Conservation and Preservation

Most grants in this programme are between £15,000 – £40,000 per year and our maximum length of support is generally 3 years. The maximum funding would be £75,000 per year for a project (maximum total of £225,000 for 3 years).

We usually only fund up to 70% of the project budget and would require matched funding of at least 30% of the cost of the project. In rare cases, we will fund a more significant proportion of the costs. We are very unlikely to fund 100% of a project and applications requesting this are likely to be rejected.

We favour proposals that include multiple funding sources, as well as clear evidence of institutional commitment to the initiative in the form of gifts in kind and other forms of financial commitment.

We prioritise applications for funding of project-related costs including:

• purchase and installation of storage materials to ensure the archival and library materials are properly protected. This may include:
  • acid-free protective folders
  • envelopes, boxes and other containers
  • cabinets, shelving, or other necessary storage furnishings
• additional staff hours for the creation, processing and indexing of digital materials
• cost of hiring an external digitisation specialist
• equipment costs including digitisation equipment and the purchase of hardware and software (no more than 35% of the overall budget)
• travel for project partners to meet

Applications for temperature and humidity controls, fire protection and security systems will also be considered

We support a wide variety of projects at different stages of development, including stand-alone initiatives and new aspects of an existing project. However, we do not fund retroactively. This means we will not consider a request for funding for an activity that has already happened or is scheduled to happen while the application for funding is being considered.

We welcome applications from any organisation or institutions based in Europe, EU and non-EU states alike, except for Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. 

The organisation’s activities must be deemed charitable under UK charity law. This includes organisations which are either not-for-profit or publicly funded e.g., state or private libraries, archives, museums, research institutes, or universities. For more information, please consult the UK’s Charity Commission website and its list of Charitable Purposes. 

The strength of your application will be assessed based on the answers to the following questions:

• Does the project reflect the goals of the Archives and Libraries Grant Programme?
• Are the organisation and its staff able to deliver the project?
• Is the planning of the project thorough, including sound objectives and evaluation measures?
• Does the proposed methodology adhere to generally accepted archival and library standards?
• Does the project budget reflect the scope of the project and the local context?
• Does the proposal include planning for the long-term future of the collections eg. digital storage, online hosting?
• Is the impact of the project logical, measurable and achievable?

Please make sure you have submitted the following with your application. If it is not included, your application cannot be considered.

If your application is approved, you will need to submit further supporting documentation once you receive your Grant Letter and Agreement. 

• Budget table and budget explanation for the proposed project (Required): An example of a completed budget form can be downloaded from the application form.

• CVs of key staff members working on the project (required) (maximum 2 pages for each staff member): This should reflect their experience in undertaking projects such as the one outlined in this application. Qualifications include professional certificates, diplomas, Bachelor’s degrees (BA, BSc), Master’s degrees (MA, MSt, MSc, MBA, MPhil), and doctoral degrees (PhD). Please combine all the CVs into one document before uploading it.

• Proof of Charitable Status (Required): Proof of an organisation’s charitable status will vary from country to country and according to the type of organisation making the application. In all cases, the activities of the organisation must qualify as charitable within the United Kingdom. For more information please consult www.charitycommission.gov.uk. If your organisation is a publicly funded body, such as a university, research centre or museum, then we will accept a copy of your organisation’s statutes as proof of its charitable status.

• The most recently available audited accounts or financial statement stamped by the financial authority in your country (Required): This is a formal record of your organisation’s financial activities for either a one- or three-year period. The statement must include a summary of the income and expenditure over a given period. It should have been prepared by a chartered accountant and, if your country requires it, stamped by the relevant government department.

• Income and Expenditure: If the submitted audited accounts or financial statement are not in English, you are required to submit an English summary of the income and expenditure account and balance sheet.

• Strategic Plan: If you are applying for a multi-year grant, please submit the latest organisational strategic plan which includes the larger vision of the organisation and how your project fits within that.

• Certification from the tax authorities: If you require a certificate from the tax authorities in order to demonstrate charitable status in your country, please forward a copy of this certificate.

• Photographs: If appropriate and relevant, please include up to 10 photographs (saved together into one word document or PDF). This could be some examples of the materials to be conserved, an exhibition space to be renovated, rare books to be repaired, an event etc. Please ensure that each photo is no larger than 1MB. Please note that you have a combined application file size allowance of 20Mb.

• Project Update/Final Report: If you currently receive funding from the Foundation please submit a one-page Project Update of your existing grant. If you have recently finished a grant funded by the Foundation please ensure the Final Report has been submitted before the closing date for the current grant round as this will be assessed alongside your new application.

• Other supporting documents: If there are any additional supporting documents which are relevant to your application you are also able to submit these online. This may include a letter of support from any partner organisation who will be involved with the project or a letter confirming copyright ownership.

Translations: For documents not originally written in English please include an English translation. This does not need to be an official translation, but it must be clear and accurate. Documents in a language other than English that are not accompanied by an English translation will not be processed.

Financial summaries: If financial documents are very long, please provide a translation summarising the main income and expenditure included in your financial statements and organisational budget. This document should be no longer than 10 pages.

Please upload your translated/summarised document against the same upload title you use for the original document. This means you may have two documents saved under each upload title.

Your organisation must provide proof of its charitable status or status as a not-for-profit or publicly funded organisation. This may be a UK charity number where applicable, or a copy of the relevant portion of the organisation’s statutes, confirming its non-profit, charitable or public (government-funded) status.

If you are in the process of obtaining charitable status, please be aware that no payments will be made to your organisation until you have achieved this status. Additionally, if your organisation is awarded a grant but fails to secure charitable status within 3 months of having been notified of the award, the grant will be cancelled.

Open Access is a fundamental part of our mission to increase access to European Jewish heritage and culture. Any project that receives funding from the Foundation must ensure the material catalogued, conserved, preserved, or digitised is freely accessible to the public.

Applications can only be submitted via our online application process. We do not accept applications by mail or email.

Please use the Apply Now button at the bottom of the grant category page to begin your application.

The first time you login, you will need to create an account with an email and a password. Please keep a note of your login information as you will need it to access your application form on future visits.

Once you have set up your online account you can access it below.

When completing the application form, make sure to switch your web browser language settings to English if necessary.

You should expect notification via email letting you know whether your application has been successful or unsuccessful. For Spring grant rounds you will receive confirmation in late July or early August. For Autumn grant rounds you will receive confirmation in early January.

If your application is approved , you will receive an official Grant Offer Letter together with an Award Agreement which you will need to e-sign and return with the necessary supporting documentation.

Please ensure you add echosign@echosign.com to your safe senders list to ensure you receive all our communications.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information or advice as you prepare your application.

For queries relating to this grant category please contact: Rebecca Singer (r.singer@rothschildfoundation.eu)

For any other information including technical support please contact info@rothschildfoundation.eu