September: funding opportunities & competitions

Music for All - Community Project Funding

Currently offering grants of up to £2,000 for projects that are bringing music to their communities. Available to community groups in deprived or marginalised areas within the UK who are providing music making opportunities to:

• People with physical mobility, coordination and/or accessibility needs.

• People experiencing mental health challenges and/or are affected by loneliness or isolation.

• Choral groups (both new and existing).

• Early years aged children (0 to 4 years)

Deadline 24 September 2025. More info here.

Creative Communities Scotland Fund

Open to all hands-on, participatory art forms including dance, filmmaking, creative writing, music making, and storytelling. The fund will support grassroots community-led organisations across Scotland to develop and deliver projects that harness the power of creativity in supporting the wellbeing of people and communities. Deadline: Thursday 18 September 2025. More info here. 

Creative Scotland - Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance

Creative Scotland is offering financial support to enable the touring of professional theatre and dance productions across Scotland. The fund is open to individuals, companies, organisations and consortia of venues based in Scotland. Applicants must be involved in the production or touring of live theatre or dance, including outdoor, circus, interdisciplinary and site-specific work. Deadline 24 September 2025 (14:00). More info here. 

Immersive Arts

The programme is delivered in partnership with ten organisations involved in immersive arts and research. It supports a range of creative practices that connect physical and digital experiences, engage audiences and enhance sensory interaction. Applicants can choose from three strands depending on the stage of their work. 'Explore' offers up to £5,000 for early-stage research, 'Experiment' provides up to £20,000 for project development and 'Expand' awards up to £50,000 for delivery and wider engagement. Eligible applicants include individual artists, creative practitioners, technologists, small groups or collectives and arts-based organisations. Deadline: 29 September 2025 (14:00). More info here.

Michael Tippett Musical Foundation

Grants of between £500 and £3,000 for groups across the UK to support the following objectives:

• To award grants to support the development of group music-making especially involving young people, with composing central to the project.

• To support the performance or recording of works by Michael Tippet.

Deadline: 30 Sept. More info here.

Maker Relief Fund

The Maker Relief Fund is offering grants to UK-based professional craftspeople facing financial hardship. Grants of £1,000 will be awarded to 50 eligible applicants. Deadline: October 2025. More info here.

Cultural Bridge Fund

A unique investment programme between the UK arts councils and leading German cultural institutions that supports the development of cross-border partnerships. The Fund is open to all arts and cultural organisations with proven expertise in socially engaged/participatory practice. Partnerships must be bi-lateral, including at least one German partner and one UK partner, from any one of the four nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Two tiers of funding are available for activity that starts from 1 April 2026 and is completed by 31 March 2027:

•  Tier 1 - Practice exchange and development of new partnerships - supports the development of brand new partnerships between arts and cultural organisations in the UK and Germany. Grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 per partnership.

• Tier 2 - Co-development and project delivery for established partnerships - supports further development of partnerships, where organisations already have experience of working together. Grants of up to £30,000 per partnership.

Organisations who are interested in applying for Tier 1 funding can complete the 'New Partner' interest form which will provide access to the details of other potential partner arts organisations in the UK or Germany. Once granted access, groups may then research and reach out to any of the organisations whose work is of interest to them. The deadline to submit this form is 1 September 2025.

Applications will be accepted from 1 October to 12 November 2025. More info here.

Weir Charitable Trust

Grants of up to £25,000 to small charities and community groups across Scotland with an annual income of less than £150,000 to deliver projects and activities that improve the quality of life for local communities. Including culture - supporting the heritage of Scotland, through projects that encourage participation in and preservation of Scotland's distinctive culture. Deadline: 31 October 2025 (17:00). More info here.

Youth Led Fund

Are you creative, living in Scotland and aged 8-30? Open to young people in Scotland who have experienced isolation or marginalisation. Up to £500 for your creative activity or project. Deadline: Tuesday 18 November 2025 at 17:00. More info here.

Music for All Community Project Funding Programme

Grants are available to community groups, schools and individuals under a number of different categories, each with their own criteria and award amounts. More info here.

BFI National Lottery Creative Challenge Fund

Grants between £12,000 and £150,000 for funding which aims to support projects in feature film and narrative immersive media, including narrative, documentary and animation. The fund is designed to address challenges within the screen industry such as underrepresentation of certain genres, lack of early career producer opportunities and limited support for scalable projects with broad audience potential. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but must be submitted at least 16 weeks before the planned start of activity. All funded work must be completed by 31 March 2026. More info here.