About the Kathy Callow Legacy Fund
The South West Federation of Museums & Art Galleries is the proud custodian of the Kathy Callow Legacy Fund. Our role is to administer the Legacy Fund to the sector in line with the wishes of Kathy Callow.
The Kathy Callow Legacy Fund supports small, Accredited museums in the Southwest of England with the costs of care and display of social history collections.
Please see below for further details of the Kathy Callow Legacy Fund. If you wish to apply for funding, please ensure you download and read the guidance notes and application form.
Kathy Callow Application Guidance (PDF)
SWFed Kathy Callow Application Form (PDF)
SWFed Kathy Callow Application Form (Word Document)
Applications open 30 June 2025. Deadline for applications 9am on Friday 31 October 2025. Applications should be submitted to info@swfed.org.uk.
About Kathy Callow
Kathy Callow (née Beeham – 1949-1989) was an active and long-standing member (latterly a Fellow) of the Museums Association. After qualifying in conservation at Leicester University, she devoted her working life to the many causes of small, local museums, starting in Enfield then Godalming, and finishing as Curator of the Priests’ House Museum in Wimborne (now the East Dorset Museum). In between, in 1975 she set up Gosport Museum and in 1989 the Museum of the History of Water Supply in the Pumping Station at Sutton Poyntz above Weymouth. Unusually practically resourceful, able to restore the early fibre-glass yacht Nohoh, and to install central heating virtually single-handedly, she was blessed with an insatiable curiosity. She also lived bravely with cancer for 6 years without this being known to most of those around her.
Purpose of the Kathy Callow Legacy Fund
The Kathy Callow Legacy Fund supports small, Accredited museums in the Southwest of England with the costs of care and display of social history collections. This may include conservation, exhibitions, improving stored collections or public engagement.
As custodian of the Kathy Callow Legacy Fund, the South West Federation of Museums & Galleries administers an annual small grants programme.
The total sum available for grant-making in each year is approximately £1,000
The sum awarded will be influenced by the long-term value of the project and the degree of preparatory thought that has been put into determining the content of the work and its costs.
The Grants awarded from the Kathy Callow Legacy Fund shall be used solely for the purpose of funding Accredited Museums in the Southwest of England for:
– the conservation of social history objects;
-the display of social history objects which may require specific conditions;
– collections care generally for social history objects;
– ‘social history’ may without limitation include occupational dress, campaigning banners, technology in use in everyday life, and the history of waterways and seafaring.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a grant, organisations must meet the following criteria:
-
- Be a charity registered in the UK.
-
- Be an accredited museums / gallery
-
- Be based in the Southwest of England, including the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire / Solent / Isle of Wight, Somerset, and Wiltshire.
-
- Have an annual gross revenue expenditure of less than £600,000.
The project applied for should:
-
- Focus on objects that are of importance/relevance to the social history collections
-
- Result in a long-term asset for the institution
-
- Be for public benefit and arrangements for access should be in place
Application Timeline and Deadlines 2025
Applications open: Monday 30 June 2025
Deadline for applications: 9am on Friday 31 October 2025
Applicants informed of grant awards: Monday 24 November 2025
Grant awards announced: Monday 1 December 2025
Completed applications should be sent to info@swfed.org.uk
Contact
If you have any questions about the Fund, the application form or the grant making process, you can contact info@swfed.org.uk FAO: Charlie or Verity.