Arts Council England Opens Creative Foundations Capital Grants Round

Arts Council England is accepting applications for Round 2 of the Creative Foundations Fund, offering capital grants to not-for-profit creative and cultural organisations in England to revitalise, restore, retrofit or renew cultural assets, including urgent works required to maintain public-facing delivery.

A total of £76.8 million is available for 2026/27 through two strands aimed at improving the economic sustainability of cultural and creative organisations. The focus is on capital investment in existing cultural buildings and equipment, including expanded cultural or creative facilities within an existing site. The support does not cover the development of new cultural buildings or the adaptive reuse of existing buildings for cultural purposes.

Strand 1 has a budget of up to £25 million and offers grants between £100,000 and £1 million for building projects, equipment purchases such as moveable furniture, equipment or vehicles, or a combination of both.

Strand 2 has a budget of up to £51.8 million and offers grants above £1 million up to and including £10 million for building projects, or combined building and equipment work, but not equipment-only proposals.

Eligible applicants are not-for-profit cultural organisations based and registered in England, including charities, CIOs, charitable companies, CICs, limited companies that do not distribute profit, statutory bodies and certain community benefit societies. Applicants must show cultural aims within Arts Council England’s remit and evidence of cultural activity delivered in the last 12 months. Most organisations may submit one Expression of Interest (EoI) to either Strand 1 or Strand 2.

For more information and how to apply visit their website.

EoIs for Strand 2 must be submitted by the deadline of 17 July 2026 (12:00). EoIs for Strand for Strand 1 will be accepted between 13 July 2026 and 7 August 2026 (12:00).

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Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

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We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector.

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

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40% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

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VAC Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector. 

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

20% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

Competitive rate on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.