Funding partnerships

Arts and Culture Impact Fund

The Arts & Culture Impact Fund is a new £20 million fund, which will be managed by Nesta and offers loans to social enterprises in the arts, cultural and heritage sectors to innovate and grow.

Together with Big Society Capital, Arts Council England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Bank of America, we're delighted to launch the new fund.

The UK’s arts, cultural and heritage institutions are a global success story. These sectors provide creative opportunities, jobs and valuable income for our communities. From our work, we also know they have the power to transform people’s lives, engage marginalised individuals and drive social change.

The new fund builds on the success of the Arts Impact Fund and the Cultural Impact Development Fund, which have shown how social impact investment can help build resilient, innovative and sustainable, creative organisations, and help organisations to grow and innovate faster.

Through this new fund, we want to support even more arts organisations with social aims to achieve sustainable growth and increase their impact.

More information about the Arts & Culture Impact Fund

The new Arts & Culture Impact Fund is Nesta's biggest fund to date and the largest social impact investment fund for the arts, culture and heritage sectors. The UK-wide fund will invest at least £20 million in organisations of all sizes in the arts, cultural and heritage sectors demonstrating a clear social impact, from arts and heritage organisations to  museums and libraries.

This fund aims to support arts, cultural and heritage organisations to become more enterprising and financially resilient. It will take a relationship-centred approach, structuring finance to meet the needs of individual organisations.

Socially driven arts and cultural organisations of all sizes across the UK are invited to apply for loans between £150k and £1 million, with a 10-year repayment period.

Alongside the investment capital, investees can also benefit from a tailored package of support from Nesta and their partners, including business insights and opportunities.

By focusing on both artistic and social outcomes, we want to promote the wider positive impact art has on society and support more organisations to benefit individuals and communities through their work.

How to apply for the fund

You can find out more including how to apply for the fund by visiting Arts & Culture Finance by Nesta.