Maker Relief Fund

Many craftspeople are facing significant challenges in sustaining their practice, due to a combination of financial pressures and systemic marginalising factors. Heritage Crafts’ Maker Relief Fund is targeted at people facing financial hardship while striving to make their living as a professional craftsperson.

It is based on the principles that:

• the best way to safeguard the UK’s intangible craft heritage is to support the individuals within whom that knowledge and skill resides; and
• such individuals are the best arbiters of their own need, deserve to be treated with dignity, and rarely benefit from being subjected to undue bureaucratic demands or the judgement of strangers.

The fund will award 50 grants of £1,000 over a 12 month period to practising professional craftspeople who are based in the UK, are over the age of 18, and who consider themselves to be in one or more of the following categories:

• people on low incomes;
• working class people;
• Black and ethnically diverse people, including Gypsy, Roma and Travellers;
• people with disabilities, who identify as neuro-diverse, and/or have chronic physical or mental health issues;
• members of the LGBTQIA+ community; or
• people with caring responsibilities.

Grant details:

• Recipients will be identified from all the eligible entries received by midnight on the 15th day of each month, between November 2024 and October 2025 inclusive.
• The following number of grants will be allocated in each month:
  

  November 2024: 5 December 2024: 6 January 2025: 6 February 2025: 5

  March 2025: 4 April 2025: 3 May 2025: 3 June 2025: 3

  July 2025: 3 August 2025: 3 September 2025: 4 October 2025: 5

• Grants do not have to be used for business costs; they can be used for general living costs or other purposes according to the needs of the recipient. Heritage Crafts will not require evidence of expenditure.
• All eligible submissions received by midnight on the 15th day of each month (between November 2024 and October 2025 inclusive) will be in with a chance of being awarded a grant be the end of that month.
• All applicants will be informed if they have been successful or unsuccessful.
• Successful candidates will not be named or publicised, but be encouraged to keep in touch with Heritage Crafts in case it can offer further support and to hear whether the grant made a difference.
• Unsuccessful candidates will automatically remain available for selection in all subsequent months in which the grants are offered, unless they request to be removed from consideration.
• The selection will be made each month by a panel of staff/Trustees and an independent observer, and recorded for compliance purposes, though the recording will not be made public or shared, other than by request to the Charity Commission or relevant law-enforcement agencies, as required by law.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

This submission form has been set up to be as light-touch as possible, to reduce administrative burden and to preserve the dignity of makers. If you would like to see the questions in advance or to submit your form via email, please download a Word version of the submission form here. If you would like to submit in another way, such as by telephone, please let us know at [email protected].

Before completing this submission form please think seriously about your level of need. Please consider that there are a limited number of grants available, and if your need is not so severe at the moment there will be other opportunities to apply, up until October 2025.

It is your responsibility to consider how this might affect any benefits or welfare payments you might be in receipt of, and your tax liability, and get independent financial advice as required. Heritage Crafts cannot be held responsible for any resulting loss of income or unforeseen costs.

This fund is financed by an anonymous donor specifically for this purpose. We thank them for their incredible generosity.