Creative Minds Fund

The Creative Minds Fund will support museums and organisations working with people experiencing mental health issues to create engagement opportunities. Projects will involve participants in creative activities related to the museum and its collection.

This fund aims to develop programming that includes and benefits people experiencing mental health issues. It also aims to strengthen relationships between Scottish museums and mental health organisations and increase the museum sector’s confidence and capacity to become more inclusive places.

This fund is open to both accredited and non-accredited museums in Scotland.

Non-accredited museums that wish to apply must be formally constituted organisations that are charities or not-for-profit organisations and will need to meet the following criteria:

• Meet the Museum Association’s definition of a museum (1998): “Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society.”
• The Museum must be a physical site, building or space open to the public for a minimum of 20 days a year
• The organisation must have its own bank account.
• The organisation that manages the museum must be the legal owner of a significant part of the collections that the museum manages and displays.

All museums must apply in partnership with an organisation which provides support or services to those experiencing mental health issues. The organisation must be a registered charity, Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), public body or local authority. This partnership does not have to be new. Museums and mental health organisations that have existing partnerships are encouraged to apply. A partnership agreement between the museum and mental health organisation will be required as part of the application to the fund.

This fund will support the engagement of vulnerable people and at application museums must be able to demonstrate that they have appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures, and appropriate plans to manage the end of the project.

• Museums can apply for up to £25,000
• You can apply for 100% of the total project cost, but match funding and financial contributions to the project from applicants are also welcome.
• The amount requested from MGS should not equate to less than 20% of the total project costs.

This fund can support a wide range of costs for engagement programmes including costs for:

• Materials for activities
• Events
• Exhibitions
• Mental health training and support for participants and project team
• Museum and Heritage skills training for participants
• Marketing, communication and design costs
• Salary cost for new staff, additional staff time, and fees for freelancers
• Expenses and travel costs for project team and participants

• As this fund is designed to engage those experiencing mental health problems, we cannot fund preventative, or wellbeing work aimed at the general population. We also cannot fund projects focused on Alzheimer’s or Dementia which are progressive conditions that affect the brain rather than mental health issues
• Core operating costs including salary costs for existing staff time
• Work that has already started or will start before the project start date
• Acquisitions, maintenance, and capital work

Application forms will be available from early November. All applications must be submitted online via our application portal MGS Online.

If you are considering applying to the Creative Minds Fund, please get in touch with the grants team at grants@museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk by the Expression of Interest (EOI) deadline below. The grants team are happy to advise on all potential applications. We know from experience that applicants who talk to us before application are more likely to be successful.

Applications for this fund open in early November 2024.

Please note

Final application criteria will be added to this page over the coming weeks. If you are interested in applying for the fund, we encourage you to use this time to find a suitable mental health organisation to partner with, and to speak with and take guidance from our grants team ahead of applications opening in November.