This year this grant programme is for hospices only, for arts and culture projects which which open up conversations about dying, death and grief in new and creative ways at a grassroots level, and reach new groups in new ways.

The grants are aimed at community-led arts and culture projects, with a focus on equality and inclusion, and which approach the subject of dying in an innovative or creative way. They are looking for activities which take place in communities, outside of formal healthcare settings, which help make it easier for people to talk about death and dying. The hope is to support hospices to build new partnerships, particularly with arts and cultural organisations.

The funder will only consider applications that show evidence of partnership working with local groups/community organisations who can help the hospice to reach one of the groups above who the hospice has traditionally struggled to support.

The project grants are in the range of £5,000 – £8,000 with a total programme budget of £40,000 in this round.

Some examples of what the funding can be used for include artist fees, exhibition/installation costs, materials, facilitator costs, translation and marketing, refreshments, craft materials, sound and light or venue hire.

The programme will look for applications that engage an identified group that is known to be less likely to benefit from hospice care or the Dying Matters campaign. This includes, for example, ethnic minorities, LGBT+, homeless people, people with learning disabilities and those living in poverty and deprivation.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on 24 November 2023.

Applicants will be informed whether or not they have been successful by end-January 2024.

For full details, visit the Dying Matters webpage.