investigations covering Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland show a similar trend across the UK.

Although we have 150 staff with traditional expertise including stonemasons, carpenters, joiners, plumbers, bricklayers and lime plasterers, this workforce is following the same worrying trend that the NHTG report highlighted.

Partnership to save skills - That’s why we’re involved in a partnership to make sure these valuable traditional skills don’t die out. We’re working with English Heritage, Cadw (the historic environment service of the Welsh Assembly Government), and Construction Skills on a bursary scheme that nurtures traditional building skills.

This bursary scheme is aimed at students part way through their training in a traditional building trade such as carpentry, joinery, stone masonry, painting and decorating, brickwork and plasterwork.

Vocational qualifications - We are able to set up valuable work placements for these students with the National Trust, one of the partner organisations, or with contractors that specialise in heritage work. The apprenticeship allows each learner to complete their vocational qualification whilst at the same time develop skills to be able to work on historic buildings.

Prior to this the National Trust Building Apprenticeship Scheme ran from 2010-2013 to help tackle the imminent skills shortage within our own teams of craftsmen.

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) supports the training and education of talented and aspiring craftspeople through traditional college courses, vocational training, apprenticeships and one-to-one training with a master craftsperson; helping to support Britain’s cultural heritage and sustain vital skills in traditional and contemporary crafts.

Over the last 30 years QEST has awarded £5million to over 600 individuals working across the UK in 130 different craft disciplines. From guitar making to printmaking; thatching to enamelling, we embrace craft in all its many forms and are proud to contribute towards its evolving tradition. QEST funding has provided an essential turning point for many of our alumni, and we continue to support them throughout their career, offering opportunities for exhibitions, collaborations and commissions through our extensive craft network.

QEST was founded by the Royal Warrant Holders Association in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Association and the 90th birthday of HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. In 2017 HRH The Prince of Wales became our Patron, with Vice-Patrons the Earl of Snowdon and the Marquess of Salisbury.

Inspired by the role Great Britain played in the First World War, Harkness wished the funds to be used for some of the UK’s ‘more urgent needs’. Such a brief would be unusual today but over the years it has given the Trustees the flexibility to fund charities that address such ‘urgent needs’ or the UK’s future wellbeing. Currently the Pilgrim Trust has two grant-making programmes that focus on preserving the UK’s heritage and catalysing social change through which it awards grants of circa £3 million a year.

Our Preservation and Scholarship fund aims to preserve the fabric of historically important buildings and to conserve significant collections and artefacts. We want present and future generations to enjoy the rich and diverse heritage found throughout the UK. Find out more here.

Our Social Change fund aims to support the life chances and wellbeing of vulnerable people in the UK. After a strategic review in 2020, we have announced our new funding programme: Young Women and Mental Health PLUS. The programme aims to help improve the mental health of young women (16-25) in the UK through increasing their access to high quality, age and gender specific mental health services.

The Pilgrim Trust gives grants for:

- Preservation of and repairs to historic buildings and architectural features - special consideration is given to projects that give new use to buildings of out-standing architectural or historic importance;
Conservation of monuments or structures that are important to their surrounding, including buildings designed for public performance.

- Places of Worship: a block grant is made to the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, the Council for the Care of Churches and the Scottish Churches Architectural Heritage Trust. The Trust does not normally make grants direct to historic churches, other than in Northern Ireland. To apply under our block grant allocation scheme please contact the relevant administering organisation directly.

First awarded in 1993, the Philip Webb Award sets architects in the early stages of their career a demanding but exciting dual conservation and design challenge.

The brief is to devise a scheme which sympathetically revitalises a historic building for reuse through careful repair of existing fabric and a significant element of new construction in a contemporary design. It’s a unique opportunity for those interested in sustainability, the reuse of old buildings and in developing experience in conservation practice to engage with the SPAB Approach and showcase their skills. The competition is open to recent Part II graduates and current Part II students from Schools of Architecture in the UK and Ireland.

Philip Webb Award 2022

Entries for the next Philip Webb Award open 18 July 2022. Download the Notes for Entrants to find out more. More detailed information about eligibility and how to enter will be available here in the new year.

Philip Webb Award 2020

The 2020 award attracted a wealth of thoughtful, imaginative, ambitious and beautifully presented entries. After considering all the submissions anonymously aganist the competition criteria, the judges shortlisted seven schemes:

- Justin Chung (Manchester) - Islanded: a Reimagined Factory (Dana Prison, Shrewsbury)
- Jess Tyson (Nottingham) - Principles of Continuity: Nottingham Arts Centre (Guildhall & Fire Station)
- Emma Halford (Cardiff) - Navigation Colliery: Craft, Care & Conservation (Crumlin, South Wales)
- Megan Peeks (UWE, Bristol) - Koutoubia Hammam, Marrakech, Morocco
- Sarah Edwards (Sheffield) - Institute of Care: a test bed for conservation & repair (Longton, Stoke on Trent)
- Shelby Green (De Montford, Leicester) - Caelatura: Long Stairs, Nottingham
- Team entry (Birmingham City) - Moseley Street Baths, Balsall Heath, Birmingham by Rebecca Chim, Shannon Ciriaco, Frances Lacey, Annabel Linch, Huma Mahmood, Lechelle Ndlovu, James Timmins

From these, Jess Tyson's scheme for a new Nottingham Arts Centre was chosen as this year's winner. Second prize was awarded to the team that set out proposals for the refurbishment, upgrading and extension of Moseley Road Baths in Birmingham. The judges commended Justin Chung for his reimagining of the former Dana Prison, Shrewsbury as a manufacturing hub. See the acceptance speeches on the SPAB's YouTube.

We are the largest dedicated grant funder of the UK’s heritage. Locally connected and with national expertise, we are a change-maker working to enhance and champion the value of heritage for all.

- As The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we distribute National Lottery grants from £3,000 to £5million and over, funding projects that sustain and transform the UK's heritage.
- As The Heritage Fund, we distribute non-Lottery funding, including grant-in-aid/government funding and loans, to heritage organisations. We provide leadership and support across the heritage sector, and advocate for the value of heritage.

Heritage can be anything from the past that you value and want to pass on to future generations. Understanding, valuing and sharing our heritage brings people together, inspires pride in communities and boosts investment in local economies. We’re supporting the heritage sector to strengthen its recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and build back for positive change.

The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up to save some of the UK’s finest heritage at risk of loss. Taken together, the treasures it saves form a permanent memorial to those who have given their lives for the UK.

As a fund of last resort, NHMF provides financial assistance towards the acquisition, preservation and maintenance of some of the UK’s finest objects and landscapes. These range from historic houses and works of art to trains and boats and ancient landscapes. NHMF creates a world-class collection that will belong to the people of the United Kingdom forever.

NHMF receives annual grant-in-aid of £5million from the UK government to help save some of our most-loved treasures from being lost forever.
History of NHMF

The National Heritage Memorial Fund’s predecessor, The National Land Fund, was set up in 1946 to purchase land and buildings as a ‘thank-offering for victory, and a war memorial’.

However, the fund remained largely unused and in 1977 there was public outcry over the sale of the historic Mentmore Towers and its contents. On the death of the 6th Earl of Rosebery, the government had declined to buy the Grade I listed country house and its contents in lieu of death duties. As a result, the precious art and objects were sold through a public auction.

The loss sparked the passing of a new National Heritage Act in 1980, which launched the National Heritage Memorial Fund as a ‘memorial to those who have died for the UK’.

It was given an independent board of Trustees and allocated the money remaining in the National Land Fund as well as an allowance of grant-in-aid.

This new fund was to build on, and expand, the legacy of its predecessor by making available grants to help acquire, maintain or preserve any land, building or structure, or any object or collection of outstanding scenic, historic, aesthetic, architectural, scientific or artistic interest to the nation.

The word ‘memorial’ remains in the title as a reminder that this fund remains true to the original vision of creating the finest of memorials to those who have given their lives for the UK.

The NHMF continues to act as the fund of last resort, supporting some of our nation’s greatest treasures when it matters most.
NHMF and The National Lottery Heritage Fund

In 1994, the NHMF and its trustees were appointed distributor of the heritage share of the National Lottery’s funds for Good Causes, which it now operates through The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Heritage Fund is the largest dedicated funder of heritage in the UK. It offers opportunities for conserving the nation’s heritage with emphasis on placing people and communities at the heart of projects.

Historic Buildings: The trustees will consider supporting the repair and conservation of buildings, artefacts and important historic gardens of the Georgian period or earlier. They are inclined to give grants to smaller projects, or specific elements of projects, where their contribution can make a greater impact.

Church Furnishings: The trustees support the conservation of church features and furnishings of the Georgian and earlier periods, including monuments, tombs, wall paintings, historically important glass, and furniture and fittings such as pulpits, fonts and pews. The trustees do not support structural repairs to church buildings.

Trustees consider grants up to £5,000. The average size of grant is £2,000.

The Historic Houses Foundation (HHF) is a charitable grant-giving foundation which was set up in 2005 as the Country Houses Foundation, changing its name in 2019 following the merger with the Heritage Conservation Trust. The objects of the Foundation are:

- to advance the preservation, for the public benefit, of buildings of sufficient historic or architectural significance or importance to merit preservation together with their gardens and grounds, and
- to protect and augment the amenities and furnishings, and artwork of any such buildings, gardens and grounds.

The Historic Houses Foundation was born out of the Country Houses Association, an Industrial and Provident Society which was formed in 1955 by Admiral Greathed for the purposes of preserving historic buildings for the benefit of the nation.

During its lifetime, the Association acquired nine large country houses, and restored and preserved these until their sale in 2003 and 2004. During their ownership by the Association, all the houses were converted into retirement apartments, with the rental income helping to pay for extensive renovations and repairs. The houses were open to members of the Association and also members of the public.

Following a restructuring of the Association in 2004, all the properties were sold resulting in a substantial surplus. The majority of these funds have been donated to the Country Houses Foundation to ensure that the work of preserving historic buildings continues.

It is the intention of the HHF Trustees that these funds will be used to award substantial grants to the most deserving of qualifying projects

Managed by The Heritage Alliance and the Architectural Heritage Fund, the Heritage Funding Directory is a free guide to financial support for anyone undertaking UK related heritage projects. This is a useful starting point for navigating funding sources in the sector and it is recommended that you visit the funder’s website directly to explore the latest information.

Thanks to support from the Historic Houses Foundation, The Heritage Alliance and The Architectural Heritage Fund combined their funding directories to provide around 400 updated listings detailing sources of grants from trusts and foundations, as well as organisations offering loan finance, awards, scholarships and other ‘in kind’ resources.

The Directory’s entries cover historic buildings, landscapes, parks and gardens, churchyards and cemeteries, industrial heritage, archives, historic churches, museums, archaeology, the environmental, heritage skills, conservation and more.

Heritage Alliance member, Kate Pugh, also created a new list of around 100 grants and funding sources that are available for heritage projects outside of the UK in the International Funding Directory, which will soon be integrated into the main Heritage Funding Directory.

Mission - The Getty Foundation fulfills the philanthropic mission of the Getty Trust by supporting individuals and institutions committed to advancing the greater understanding and preservation of the visual arts in Los Angeles and throughout the world. Through strategic grant initiatives, it strengthens art history as a global discipline, promotes the interdisciplinary practice of conservation, increases access to museum and archival collections, and develops current and future leaders in the visual arts. It carries out its work in collaboration with the other Getty Programs to ensure that they individually and collectively achieve maximum effect.

History - The Getty Foundation (initially called the Getty Grant Program) was established in 1984 in the belief that philanthropy is a key ingredient in carrying out the mission of the J. Paul Getty Trust. The Getty Trust is an international cultural organization that includes the Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Research Institute, and J. Paul Getty Museum. Drawing on our unique position as a grant-making entity within the larger Getty Trust, we utilize the expertise of all the Getty programs as well as colleagues in our fields to identify areas where grants can make a difference.

Since our inception, the Foundation's signature grant programs have made art history more interdisciplinary and international; created models for the practice of conservation emphasizing the importance of planning and training; increased access to museum and archival collections, most recently in digital form; and nurtured a generation of new leaders in the visual arts. To date, the Foundation has developed, assessed, awarded, and monitored over 8,000 grants in more than 180 countries. You can browse the complete record in our online grant database.

For more than two decades, the Foundation practiced "over the transom" grantmaking according to defined program categories with regular submission deadlines. Then in 2008, partially in response to the economic downturn but also in accordance with shifting institutional priorities, we switched to strategic philanthropy and have since made our grants according to initiatives designed to address defined problems in art history, conservation, and museums. While economic conditions can affect our annual budget as was the case after 2008, the Foundation's grantmaking is guided primarily by the Getty's strategic priorities.

Getty has been the only major foundation that supports art history and conservation on a fully international basis. We have always defined the term "art" very broadly, to encompass all times, all places, and all media. And we believe in the importance of the quiet work that goes on behind-the-scenes but is absolutely necessary for public projects to succeed: research, conservation, and interpretation. These values have guided us well, and we look forward to sharing our continuing work.

Environmental Stewardship is a scheme run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which makes payments to farmers and land managers to improve the natural beauty and diversity of the countryside.

It operates throughout England and is part of the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP).

ENTRUST (Environmental Trust Scheme Regulatory Body Ltd) is the regulatory body appointed by HM Revenue and Customs under The Landfill Tax Regulations 1996 to regulate activities under the Landfill Communities Fund.

Under this Scheme, local community and environmental organisations in the vicinity (usually within 10 miles) of a landfill site in England and Northern Ireland, can apply for a contribution from a landfill operator or a Distributive Environmental Body towards the cost of the repair, maintenance or restoration of a building or other structure of religious worship, or of historical or architectural importance.

The scheme closed in Scotland on 31 March 2015 and closed in Wales on 31 March 2018.

Funding is provided on an entirely voluntary basis by a landfill operator in lieu of paying tax.

Launched in 1959, the Civic Trust Awards is one of the oldest built environment award schemes in Europe. From cafes and churches to housing and hospitals, the Civic Trust has rewarded over 5,500 buildings which have made a difference to local people and their communities by providing the design and facilities which have made better places for people.

The Civic Trust Awards are unique. They recognise the best in the built environment, from architecture to planning, townscape to infrastructure, but they are about so much more than this. They recognise the public realm in its wider context, and our continuing belief that development should be for the benefit of people, those who use it, and those who just pass by.

The winners are not simply architecturally advanced, exciting, innovative or striking. They are also of benefit to their local community, and the organisers strive to ensure that every entry is assessed by a local person, whose role is to canvass and represent the views of the people who use or see the building as part of their environment.