Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1 - Eligibility
Step 2 - Making enquiries
Step 3 - Making an application
Step 4 - Submitting your application
Step 5 - The decision-making process
Step 6 - Application decisions
Step 7 - Claiming your grant
Step 8 - Acknowledging your grant
Eligibility
- Check your application is eligible.
- Read through the Grant Applications section.
- Identify the specific funding scheme that applies to you.
- Discuss your application with a member of the Programmes Office and confirm which grants scheme is appropriate.
- Make a note of the deadline for your application.
- Register on the website to access the online application form.
- Read the notes on how to complete the form within the How to Apply section.
Making an application (includes information specific to auctions)
Before submitting your application please ensure that you have:
- Discussed your application with the Programmes Office and confirmed all relevant meeting dates and deadlines.
- Completed ALL sections of the form in full.
- Viewed or made arrangements to view the object, and provided or commissioned a conservator's report if the condition of the object is less than excellent.
- Attached at least one clear image of the work in an electronic format (jpeg file, maximum 2MB in size). For applications towards collections or large groups of objects a representative selection of images is acceptable. And in the case of auction applications, ensure that you have contacted the Programmes Office for image requirements.
- Submitted details of the independent valuation (the valuer must NOT be aware of the asking price). Please note that if you are applying for a work which is subject to a temporary export bar we still expect you to take relevant advice on the value of the work. For works coming up at auction, we would expect you to take advice from an expert in the field on the level of your maximum bid with reference to the published auction estimate.
- Provided full details of the provenance of the object. For the provenance checks and due-diligence procedures that the Art Fund expects applicants to follow please see the FAQs.
- For items declared as Treasure, we expect you to submit copies of the Coroner’s report, the provisional valuations (and names of valuers) submitted to the Treasure Valuation Committee, and the final valuation set by the Treasure Valuation Committee.
- Explored the possibility of applying for all sources of funding for which you may be eligible. Applicants are expected to demonstrate their need for the amount requested from the Art Fund and show that they have applied for the maximum public funding to which they are entitled. If you decide not to approach relevant funding bodies, if you are given advice from them that your application is unlikely to qualify, or if your application is formally rejected you must explain the reasons for this in full.
- Included a funding breakdown which details all the funding you are seeking and the amount you would like from the Art Fund
- Attached a supporting statement explaining why you are seeking to acquire the work and its significance to your collection, following the bullet points as detailed in the form.
- Summarised your application in the appropriate section.
- Read the Art Fund's Grant Conditions and ensured that your Director has confirmed that you can comply with our requirements.
- Read the Art Fund's requirements on acknowledging your grant and ensure that you can comply with these.
If you need to submit an urgent application for a work at auction please contact the Programmes Office as soon as possible. In addition, for such sales please ensure that you have:
- Taken advice on your bid level.
- Included all additional costs, including the buyer's premium, VAT (where applicable) and bidder’s commission (where applicable) in your funding package.
- A buyer's premium is the percentage the buyer pays in addition to the final bid price or hammer price of each Lot purchased. The percentage of the bid price differs from auction house to auction house, and within the final bid price - please refer to the auction house for the level of the buyer's premium, and see the following for links to the buyer's premiums for Christie's, Sotheby's and Bonhams
When you have filled in your application form and attached all the documents we require please submit the application.
Please contact the Programmes Office to confirm that the application has been received.
Important points to note:
- If you are applying under the Main Grants or for a work at auction, the application must arrive no later than noon on the deadline date. We are happy to receive applications in advance of the deadline, but are unable to accept late applications.
- If you do not send in all the information we ask for, including all supporting material, we will not be able to process your application and your application may be delayed or rejected
- We will not accept applications by fax or post.
- We prefer to receive any supporting documents in digital format. Please scan whenever possible. Any hard copy information that cannot be scanned (i.e from a third party) should be posted and presented in the simplest format possible to make photocopying easier (no staples or bindings).
- Please do not attach documents of more than 2MB in size. On uploading this may cause the system to crash, and you will lose any unsaved information.
- Your application form will be archived within your account on our website and can be accessed at any time. We also suggest that you retain a hard copy of the application form and all supporting documents for your own files.
After you submit your application you can expect to be contacted by the Programmes Office with queries relating to your application. If we do not contact you please telephone us to ensure that we have received your application. Applicants under the Main Grants Scheme can expect to receive a letter with information on organising for the work to be brought to the Board meeting.
All applications are assessed by our Board of Trustees, with input from a wide range of independent expert advisors.
Applications will be assessed against the following core criteria:
- Aesthetic merit and quality of the work
- Local / national / international importance of the work
- Impact on the museum and its visitors, relating to how you will use and display the object and any access, exhibition or education plans.
- Impact on the Art Fund as an independently funded membership and campaigning organisation
The Board is also responsible for deciding the level of the grant. In certain circumstances a reduced offer may be made.
- For Main Grant Applications you will usually be advised verbally of the decision the day after the Board meeting.
- For an application for a work at auction you will be advised of the decision the day before the sale.
- If your application is considered under our Small Grants scheme please see notes on the application scheme for individual deadlines and decision timeframes.
- All applicants will receive a formal letter notifying them of Trustees’ decision within two weeks of the decision being made.
If your application is successful you will receive two copies of an Agreement to Grant Conditions, plus information on the Art Fund’s Key Grant Conditions and Checklist which outlines how you can help us promote the Art Fund to your visitors.
We expect all successful applicants to work with the Art Fund’s Press and Marketing teams as appropriate in all instances.
Successful applicants should not claim their grant until they have completed their fundraising and are in a position to pay the vendor of the work. Please note that the Art Fund does not expect applicants to have already paid for and taken receipt of the work before claiming their grant.
Once you have completed your fundraising and are in a position to claim your grant, please sign and return ONE copy of the Agreement to Grant Conditions (keep the other for your own records), along with a copy of the invoice from the vendor, to the Grants Office.
Acknowledging your grant
The following pages should be consulted by all successful applicants and are available to download:
- Key Grant Conditions & Checklist
- Full Grant Conditions
- Press and Marketing contact details
- Art Fund logos
