Hugo Burge Foundation Grants Programme in the UK

Key Areas

• The three key areas being funded are:
  • Creative Individuals
    • The fund that is open for individual artists, musicians, performers, writers, etc. who are working alone or with one other creative. The intent is to fund a specific project, work, piece, etc. proposed by the individual.
    • The fund can go towards multiple stages of a project, including early research and development, testing, and delivery.
    • This fund can support the artist’s time, the purchase of materials, access to training, and most other costs associated with planning and delivering art. The artist should not be delivering this project on behalf of a position they hold within an organisation and should instead apply to the “Creative Communities” fund to support organisational activity.
  • Creative Communities
    • This fund is open to organisations, community groups, festivals, and fairs that are planning on developing and delivering initiatives focusing on culture and creative arts in the United Kingdom.
    • They are interested in supporting people to engage and connect as participants – not just audiences – in creative activities.
    • They hope to enable more people to regularly take part in or practise cultural activities.
    • They prefer to invest in organisations rather than one-off projects and aim to fund regeneratively – to help the organisation become more resilient and effective as a result of the support.
  • Creative Education
    • The fund is open to any creative or arts led programmes designed for young people in education. They will fund programmes and classes aimed at participants between the ages of 0 and 29.
    • Creative education is crucial for nurturing well-rounded individuals, fostering innovation, and preparing students for a future that demands adaptability and problem-solving skills. It enhances educational attainment, boosts wellbeing, and promotes a sense of belonging.
    • They are also dedicated to supporting the skills and expertise required to train the next generation of artists. The fund can be used for the teaching of visual arts, expressive arts, crafts and making. The aim is to ensure that everyone is given an opportunity to discover or hone their creative skills by being exposed to learning opportunities in all areas of the arts.

Funding Information

• Creative Individuals
  • There will be £50,000 available in the Creative Individuals fund. £25,000 will be awarded via the May 2025 grant window, and £25,000 will be awarded in September 2025 grant window.
  • Applicants can apply for up to £5,000.
• Creative Communities
  • There will be £100,000 available in 2025 for the Creative Communities fund that will be distributed via an open call application process. £50,000 will be available in May 2025’s grant window, while £50,000 will be reserved for the September grant window.
  • Applicants can apply for up to £15,000. Applicants that are applying for £10,000 and under can have their entire project funded by the Hugo Burge Foundation. Applicants who are applying for £10,001 to £15,000 must have a minimum of 30% of budget covered via other funding sources.
• Creative Education
  • The total fund for the Creative Education fund for 2025 will be £150,00.
  • They will accept 6 multiyear requests across these funds that will be reoccurring for a maximum of 3 years. 3 of these grants will be awarded in May 2025 grant window, and 3 more will be rewarded in September 2025 grant window.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be over 18 and based within the United Kingdom. To apply, you must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom without the need for a visa sponsorship, as they cannot offer help with immigration status at this time.
• While they plan to open the Creative Individuals fund to applicants outside of Scotland in the future, the first round of funding for the Creative Individuals fund only will be limited to artists who primarily reside and practice within Scotland.

Ineligibility Criteria

• They regret that applications will be ineligible if the applicant:
  • is looking for help with capital development costs.
  • has already incurred the costs for which it is applying.
  • is primarily focused on promoting political beliefs or ideologies rather than art and creative engagement. (This restriction does not include projects that involve art as activism or increasing participation in arts for historically underserved or underrepresented groups.)
  • has, as a charitable purpose, the advancement of religion.
  • is a company limited by shares.

For more information, visit Hugo Burge Foundation.