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20 Jun 2012

34 arts and heritage groups to share £56m worth of endowment grants

Image: London's V&A has secured £5m of support

Michael Portillo has confirmed that 34 arts and heritage organisations across England are to share £56m worth of endowment grants, which will help unlock further investment.

The funding has been made available through Catalyst: Endowments - a joint initiative from the government, Arts Council England (ACE) and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

It is hoped the grants - worth between £500,000 and £5m - will help successful bidders in attracting a further £106m of investment from private and corporate donors.

Among those to receive funding is London's Serpentine Gallery, which was handed £3m to create an endowment to support its activity at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery.

The Victoria and Albert Museum - also located in the capital - is to receive a match-funding pledge worth £5m towards its proposed £100m endowment over the next 15-to-20 years.

Recipients also include National Museum of the Royal Navy (HMS Victory) (£5m); Bowes Museum in County Durham (£1m); and Bath's Holburne Museum of Art (£1m).

Bids were assessed by an independent panel chaired by Portillo, with final awards made by ACE's national council and HLF's board of trustees.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "I'm delighted that we've been able to get a significant number of organisations on the road to long-lasting and sustainable endowments."

Portillo added: "[The applications] we recommended for approval are well-placed to secure match funding from donors, and to build endowments which should strengthen their future financial resilience."

Details: www.culture.gov.uk

Image: David Castor