Creative Foundations Fund

Before applying, please carefully read the eligibility requirements. If you do not meet any of these requirements, it will not be possible for Arts Council to consider your full application for funding. You should also consider the Arts Council’s Standard Terms and Conditions for Capital Grants.

Who can apply? 

Not-for-profit cultural organisations based in England. Organisations must demonstrate through their governance documents that their primary aims are cultural and that the activities they are applying for fall within the remit of Arts Council England. Organisations must demonstrate that they have presented or delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months.

The lead organisation (the organisation submitting the application) should be properly constituted with a governing document. 

Examples of the kinds of organisations that are eligible to apply include:

• charities

• charitable trusts

• charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) registered with the Charity Commission

• charitable companies registered with the Charity Commission

• community interest companies (CICs) registered with the CIC regulator

• limited companies registered at Companies House who do not distribute profit to their members or shareholders

• statutory bodies and other public bodies who run or maintain cultural services

• charitable community benefit societies, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), provided their governance documents can demonstrate that any profits are reinvested for the benefit of the ‘society’ instead of its members.  (e.g. include an asset lock)

Cultural organisations can only submit one Expression of Interest to either Strand 1 or 2 for this fund (not both).  Arts Council will accept more than one Expression of Interest from statutory bodies and other public bodies that run or maintain cultural services, but they must be for separate projects in different locations.

Partnership applications between properly constituted cultural organisations. One organisation must act as the lead organisation and submit the application depending on who is most appropriate to meet the aims and outcomes of the fund. All partners to the partnership will need to be not-for-profit organisations and meet the eligibility requirements set out above.

If the project is funded, Arts Council England will enter into a legally binding grant agreement with the lead organisation. This organisation must accept the Arts Council’s Standard Terms and Conditions for Capital Grants and will be solely accountable to the Arts Council for all monitoring information, how all the money is spent, and for the successful delivery of the project. Before the project can start, the Arts Council must approve a partnership agreement between the lead organisation and the other partners involved in the project. Further guidance about partnership agreements can be found on the Arts Council England website.

Who cannot apply?

• accredited and non-accredited museums (national and non-national)

• libraries

• individuals

• organisations that distribute profit to members or shareholders

• organisations that are not properly constituted with a governing document

• organisations who do not have a registered address in England

• organisations whose primary aims are not cultural as set out in their governance documents

• organisations applying for activities that fall outside the remit of Arts Council England

• organisations that cannot demonstrate that they have presented or delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months.

How much can be applied for?

Strand 1: £100,000 (minimum) up to and including £1,000,000 (maximum). 

Strand 2: £1,000,001 (minimum) up to and including £10,000,000 (maximum).

Grants near the maximum value are likely to be made only by exception.

Minimum partnership funding from other sources

To make funding go further, Arts Council expect you to make the most of other sources of income. The minimum partnership funding requirement for each strand is: 

• Strand 1: at least 5 percent

• Strand 2: at least 10 per cent (grants above £1 million and up to and including £5 million) and 15 per cent (grants above £5 million) 

This minimum level of partnership funding must come from other sources. Arts Council will not accept funding already spent as partnership funding. Eligible sources of partnership funding include: 

• grants from trusts and foundations

• philanthropic giving, such as donations from individuals or companies

• other public funding, including central government and local authority funding

• grants from other National Lottery distributors

• donations from individuals or companies

• public appeals and fundraising events

• a contribution from your organisation

• loan finance

• in-kind support – it is expected that no more than 50 per cent of partnership funding would be in-kind support

Other Arts Council England funds cannot be used as partnership funding.

In your full application, please indicate the amount of partnership funding you have already secured, the amount expected, and your plans for raising the remaining funds required to start your project. You must have secured 100 percent of the required partnership funding before you can start your project, and Arts Council will require evidence of this as a condition of the initial payment. 

When must the project take place?

Projects must not start before 1 April 2026. Projects must end no later than 31 March 2029 (36 months). 

Additional eligibility for building projects

Arts Council England define a building project as any building work, including, fixtures, required to comply with the following:  

• building regulations

• outline planning permission

• full planning permission

• listed building consent

• change of use

• conservation area consent

• lawful development certificate. 

If any part of your project must comply with one or more of these statutory approvals or regulations, it will be classified as a building project, and you must meet the following requirements when submitting your full application. If you do not meet any of these requirements, your full application will not be considered eligible for funding:

• Relevant drawings and/or specifications accompanied by a cost plan or detailed expenditure document prepared by a suitably qualified professional. These documents must be included as mandatory attachments to the full application and should:

  • describe in detail the scope of works in your full application, including how the project will meet legal requirements, statutory approvals or quality standards such as, but not limited to materials, performance criteria or workmanship standards relevant for your project

  • show you have sought professional advice relevant to the scope of the works in the your full application, including whether your project should follow the RIBA plan of work 2020

  • demonstrate you are ready to commence detailed specification and contractor/supplier procurement work, if funding is confirmed

  • show the project scope is fully established, including demonstrating coordinated proposals for architectural, structural and building services designs, if relevant

  • specify key materials and products

  • demonstrate they are comprehensive and sufficiently detailed enough for the project to be accurately costed

If you are following the RIBA Plan of Work 2020, drawings for architectural and engineering elements must be developed up to and including RIBA Work Stage 3 as a minimum, accompanied by a relevant cost plan by the time you submit your full application. If you are not following the RIBA work stages, your full application should include a written specification and/or drawings described in sufficient detail to meet the requirements above. 

• You must demonstrate that you own the land and/or buildings (either as a freehold or leasehold) on which you will spend the grant and that the land and buildings can be used for the project purposes.  If you hold a leasehold interest in the land and/or buildings, you must hold the responsibilities for repair and insurance under the terms of your lease (e.g. a full repairing lease), and the lease must meet the following additional requirements:

  • grants up to and including £500,000 – a registered and assignable lease of at least 10 years; or

  • grants above £500,000 and up to and including £1,000,000 – a registered and assignable lease of at least 15 years; or

  • grants above £1,000,000 and up to and including £5,000,000 - a registered and assignable lease of at least 20 years; or

  • grants above £5 million and up to and including £10 million - a registered and assignable lease of at least 30 years.

In addition to the requirements noted above, the lease should not include a break clause (this is one or more parties’ right to end the lease in certain circumstances), should not include a forfeiture on insolvency clause (this is the landlord’s right to end the lease if the tenant becomes insolvent), and must have a permitted user clause that allows the property to be used for cultural and creative purposes. The number of years that need to remain on your lease will be calculated from the date of the grant agreement.

If your lease does not meet these leasehold requirements, you must liaise with your landlord and arrange for a deed of variation of the lease to be completed so that it complies. You will be responsible for arranging a deed of variation, but you may include these costs in your full application. Arts Council will require you to comply with additional conditions to evidence that these leasehold requirements have been met. These will be set out as conditions in the grant agreement.

What activity can be supported? 

Strand 1 will support:

• Equipment projects - moveable furniture, equipment, and vehicles.

• Building projects to existing cultural buildings or expanded cultural facilities within an existing site.

• Building and equipment projects in one application. 

Strand 2 will support: 

• Building projects (existing cultural buildings or expanded cultural facilities within an existing site).

• Building and equipment projects in one application. 

While the following list is far from exhaustive, Arts Council will support the following type of activity, providing it can be capitalised on your balance sheet: 

• Upgrading or replacing portable equipment or vehicles, such as, but not limited to:

  • specialist equipment, including portable technical equipment, digital equipment, sound enhancement systems (inc. portable induction loops), and audio enhancement systems (inc. audio description, captioning and backstage communications)

  • portable items to enable inclusive cultural participation, such as height-adjustable furniture, lights or heaters

  • replacing vehicles with low-emission vehicles essential to enable sustainable production and touring.

• Building work, to existing cultural buildings such as, but not limited to:

  • external works such as roofs, walls, pointing and masonry works

  • external windows and doors, including widening or installing/upgrading power-assisted doors

  • upgrading existing building fabric to enhance thermal performance or insulating the building envelope to prevent the transmission of indirect solar gains

  • property protection measures to reduce the risk of flooding, such as floodproofing or flood-resilient works

  • upgrade of rainwater disposal systems

  • acoustic treatment work

  • provision of permanent access to carry out maintenance and inspection where this will make future maintenance works more practicable

  • internal works such as replacing ceilings, floor coverings and internal doors

  • replacement of life-expired sanitary facilities and plumbing

  • improvements to a building’s long-term sustainability and resilience to the effects of climate change

  • replacement or upgrading of facilities used by artists, workforce or audiences to improve comfort, increase economic sustainability or address health and safety issues such as auditoria seating, circulation spaces, and front-of-house or back-of-house areas

  • installation of measures to strengthen the security of public premises and reduce the risks from terrorist attacks.

• Replacing essential building services, such as, but not limited to:

  • heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, including replacement of fossil fuel boilers and heating systems with zero carbon options

  • building control systems

  • energy supplies (including renewable sources)

  • lifts

  • fire safety, detection and protection, CCTV, security, and alarm systems

  • lighting

  • IT cabling/infrastructure

  • installing or retrofitting sustainable technologies.  

• Addressing equality and accessibility issues to provide independent access for disabled people and welcome users with diverse needs such as but not limited to:

  • improvements to surfaces such as paths, landscaping, such as level or ramped access or level drop-off points near entrances

  • installing Changing Places facilities or increasing provision of accessible, ambulant disabled, or gender-neutral toilets

  • installing signage that meets best practice guidelines.

• Other associated project costs, such as but not limited to:

  • professional fees related to the project providing these have not been incurred before accepting a grant agreement

  • time-limited costs that you may incur that are directly related to the project

  • VAT that you cannot recover from HM Revenue and Customs.

What activity cannot be supported?

This fund cannot support: 

• expenditure that will not be capitalised on your balance sheet

• building projects that do not meet our requirements for ownership of land and buildings in this guidance

• adaptive reuse of existing buildings for cultural purposes

• development of new buildings for cultural use

• increased costs for projects where building or construction work has started

• training costs

• replacement or upgrade to buildings or equipment covered by existing warranties, insurance, or contractual agreements

• the purchase of leasehold or freehold land or buildings

• projects that demonstrate little or no potential benefit to the public

• costs you must pay before accepting a grant agreement, including costs in developing your application or covered by other funding

• projects that will not meet the time requirements for this fund, e.g. work that will not be carried out over the next three years

• costs that are paid for by any other income

• research, including developing feasibility studies, options appraisals, or surveys

• development of drawings and specifications, including architectural drawings up to and including RIBA Work Stage 3 or equivalent

• routine maintenance and minor repairs, which should form part of a maintenance and management plan

• assets that you plan to sell

• general running costs or overheads such as staffing, fundraising costs, rent, storage, and insurance

• goods, works or services that have not been procured following the requirements in the Standard Terms and Conditions for Capital Grants

• closure costs – costs resulting from temporarily having to stop your activities during the project

• software such as, but not limited to, data and analytics, content strategy, digital marketing, customer relationship management, e-commerce or business systems

• activities which directly generate income by offering goods or services on the market for a commercial fee

• activities covered by statutory duties, including those for educational or other statutory purposes necessary by law.

Aims of the fund

The aims of this investment are to: 

• increase the economic sustainability of cultural and creative organisations through improving existing cultural buildings and equipment

• decrease the risk and financial impact of abandoned or cancelled performances, exhibitions, or events caused by equipment or infrastructure failure

• grow audience engagement and access by underserved communities to high-quality creative work and cultural infrastructure. 

Outcomes of the fund

The outcomes we expect to see from this investment are:

• improved value for money through decreasing the amount of expenditure on maintenance and repair of cultural assets

• reduced loss of high-quality cultural work from creative and cultural organisations as a result of asset failure or degradation

• cultural organisations develop more sustainable financial and business models, adapting to the changing environment and needs of the communities with whom they work

• improved energy efficiency and environmental performance of cultural buildings and equipment.

Key dates

• June 2025: If you’re new to Grantium, Arts Council England's funding application portal, you’ll need to create a user account and applicant profile. Approval of your Grantium profile can take up to 10 working days, so you should register early.

• June 2025: Watch the pre-recorded Creative Foundations Fund webinar, with more details on the Arts Council England website.

• 30 June 2025: Online Expression of Interest form opens on Grantium. First, complete the initial eligibility questionnaire to confirm whether your proposal appears to be eligible for this fund. If eligible, complete the Expression of Interest step.

• Noon on 25 July 2025: Deadline for submitting the online Expression of Interest form on Grantium.

• July/August 2025: Arts Council reviews the Expressions of Interest. Following the review, applicants are notified of the outcome.

• 22 August 2025: Applicants whose projects could significantly contribute to the aims and outcomes of the fund, as detailed in this guidance, are invited to submit a full application.

• September 2025: Join the Creative Foundations Fund webinar for applicants or watch the recording.

• Noon on 31 October 2025: Deadline for submitting full application on Grantium, including providing the mandatory supporting documents as detailed in this guidance.

• 3 to 21 November 2025: Arts Council England will conduct eligibility checks on full applications to confirm that the eligibility requirements in this guidance are met. Arts Council England will notify applicants if their full application isn’t eligible.

• By 31 March 2026: Arts Council England makes Award Decisions on all eligible applications and applicants are notified of the outcome of their application.

Full eligibility details in the guidance and details of how to apply have been published by Arts Council England here.