21 creative grants and funds to help get your next project off the ground
Do you need help launching a project or deepening your artistic practice? Resources can seem scarce out there, but the creative industries have more funding opportunities than you might expect. Check out this list of grants that we’ve collated – providing support for emerging creatives, they might just be what you need to take the next step in your career. And if you’re preparing a funding application, check out The White Pube’s Funding Library – a free resource sharing real, successful applications and practical advice to help you navigate the process.
Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants
Application: Ongoing
Location: UK
Amount: £1,000 – £100,000
National Lottery Project Grants support individual practitioners, communities and cultural organisations. They fund projects that span a range of disciplines, including literature, visual arts and performing arts, though they’re currently prioritising museum and library projects. The fund is open all year round and distributes funding of up to £100,000.
Heritage Crafts Training Bursaries
Application: Closes 20 March
Location: UK
Amount: Up to £4,000
Heritage Crafts’ is targeted at people facing financial hardship while striving to make their living as a professional craftsperson. Their training bursaries are focused on new entrants and early-career craftspeople looking to develop their skills.
Arts Council Northern Ireland Support for Individual Artists Programme
Application: Ongoing
Location: Northern Ireland
Amount: £62 – £15,000
Based in Northern Ireland? The Support for Individual Artists Programme (SIAP) offers several grants for artists, ranging from £62 to £15,000. The funding can be used to help you develop your practice, create new work, cultivate fresh ideas, receive mentoring and travel.
Youth Music NextGen Fund
Application: 28 August – 25 September 2026
Location: UK
Amount: Up to £3,000
If you’re a budding musician with big ideas, this is for you. The Youth Music NextGen Fund offers young creatives grants of up to £3,000 to invest in their own projects and make their ideas happen. The fund is especially aimed at those whose lack of finances holds them back from pursuing their goals.
Black Artists Grant
Application: Ongoing
Location: UK
Amount: £500
The Black Artists Grant offered by Creative Debuts, a global art platform, is a no-strings-attached financial grant to help Black artists. Grantees can spend the funds on whatever they want, be that to make new work, buy equipment or materials, travel, research, visit exhibitions or conferences, or even just to cover some life expenses.
Philip Bates Trust
Application: January, May, September
Location: UK, West Midlands
Amount: Up to £500
Founded in memory of Philip Bates, a young musician from Birmingham, this trust aims to advance the education of young people under the age of 25 in the arts. It supports artistic development, projects and workshops. Although anyone in the UK can apply, the trust particularly welcomes applications from the West Midlands.
Creative Scotland Open Fund for Individuals
Application: Opens throughout the year
Location: Scotland
Amount: £500 – £50,000
The Open Fund for Individuals is one of Creative Scotland’s key funding programmes. It’s meant to support periods of research, development, or delivery of specific projects from creative practitioners in Scotland. Freelance and self-employed artists and creative practitioners living in Scotland who are at least 18 years old are eligible to apply.
BFI Doc Society Features Fund
Application: Reopening April 2026
Location: UK
Amount: Up to £150,000
Into documentary filmmaking? The British Film Institute provides support of up to £150,000 for independent documentary features and immersive non-fiction projects. They support both emerging talent and more established directors, with a focus on championing underrepresented talent in the region.
The White Pube Creatives Grant
Application: Ongoing
Location: UK
Amount: £500
Intrigued by the name? This fund is run by two creatives and provides a one-off £500 payment to a working class creative practitioner every month. It has no strings attached, offering financial support to help creatives in everything from buying materials to doing research and paying bills. Creatives of all disciplines are welcome to apply.
Arts Council of Wales Creative Steps for Individuals
Application: Open
Location: UK
Amount: £500 – £7,500
Run by the Arts Council of Wales, this fund supports artists who have experienced barriers to accessing funding – specifically creatives who identify as being ethnically and culturally diverse, deaf, disabled or neurodivergent. Some of the activities they fund include training courses, mentorship, and business development, as well as support to set up a new organisation.
Arts Council Developing Your Creative Practice
Application: April 2026
Location: UK
Amount: £2,000 – £12,000
One of the more well-known grants, this fund from Arts Council supports hundreds of individual creatives and cultural practitioners every year to help their creative development. Among the development activities they fund are international travel, professional development training and mentorship.
Grand Plan
Application: Open until 17 June 2026
Location: UK
Amount: £1,000
Founded in 2021 by a trio of artists, Grand Plan has awarded over 150 grants since its launch to artists of colour in the UK – giving writers, filmmakers, dancers, potters and more the boost they need to get their projects off the ground. They provide grants of £1,000 and aim to make the process as simple, accessible and transparent as possible.
The Elephant Trust
Application: Next round is open from 12 March to 12 April
Location: UK
Amount: £2,000 – £5,000
Established in 1975 to support the needs of emerging artists, The Elephant Trust aims to directly help artists without elaborate application processes. Its grants are usually between £2,000 and £5,000, and priority is given to fine arts practitioners, small organisations and galleries.
PRS Foundation
Application: Various deadlines
Location: UK
Amount: £3,500 - £20,000
For 25 years, PRS has been funding new music and supporting careers from the grassroots up. They have several funds currently open, including The Open Fund for Music Creators, PPL Momentum Music Fund and the Composers’ Fund.
Magnetic Residencies
Application: Open 7 April to 2 June
Location: UK (hosted in France)
Amount: Monthly fee of £2,100
Magnetic 5 is an artistic exchange that gives UK visual artists the chance to spend 2–3 months hosted by one of many French art organisations on offer. The residency includes a monthly fee, accommodation, studio space, plus mentoring, development and networking with the host’s curatorial teams. The call is aimed at those who have already presented their work in a few professional venues.
The Gane Trust
Application: Next round closes 13 May
Location: Southwest
Amount: Up to £500
With three grant rounds each year, the Bristol-based Gane Trust provides grants of up to £500, supporting people in arts, crafts, design, social care and well-being whose work has a transformative impact. The focus is on those living or working in the South-West; applicants must be based in either Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, or South West and South East Wales.
QEST Grants
Application: 8 Jul — 12 Aug 2026
Location: UK
Amount: £3000 – £18,000
QEST offers three types of grants – scholarships, emerging maker grants and apprenticeships – to support makers and conservators at various career stages. The grants focus on training, education and skills development, aiming to strengthen the pipeline of talented craft professionals in the UK.
New Contemporaries Art Development Programme
Application: Closes 30 March
Location: UK
Type: Residencies
This is an open call for New Contemporaries' Artist Development Programme, running from September 2026. It's a structured programme which includes mentoring, networking, workshops and talks, culminating in a group exhibition at Focal Point Gallery and other partner venues across Southend-on-Sea. An artist fee and travel and accommodation bursary are provided with the programme. Applications are welcome from emerging and early career artists aged 21 or over based anywhere in the UK.
Goldsmiths’ Centre Business Catalyst Grants
Application: Ongoing
Location: UK
Amount: £1,000
Calling all jewellers and silversmiths – the Goldsmiths’ Centre supports up to 10 sole traders and small businesses a year with Business Catalyst Grants of £1,000. Applicants must demonstrate creativity and how these funds can help them to grow their business. Applicants must already be starting out on the pathway to a business in the jewellery, silversmithing and allied industries.
Arts Council Grassroots Music Fund
Application: Next round closes 29 March
Location: UK
Amount: £1,000 – £40,000
This fund supports the transition of artists, bands and industry professionals to sustainable careers in music, as well as the development of the grassroots music sector as a whole. Grants range from £1,000 to £40,000, supporting venues, festivals, promoters, recording studios and rehearsal spaces as well as sector bodies operating in grassroots music.
Beyond Literature Borders
Application: Closes 27 March
Location: UK
Amount: £7,000
Speaking Volumes has teamed up with the British Council to offer 5 small, UK-based arts organisations £7,000 each to develop and deliver a standalone literature project with an international partner. Applicant organisations must be diverse-led and/or working with underrepresented voices. 43 countries have been identified by the British Council for creative partnerships, from Argentina to Azerbaijan and Uganda to Yemen.
