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Arts Council England: funding for libraries and museums

Arts Council England (ACE) is inviting libraries and museums to apply for grants from the following programmes:

Museum Transformation Programme
Grants of between £50,000 and £1m to help regional museums that have an established relationship with a local authority to develop a programme of transformation to increase their long-term financial resilience and operational sustainability.
Apply by 30 September 2026

Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) Round 6
Grants of between £50,000 and £5m for non-national Accredited museums and local authorities that have urgent maintenance works that cannot be covered by day-to-day maintenance budgets. The aim is to improve resilience, access and environmental performance of museum buildings.
Expressions of Interest by 12 June 2026

Libraries Improvement Fund Round 5
Capital grants of between £50,000 and £500,000 for local authorities applying on behalf of a library service – this includes community managed libraries that are running a service as part of statutory library provision but the application must be made by the local authority. The grants can be used for a range of projects to upgrade library buildings and technology.
Expressions of Interest by 10 June 2026

Focus of fund/fund aims:

Arts Council England funding for libraries and museums

Application deadline:

Refer to the deadlines above

Fund description:

https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/our-open-funds