GrantRadarApplications closed on 30 September 2026.
Many funders run the same grant every year, so check the funder’s site for a new round. The details below are what the funder published when it was open.
Philip Bates Trust
Philip Bates Trust Grants
Small grants from the Philip Bates Trust (registered charity 1094937), a Birmingham-based memorial charity, to help young people under 25 develop their talents in the arts: music, drama, visual arts and other creative disciplines. Schools, colleges, youth groups and arts organisations running creative projects for young people can apply, as well as individual young people. Organisation grants are usually up to £500. Applicants from anywhere in the UK are accepted, but West Midlands applicants are particularly welcome. Trustees meet three times a year (February, June and October), and in 2022-24 the Trust gave £4,216 to 8 organisations and £2,304 to 10 individuals.
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- You could get
- Up to £500
- Deadline
- Closed
- the deadline has passed
- Effort
- Light
- short form, little evidence needed
Who can apply
- Schools, colleges and youth groups running creative projects, and organisations providing arts-based education or opportunities for young people under 25
- Individuals under 25 working in the arts can also apply
- Among organisations, the trustees give priority to charities and not-for-profit bodies with a track record of serving the community in a field relevant to the Trust's aims
- Applicants anywhere in the UK are eligible; the trustees particularly welcome organisations based in, or running activities in, the West Midlands
- Past grants went to groups in Leeds, Corby, Leicester, Romsey, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Organisations must include two recommendations vouching for how effective their work with young people is
- An organisation should not normally apply in two consecutive years
What it funds
- Specific projects, workshops and initiatives that develop young people's (under 25) artistic skills and confidence in any art form: music, drama, dance, visual arts and emerging creative disciplines
- The Trust particularly welcomes projects that:
- Offer hands-on artistic experiences to young people
- Encourage collaboration, creativity and innovation
- Have a clear plan for skills development and long-term impact
Recent organisation grants covered schools concerts by visiting musicians, children's story-writing workshops for a theatre show, adjudication and composer-workshop fees at a youth music festival, Arts Award moderation for a dance project with hard-to-reach young people, a 3D printer for a special school, a day of art workshops at a Welsh primary school, instrument-making resources, choir membership fees and a year's organ lessons.
The Trust also runs an annual composition prize with Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Grants are normally for no more than 12 months.
What it will not fund
- General activities of an organisation (the trustees prefer specific projects, even where the general work fits the Trust's objects)
- Work not aligned with the Trust's aim of advancing the arts education of young people under 25
- Repeat applications for the same project (a new application must be for a different project)
- Applications from the same organisation in two consecutive years (only in exceptional circumstances)
Priority goes to charities and not-for-profit bodies with a track record relevant to the Trust's aims. Grants normally cover up to 12 months. The number of grants depends on the Trust's fundraising and investment income
How to apply
- Read the Guidelines for Applicants (https://philipbatestrust.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/applicant-guidelines-PBT-sept-2020.pdf) and check your project fits the Trust's aims
- Prepare a summary of the project: what the grant is for, why you need it, total costs with a detailed breakdown, other funding secured, what difference the Trust's grant will make, how you meet the Trust's objectives, and how you will acknowledge the Trust's support
- Get two recommendations vouching for your organisation's work with young people
- Apply online through the Google Form linked from https://philipbatestrust.co.uk/grants/ ('Apply Online'), or by post to 24 Elmfield Road, Castle Bromwich, Birmingham B36 0HL (no standard form for postal applications)
- Submit by the last day of January, May or September for the trustees' February, June or October meeting
- Successful applicants are told by post or email and listed on the Trust's website and in its newsletter
Apply well ahead of the project start date. Postal applications with insufficient postage are not collected
Have ready
- Project summary covering purpose, need, detailed cost breakdown, other funding, difference the grant makes, fit with the Trust's objectives and how support will be acknowledged
- Two recommendations vouching for the organisation's effectiveness with young people (the actual recommendations, not just referee names)
Individual applicants must instead include at least two actual references