Apply for European Jewish Heritage Grants

Grants are available for archives, libraries, museums, professional institutions and organisations to ensure their collections are accessible for research and education and to convey Jewish heritage and culture for diverse audiences.

The support also helps professionals who work with Jewish heritage to receive the training they need to strengthen the sector and ensure Jewish heritage is managed professionally, enhanced and valued.

Grant Categories

• Collections Management
  • This funding provides support to institutions and organisations across Europe to help conserve, organise and protect collections relating to Jews, Judaism and Jewish history and culture.
• Exhibition Support
  • This funding provides support for institutions and organisations across Europe to create engaging, professional and innovative exhibitions relating to Jewish history and Jewish cultural heritage.
• Professional Development
  • Funding is available for professional development and training opportunities that benefit the participants in their professional work and strengthen the institutions that hold Jewish collections.

Funding Information

• Collections Management
  • The average level of funding in this category is £30,000 – £60,000 per year for up to 3 years.
  • They will fund up to 70% of the project budget and at least 30% of the cost of the project will need to come from other funding sources. They favour proposals that include co-funding from other organisations as well as clear evidence of financial commitments from your own institution (e.g., institutional reserves, money raised from ticket sales etc.) Of this 30%, up to half can be attributed to in-kind contributions or allocated costs.
  • Applications requesting more than 70% of the total project budget will be rejected.
• Exhibition Support
  • Core exhibitions (museums only) – The maximum level of funding that will be considered is for requests up to £75,000 per year for up to 3 years (maximum total of £225,000 over 3 years).
  • Temporary/hire of travelling exhibitions – The maximum level of funding that will be considered is £75,000.
  • Innovative digital projects – The average level of funding in this category is £30,000 – £60,000 per year for up to 3 years.
  • They will fund up to 70% of the project budget and at least 30% of the cost of the project will need to come from other funding sources. They favour proposals that include co-funding from other organisations as well as clear evidence of financial commitments from your own institution (e.g., institutional reserves, money raised from ticket sales etc.) Of this 30%, up to half can be attributed to in-kind contributions or allocated costs (see below).
  • Applications requesting more than 70% of the total project budget will be rejected.
• Professional Development
  • Conferences, seminars or specialist training courses
    • They will provide up to £1000 to cover the cost of the conference, seminar or course fees, travel and accommodation.
  • Professional Language courses
    • Grants of up to £2000 are available to cover tuition and will be paid directly to the language school upon receipt of an invoice.
  • Expert / consultant visits
    • Grants of up to £2000 will be available to cover the expert’s fee and travel expenses against receipts.
  • Site visits
    • They will provide up to £1000 towards travel and accommodation costs.
  • Professional Training
    • The maximum level of funding that will be considered is for requests up to £50,000 per year for up to 3 years (maximum total of £150,000 over 3 years).

Eligible Activities

• Collections Management
  • preliminary research (eg. scoping survey)
  • conservation and preservation
  • inventorying and cataloguing
  • digitisation
  • creating digital resources
  • public programming
• Exhibition Support
  • Core Exhibitions
    • Revamping or developing a museum’s core exhibition
  • Temporary Exhibitions
    • Creating a temporary exhibition of Jewish interest
  • Renting Travelling Exhibitions
    • Renting and adapting a travelling exhibition of Jewish interest from another European institution
  • Innovative Exhibition Ideas
    • Any other innovative or creative opportunity to showcase a collection and boost public engagement
• Professional Development
  • Conferences, seminars or specialist training courses
    • Funding for a staff member to attend a professional conference or participate in a seminar or specialist training course.
  • Professional Language courses
    • For Jewish heritage professionals to improve their working knowledge of Hebrew or any other Jewish language relevant to their work.
  • Expert/consultant visits
    • European Jewish institutions can receive professional guidance to help manage their collections or provide strategic advice.
  • Site visits
    • Opportunities for archival, museum or library staff members to meet with peers based at other European institutions.
  • Professional Training
    • If you are interested in developing a training programme to improve the professional skills of your staff in their work relating to Jewish materials.

Ineligible Funding

• operating costs for schools, synagogues, museums, or other communal buildings
• building and construction work for museums or other communal institutions
• acquisition of objects
• launch events or exhibition openings
• restoration work of Jewish built heritage
• artistic projects in the fine arts, performing arts, film production and creative writing – including artwork commissioned by museums
• publication and translation of academic books

Eligibility Criteria

• Collections Management & Exhibition Support
  • They welcome applications from any organisation based in Europe, EU and non-EU states alike, except for Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.
  • The organisation’s activities must be deemed charitable under UK charity law, and they will require proof of its charitable status. This includes organisations which are either not-for-profit or publicly funded e.g., state or private libraries, archives, museums, research institutes, universities, cultural centres, or non-profit organisations.
• Professional Development
  • Funding for individuals is available to Jewish heritage professionals (archivists, librarians, conservators, curators, educators, cataloguers, etc) who work professionally in a museum, archive, library or other heritage organisation with a significant Jewish collection.
  • The work may be part-time but should constitute at least 16 hours per week. They must be based in a European country and have at least 6 months of experience working professionally in the field of Jewish heritage.
  • For organisations making an application, their activities must be deemed charitable under UK charity law. This includes organisations which are either not-for-profit or publicly funded e.g., state or private libraries, archives, museums, research institutes, or universities.

For more information, visit Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe.