UK projects receive over £16mn in capital grants from Wolfson Foundation
Melanie May | 24 July 2023 | News
The Wolfson Foundation has announced £16 million in grants to over 80 projects across the UK, with 60% of the organisations funded receiving their first grant from Wolfson.
The Wolfson Foundation’s funding supports new builds, refurbishments and equipment for organisations working in a range of areas – with a strong emphasis on research and education – including science, heritage, humanities and the arts, health and disability.
Where the funding has gone
Grants have gone to support new plant research facilities at Durham University and Lancaster University that aim to improve the resilience of crops. Grants of £1 million and £965,000 respectively will be used to set up controlled environment facilities to study how plants respond to different environmental conditions. In turn, this will help to develop solutions to improve food security in response to the climate crisis.
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Wolfson has also awarded £1.5 million to 19 schools for facilities for performing arts, science, design technology and music. This includes supporting Ysgol Friars in Bangor, Gwynedd, to update two physics laboratories, enhancing the learning experience for A-level students.
Cultural heritage projects across the UK are also receiving support, including museums, galleries, historic buildings and landscapes and libraries and archives. The Africa Centre in London will use their grant of £100,000 to create a new exhibition space where they will showcase stories of culture and heritage from their archive, celebrating the diversity of Africa and its diaspora.
Funding for organisations working with people with disabilities includes £100,000 for Compass Advocacy Network (CAN) in Northern Ireland. This will help build a space for social enterprise and woodcraft activities at a farm near Ballymoney, creating work and training opportunities.
More on Wolfson Foundation funding
The foundation’s funding programmes can be grouped into funding for places (capital funding) and funding for people. About 85% of its funding is for capital infrastructure, and around 15% is for people, through scholarships or fellowships.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.