150K awarded to 13 organisations through the Small Grants Fund

We’re delighted to announce that £150,029 has been awarded to thirteen organisations across Scotland through the Small Grants Fund. The funded projects focus on enhancing community engagement, preserving cultural heritage, improving facilities, and increasing access to a variety of creative and educational resources. The fund is supported thanks to the Scottish Government.

St Andrew’s Preservation Trust will use its project funding to support a co-curated exhibition sharing the stories of recently settled Ukrainians in Northeast Fife and Dundee. The exhibition will explore themes of home, displacement, and identity, using oral history clips, personal objects, and works from Ukrainian photographer Igor Chekachkov. Museums & Galleries Edinburgh will update its loan box service, making it a more relevant and accessible resource for schools and community groups across the city. Glasgow Women’s Library will participate in a bespoke development programme to enhance its LGBTQ+ collections engagement, supporting underrepresented histories and creating engaging experiences for wider audiences. Groam House Museums’ Connections through Collections project will enhance local engagement by celebrating the Black Isle’s rich heritage through hands-on workshops, storytelling, and exploring endangered crafts.

The organisations awarded funding are: 

• Fife Folk Museum Trust
• St Andrews Preservation Trust
• East Ayrshire Leisure
• West Lothian Council
• The Whithorn Trust
• Live Borders
• City of Edinburgh Council
• Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum Trust
• Glasgow Print Studio
• Glasgow Women’s Library
• Paxton trust
• Groam House Museum
• Dundee Heritage Trust (Dundee Industrial Heritage Trust)

MGS announced its Grants Programme for 2025/26 earlier this month. The programme reflects an uplift in investment from the Scottish Government into the museum sector, allowing MGS to open the Small Grants Fund to non-Accredited museums for the first time. The increase in investment also supports the creation of two new funds which will address the need for capital funding in the sector and enhance the sustainability and resilience of sector organisations.