MGS Grants Awarded
During 2022-23 we have awarded further Covid recovery funding from the Scottish Government and we are running our regular Small Grant and Museum Development Fund programmes. We have also distributed a second round of the Community Stories funding supporting museums and other cultural organisations to engage with Scotland’s Year of Stories, details of those awards are available on the Community Stories Fund page.
Funding Awards
Resilience Fund
At the end of 2022 MGS took the decision to pause its standard funding programme and to introduce a new fund responding to the significant financial challenges faced by museums. The Resilience Fund was introduced to increase the resilience of Accredited museums, supporting them to reduce costs, increase income and/or support their local communities, with a particular priority for energy efficiency projects. Nine awards were made in January and further decisions will be made in March.
| Organisation | Award |
| City of Edinburgh Council | £23,614 |
| Dornoch Heritage SCIO | £10,000 |
| Dundee Heritage Trust | £34,123 |
| Eastriggs and Gretna Heritage | £31,273 |
| Grampian Transport Museum | £30,000 |
| Ness Historial Society | £17,164 |
| North Lanarkshire Council | £3,240 |
| The Highlanders' Museum (Queen's Own Highlanders Collection) | £48,093 |
| The Whithorn Trust | £43,470 |
The Wild Escape
We have awarded grants of up to £3,000 to support activity for The Wild Escape (formerly known as The Great Escape), which will feed into a UK-wide moment on Earth Day 2023 (Saturday 22nd April) in all participating organisation, demonstrating the sector's response to urgent challenges facing our environment, and a positive call to action.
| Organisation | Award |
| Live Argyll | £3,000 |
| Strathnaver Museum Trust | £3,000 |
| Mount Stuart Trust | £2,990 |
| Moray Society | £2,522 |
| National Trust for Scotland | £3,000 |
| Leisure and Culture Dundee | £3,000 |
| Trimontium Museum Trust | £2,930 |
| High Life Highland | £2,973 |
| North Lanarkshire Council | £2,353 |
| Edinburgh Printmakers | £3,000 |
| St Andrews Preservation Trust | £3,000 |
| David Livingstone Trust | £3,000 |
| The Whithorn Trust | £3,000 |
| West Highland Museum | £1,500 |
Forums Fund
The Forums Fund is part of the Forum Connections project and is there to support participating geographic forums to undertake small scale projects that will build their capacity for future collaborative working inline with their forward plans.
| Organisation | Award to be offered |
| Argyll & Bute Museums & Heritage Forum | £4,469 |
| Museums and Heritage Highland | £12,800 |
Small Grants Fund
We have awarded grants of up to £15,000 to support activity to re-engage audiences, build resilience and environmental sustainability or to address critical repairs and maintenance (including collections management work).
| Organisation | Award |
| Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Trust | £7,179 |
| Auchindrain Trust - Urras Achadh an Droighinn | £14,621 |
| City of Edinburgh Council | £10,242 |
| Dornoch Heritage SCIO | £741 |
| Highland Museum of Childhood Trust | £8,000 |
| Ness Historical Society - Comunn Eachdraidh Nis | £9,485 |
| South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture Ltd | £4,738 |
| University of St Andrews | £11,250 |
| West Highland Museum Trust | £15,000 |
| Crail Museum & Heritage Centre | £1,825 |
| Glasgow School of Art | £14,400 |
| The Tall Ship Glenlee Trust | £8,000 |
| Glencoe Folk Museum | £15,000 |
| Helmsdale Heritage Society | £10,000 |
Museum Development Fund
Through two rounds (June and October) we are making grants to Accredited Museums undertaking strategic projects that will help them to becoming more resilient organisations in line with the aims of the National Strategy. Visit the Museum Development Fund page for details about future rounds.
| Organisation | Award |
| The Tall Ship Glenlee Trust | £35,800.00 |
| South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Ltd. | £36,755.00 |
| Glasgow Life, Glasgow Museums | £60,000.00 |
| Glencoe Folk Museum | £45,840.00 |
| Scottish Football Association Museum Trust | £50,058.00 |
Museums Recovery Fund
The Scottish Government allocated £3 million of revenue funding to support Scotland’s independent museums at risk from ongoing financial challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
| Organisation | Award |
| Alford and Donside Heritage Association | £4,146 |
| Applecross Historical Society | £12,500 |
| Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Trust | £31,555 |
| Arisaig Community Trust | £4,000 |
| Art in Healthcare | £30,372 |
| Braemar Royal Highland Charity | £20,000 |
| Clan Macpherson Museum Trust | £9,690 |
| Dalkeith History Society | £3,700 |
| David Livingstone Trust | £140,500 |
| Dundee Heritage Trust (Dundee Industrial Heritage Trust) | £260,124 |
| Dundee Museum of Transport | £36,527 |
| Eastriggs and Gretna Heritage | £70,150 |
| Edinburgh Printmakers | £18,000 |
| Ferryhill Railway Heritage Trust | £15,000 |
| Finlaggan Trust | £5,766 |
| Gairloch and District Heritage Company Ltd | £22,300 |
| Glenesk Museum Trust | £55,000 |
| Govan Heritage Trust SCIO | £28,976 |
| Govan Workspace | £25,056 |
| Grampian Transport Museum Trust | £95,435 |
| Helmsdale Heritage Society | £26,375 |
| Innerpeffray Mortification | £10,740 |
| Islay Museum Trust | £8,280 |
| Kilmartin Museum Company Ltd. | £96,611 |
| MacDougall of Dunollie Preservation Trust | £24,387 |
| Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust | £22,500 |
| Moray Society | £3,800 |
| Museum of Scottish Lighthouses | £97,631 |
| National Mining Museum Scotland | £100,000 |
| Ness Historical Society - Comunn Eachdraidh Nis | £38,769 |
| Newton Stewart Museum Trust | £11,000 |
| North Uist Historical Society - Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath | £10,440 |
| Orkney Natural History Society Museum | £54,720 |
| Paxton Trust | £150,000 |
| Penicuik Community Development Trust | £9,600 |
| Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust | £48,438 |
| Pier Arts Centre Trust | £96,000 |
| Robert Burns Ellisland Trust | £17,687 |
| Scottish Fisheries Museum Trust | £112,000 |
| Scottish Maritime Museum Trust | £56,134 |
| Scottish Railway Preservation Society | £18,280 |
| Skye & Kyle Rail Development Company Ltd | £9,000 |
| Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum Trust | £90,000 |
| Strathnaver Museum Trust | £21,576 |
| The Abbotsford Trust | £175,830 |
| The Highlanders' Museum (Queen's Own Highlanders Collection) | £57,760 |
| The Living Memory Association | £17,850 |
| The Scottish Crannog Centre | £49,398 |
| The Tall Ship Glenlee Trust | £90,000 |
| The Whithorn Trust | £27,012 |
| Thirlestane Castle Trust | £35,000 |
| Unicorn Preservation Society | £81,500 |
| Wanlockhead Museum Trust | £44,400 |
| West Highland Museum Trust | £22,500 |
Previous Funding Streams
Recovery and Resilience Fund 2020/21
Support for Making an Application
Please contact our Grants Team prior to beginning work on an application at grants@museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk