How should heritage be funded? What are the opportunities and challenges around public, private and philanthropic funding models? These are some of the key questions underpinning the 2024 Heritage Debate. This year the The Historic Environment Forum worked in partnership with The Heritage Alliance to produce a series of case studies which will contribute to the debate – sharing different models of funding heritage, as well as a diversity of views on the subject.
Katie Childs, Chief Executive of Chawton House
What type of funding has been effective in supporting your work?
The most effective funding we have had has been core funding from independent trusts and foundations, and individual donors. They took the time to understand the vision of what we wanted to achieve, understand the enormity of the task that was transforming Chawton House and the less glamourous activities required to provide the firm foundations on which to build. Because the current Board and staff team had to change almost every single aspect of our operation to survive and thrive, and have very precarious cashflow because we have no endowment, we needed funding from those who trusted in our team’s abilities and who would provide cash in advance.
Similarly, the support we receive from our local council’s Business Development team has been invaluable. Small capital grants, funded Kickstart posts in the kitchen and garden (almost impossible to secure funding for), networking opportunities and the showcasing of our work is consistently the most beneficial support we receive.
What setbacks have you experienced related to funding?
Chawton House Library opened as a purely academic library in 2003. Until 2017, it was almost entirely funded by the Bosack Kruger Foundation (all capital, 75% of revenue). The Foundation removed their funding suddenly. There was no endowment, investment fund and no reserves. A new board and staff team have since focused on making the organisation sustainable and opening it up to re-imagine what it is to be a community-focused public historic estate, with women’s writing at its heart.
We still have very limited reserves (six weeks) and this places a limit on our ambitions because we cannot secure any funding where a proportion is paid in deficit (without taking loan finance). Although cultural provision in East Hampshire is patchy, we focus on affordability and improving opportunities for those early in their career in our rural community, our Hampshire postcode also excludes us from a variety of public funds.
What solutions are required to address funding challenges in heritage?
There is no incentive to maintain a building: it’s easier to fundraise for a building in disrepair because so few funders will help with the routine costs of maintenance and staffing, all of which have rocketed since 2021. Barely a month goes by without someone offering us trees to plant, but when ash die back and storm damage caused thousands of pounds in damage, there was no help. There is limited funding to set up functioning enterprises and put heritage organisations in a position to earn most of their core funding independently. Rural government funding is paid in deficit, as is some Lottery funding. This limits the ambitions of organisations with shallow pockets. It is difficult to accumulate reserves from a standing start. Some sort of match-funding scheme to help create endowments could give heritage organisations a way in which they could secure their own future.
