Deadline: 09-Jul-2026
The Collections Management Grant supports European organisations working to preserve, manage, catalogue, digitise, and promote collections related to Jewish heritage and culture. Funding generally ranges from £30,000 to £60,000 per year for up to three years. Eligible applicants include museums, libraries, archives, universities, heritage organisations, cultural institutions, and other not-for-profit professional organisations across Europe, excluding Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.
Overview
The Collections Management Grant supports projects that strengthen the long-term care of collections related to Jewish heritage and culture.
The programme helps organisations preserve Jewish material, improve collection management, create digital access, and engage wider audiences.
It is open to a wide range of not-for-profit institutions and professional organisations that hold, manage, or have generated collections with Jewish cultural or historical significance.
Purpose of the Grant
The purpose of the grant is to help organisations protect, organise, preserve, and share Jewish heritage collections.
The programme supports practical collection care activities such as conservation, cataloguing, digitisation, storage improvement, specialist staffing, and digital resource development.
It also encourages public engagement so that collections can become more accessible and meaningful to diverse audiences.
Key Focus Areas
The grant focuses on Jewish heritage collections, Jewish cultural heritage, preliminary research, conservation, preservation, cataloguing, digitisation, specialist staff costs, storage materials, specialist equipment, digital resources, online catalogues, virtual exhibitions, public engagement, young people, local communities, and long-term collection care.
Types of Collections Supported
The grant supports collections related to Jewish heritage and culture.
Eligible collections may include:
- Objects
- Manuscripts
- Documents
- Printed materials
- Visual materials
- Audio recordings
- Film recordings
- Video recordings
- Archival materials
- Library collections
- Museum collections
- Institutional collections
Projects should clearly explain the Jewish heritage or cultural significance of the collection.
Funding Amount
The average funding level ranges from £30,000 to £60,000 per year.
Funding may be available for up to three years.
Applicants should request an amount that matches the scale, needs, and delivery plan of the project.
What the Grant Supports
The Collections Management Grant supports a wide range of activities related to Jewish collection care and access.
Supported activities may include:
- Preliminary research
- Collection assessments
- Scoping surveys
- Conservation work
- Preservation activities
- Cataloguing
- Digitisation
- Specialist staff costs
- Storage materials
- Specialist equipment
- Digital resource development
- Online catalogues
- Virtual exhibitions
- Public engagement activities
Projects should show how the proposed activities will improve preservation, access, understanding, or public use of Jewish heritage collections.
Preliminary Research Support
The grant can support preliminary research activities that help organisations plan larger collection projects.
This may include:
- Collection assessments
- Scoping surveys
- Condition evaluations
- Reviews of current storage or cataloguing systems
- Recommendations for future conservation
- Planning for larger preservation or digitisation projects
- Research that supports future funding applications
Preliminary research should help the organisation understand the condition, significance, needs, and potential of the collection.
Conservation and Preservation Support
Funding may be used for conservation and preservation work.
This can include treatment or repair of specific items to prevent deterioration and ensure long-term protection.
Conservation projects should clearly identify the materials involved, the risks they face, and the professional methods needed to protect them.
Cataloguing Support
The grant supports cataloguing activities that improve knowledge and management of collections.
Eligible cataloguing activities may include:
- Creating accurate inventories
- Developing detailed catalogues
- Analysing collection materials
- Publishing finding aids
- Creating online catalogues
- Improving access to collection information
- Supporting collection research and discovery
Cataloguing work should make Jewish heritage materials easier to identify, manage, study, and share.
Digitisation Support
Digitisation activities are eligible for support.
Digitisation helps preserve fragile materials and makes collections accessible to wider audiences.
Supported digitisation activities may include:
- Creating digital copies of materials
- Digitising objects, documents, images, audio, film, or video
- Preparing metadata
- Developing digital preservation workflows
- Supporting online access
- Creating digital platforms for collection use
Digitisation projects should include a clear plan for long-term access and preservation.
Specialist Staff and Professional Costs
The grant can support specialist costs where professional expertise is required.
This may include hiring or paying for additional time from:
- Cataloguers
- Conservators
- Photographers
- Digitisation specialists
- Archivists
- Collection managers
- Digital resource developers
- Technical specialists
- Existing staff working additional project hours
Applicants should explain why specialist expertise is necessary and how it will strengthen the project.
Storage Materials and Equipment
Funding may be used to purchase storage materials and specialist equipment needed for project delivery.
Eligible storage materials may include:
- Acid-free folders
- Specialist envelopes
- Storage boxes
- Cabinets
- Shelving
- Temperature control systems
- Humidity control systems
- Fire protection systems
- Security systems
Eligible specialist equipment may include:
- Cameras
- Scanners
- Conservation materials
- Digitisation equipment
- Laptops
- Computer hardware
- Cataloguing software
- Collection management systems
Applicants should clearly link equipment and storage purchases to the preservation or management needs of the collection.
Digital and Online Resources
The grant supports the creation of digital and online resources related to Jewish material heritage.
Examples may include:
- Websites hosting online catalogues
- Virtual exhibitions of digitised materials
- Digital platforms presenting local Jewish stories
- Online resources using primary sources
- Educational digital content
- Public access tools for Jewish heritage collections
Digital resources should improve access, interpretation, and engagement with collections.
Public Engagement Support
Public engagement activities are eligible when they promote collections and encourage participation from diverse audiences.
The programme gives particular interest to activities involving young people and local communities.
Supported public engagement costs may include:
- Speakers’ fees
- Travel expenses for speakers or contributors
- Workshops
- Community events
- Educational activities
- Collection-based talks
- Local history programmes
- Youth engagement activities
Catering costs are not covered.
Who Is Eligible?
Eligible applicants include organisations based in Europe, including both EU and non-EU countries.
Applicants must operate on a not-for-profit basis and provide evidence of their status.
Eligible organisations may include:
- Museums
- Universities
- Public libraries
- Private libraries
- Institutional libraries
- Archives
- Heritage organisations
- Cultural institutions
- Research institutes
- Cultural centres
- Not-for-profit organisations
- Other professional organisations that have acquired or generated a collection
Organisations based in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are not eligible.
Not-for-Profit Status Requirement
Applicants must provide evidence of charitable, non-profit, or not-for-profit status.
Eligible examples include UK charities and recognised international non-profit or not-for-profit entities.
Applicants should prepare documentation proving their legal and organisational status before applying.
Why It Matters
Jewish heritage collections across Europe contain important records of history, culture, community life, memory, identity, and artistic expression.
Many collections include fragile objects, archives, manuscripts, photographs, recordings, and documents that require professional care.
This grant matters because it helps organisations preserve these materials, improve access, support research, and connect Jewish heritage collections with wider public audiences.
How to Apply
Applicants should prepare a clear proposal that explains the collection, its significance, project needs, planned activities, budget, and expected outcomes.
Step 1: Confirm Organisational Eligibility
Applicants should confirm that they are a not-for-profit organisation based in an eligible European country.
They should also prepare evidence of their charitable, non-profit, or not-for-profit status.
Step 2: Describe the Collection
The application should clearly explain the collection being supported.
This section should include:
- Type of collection
- Jewish heritage or cultural relevance
- Size and scope of the collection
- Current condition
- Existing cataloguing or preservation status
- Public or research value
- Access challenges
Step 3: Identify the Collection Need
Applicants should explain what problem the project will address.
This may include:
- Poor storage conditions
- Lack of cataloguing
- Fragile or deteriorating materials
- Limited public access
- Need for digitisation
- Need for professional conservation
- Need for specialist staff or equipment
- Need for preliminary research before a larger project
Step 4: Choose the Right Project Activities
Applicants should identify the activities most relevant to their collection needs.
This may include preliminary research, conservation, cataloguing, digitisation, storage improvement, equipment purchase, digital resource development, or public engagement.
Step 5: Prepare the Project Plan
The project plan should explain how the work will be delivered.
It should include:
- Project objectives
- Activities
- Timeline
- Staff and specialist roles
- Equipment or materials needed
- Conservation or digitisation methods
- Public engagement plans
- Expected outputs
- Long-term collection care benefits
Step 6: Prepare the Budget
The budget should clearly show the funding requested and how costs will be used.
Applicants should include costs for eligible items such as specialist staff, storage materials, equipment, digitisation, conservation, digital platforms, and public engagement.
Catering costs should not be included.
Step 7: Explain Access and Engagement
Applicants should describe how the project will make the collection more accessible or meaningful.
This may include online catalogues, digital exhibitions, community activities, youth engagement, research access, or public programmes.
Step 8: Submit the Application
Applicants should submit the completed application with all required organisational evidence, project details, budget information, and supporting documents.
A strong application should clearly connect collection care with long-term preservation, access, and public value.
Selection Considerations
Applications are likely to be assessed based on the importance of the collection, project quality, feasibility, and public benefit.
Key assessment areas may include:
- Jewish heritage significance of the collection
- Urgency of preservation or management needs
- Quality of the project plan
- Suitability of proposed conservation, cataloguing, or digitisation methods
- Strength of specialist expertise
- Feasibility of timeline and budget
- Long-term preservation value
- Public access and engagement potential
- Benefit to young people or local communities
- Organisational capacity to deliver the project
- Evidence of not-for-profit status
Tips for a Strong Application
Applicants should:
- Clearly explain the Jewish significance of the collection
- Identify specific preservation or management needs
- Provide a realistic project plan
- Use qualified specialists where needed
- Link all costs directly to project delivery
- Explain how the project will improve access
- Include public engagement where appropriate
- Show benefits for young people or local communities
- Demonstrate long-term collection care impact
- Avoid including ineligible catering costs
- Provide clear evidence of not-for-profit status
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Common mistakes include:
- Not explaining the Jewish heritage relevance of the collection
- Submitting a general heritage project without a clear Jewish focus
- Providing an unclear project plan
- Requesting funding for unrelated organisational costs
- Including catering costs
- Not justifying specialist equipment purchases
- Failing to describe public access or engagement benefits
- Missing evidence of not-for-profit status
- Applying from an ineligible country
- Not explaining how the project supports long-term preservation
- Providing weak detail on conservation, cataloguing, or digitisation methods
FAQ
1. What is the Collections Management Grant?
The Collections Management Grant supports projects that preserve, manage, catalogue, digitise, and promote collections related to Jewish heritage and culture across Europe.
2. How much funding is available?
The average funding level ranges from £30,000 to £60,000 per year for up to three years.
3. Who can apply?
Museums, universities, libraries, archives, heritage organisations, cultural institutions, research institutes, cultural centres, not-for-profit organisations, and other professional organisations with relevant collections may apply.
4. What types of collections are supported?
Supported collections may include objects, manuscripts, documents, printed materials, visual materials, audio recordings, film, video recordings, archives, and other materials related to Jewish heritage and culture.
5. What activities can be funded?
Eligible activities include preliminary research, conservation, preservation, cataloguing, digitisation, specialist staff costs, storage materials, specialist equipment, digital resources, and public engagement.
6. Are digital projects eligible?
Yes. The grant can support online catalogues, virtual exhibitions, digitised collections, websites, and digital platforms using primary sources to present Jewish heritage stories.
7. Which countries are excluded?
Applications are accepted from eligible European countries, including EU and non-EU states, but organisations based in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are not eligible.
Conclusion
The Collections Management Grant provides important support for organisations caring for Jewish heritage and cultural collections across Europe. With average funding of £30,000 to £60,000 per year for up to three years, the programme helps institutions improve preservation, cataloguing, digitisation, storage, digital access, and public engagement. Applicants should present a clear collection-focused proposal that demonstrates Jewish heritage significance, practical project needs, long-term preservation value, and confirmed not-for-profit status.
For more information, visit Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe.
