Search Grants & Funding

The Volunteer Museum Grant Program provides assistance to volunteer-initiated community museums and Aboriginal cultural spaces (such as cultural centres and Keeping Places) with collections and displays in NSW.

Leg Up Grants are “quick response” grants for volunteers in volunteer managed museums and Aboriginal cultural spaces who require financial assistance to attend some form of skills development activity, or to bring such an activity into their museum.

To apply for a Leg Up Grant, an organisation must:

• Be incorporated (or provide the details of an auspicing body that is incorporated, such as a local council) OR provide evidence of appropriate alternative governance structures (eg. S355 Committee, Trust, Company limited by guarantee, Local government authority, etc.)
• Be not-for-profit
• Be an established museum, museum network (such as an AMaGA chapter), or Aboriginal cultural space, with a displayed collection (not an archive or historical society without a museum function)
• Be regularly open to the public (i.e. not open by appointment only)
• Have no more than the equivalent of two full-time paid positions
• Provide a written commitment to contribute 50% of the overall costs of the project, thereby matching the amount funded by the Leg Up Grant
• Agree to abide by the terms and conditions of the grant
• Not apply for a VM Grant if they have also applied for, or received, Create NSW funding for the same activity
• Ensure that the project meets all current NSW Health Covid Safe Guidelines.

Skills Development Grants provide funding to volunteer museums, museum networks, and Aboriginal cultural spaces for regional or state focused skill development training and networking events involving more than one organisation.

There are no set categories for funding, and applications for a broad range of projects will be considered.

Skills Development Grants can be applied for at any time throughout the year, until the cut-off date of the 27 October 2024, or all funds are expended.

Skills Development Grant applications must be received by M&G NSW at least 6 weeks before the activity/event (e.g. conference, workshop, seminar) is scheduled to take place. Activities funded by 2024 Skills Development Grants must take place between March 2024 and January 2025. Acquittals are due two months after the activity.

Small Grants aim to meet the short-term, collection-based requirements of community museums and Aboriginal cultural spaces. There are no set categories for funding, and applications for a broad range of projects will be considered.

Previous Small Grants have funded the purchase of computer cataloguing software, exhibition mannequins and display cases, oral history recording equipment and archival storage items.

Small Grants are open to museums and Aboriginal cultural spaces (with object collections and displays) with up to two full time paid staff members (no more than 70 hours of paid staffing per week) as well as museum networks such as AMaGA Chapters.

Projects cannot commence before December 2024 and must be completed no later than 29 June 2025. Acquittal reports are due by 31 July 2025.