In 2023, Surrey Cultural Partnership and the Community Foundation for Surrey, with support from Arts Council England through its managed funds, co-commissioned Sixth Voice Consulting to research the current arts and culture funding landscape in Surrey and to scope the potential need for funds in the future.  

 

The resulting report identifies challenges facing the county’s cultural sector:

 

• Surrey is under-funded by national grant-makers compared with its neighbours

• Local authorities across the board are facing stringent cuts and Government policy is affecting public money in the South East

• Smaller organisations lack the skills and resource required for grant applications and, due to their size, they can be ineligible to apply

• There is a tendency amongst cultural organisations to be highly protective of their funding sources, which can limit collaboration and restrict funding opportunities
   

Informed by this research, Surrey Cultural Partnership and the Community Foundation for Surrey, working with New Philanthropy for Arts and Culture, started to explore opportunities to develop a new Fund for Surrey to help widen participation in arts and culture in order to benefit everyone across the county.  ​​​

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In January 2025, Surrey Cultural Partnership announced the launch of the Surrey Heritage for All Fund in partnership with the Community Foundation for Surrey and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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