We’re here to help. Some of our most frequently asked Folk Foundation questions are below:
We aim to support anyone working with folk arts and traditions in new and exciting ways. You may be an individual, a collective, a community group, or even a coven - we are excited to receive your application!
We welcome applications from anyone over the age of 18, living and working in the UK.
We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and career stages. You do not need to be a professional practitioner to apply.
As part of your application, you will be asked to provide a brief summary of previous work. This does not need to be professional. Work done at school, college, or in community settings is equally welcome. We are looking for evidence that you can bring a relevant project to life, not a comprehensive CV.
Yes. One of our ambitions is to expand our understanding of what and who "folk" can be. If you believe that your work relates to one of our constellations, we would love to receive your application. Our constellations are:
STORYTELLING - oral histories, sound, song
RITUAL - ceremony, dance, performance art
GATHERING - rambling, community, seasonality
Before starting your application, you will be asked to complete a short, voluntary questionnaire. This is designed to help us better understand the diversity and reach of the Foundation.
Your answers will play no part in the Grant adjudication and will not be seen by the Guild. Every question is optional. You are welcome to skip any question you do not wish to answer.
The deadline for the Ffern Folk Foundation Grant 2027 is 18:00 BST on Monday 17th August, 2026.
Your application consists of three written questions.
The three questions are:
1. What does 'folk' mean to you and your work? (300 words)
2. If you were successful, how would you like to spend the grant? What would being awarded the grant allow you to achieve? (500 words)
3. Please provide a brief summary of your previous work, including up to three examples that you feel are relevant to your application. (300 words)
You may also upload a single PDF of up to five supporting materials. These should be works that are directly referenced in your answers.
There is no right or wrong way for you to answer. We want your answers to feel authentic to who you are.
1- What does "folk" mean to you and your work? (300 words)
This is not a trick question! We want to learn all about your connection to folk.
Feel free to be creative. If you do not think of your work as "folk" but still believe that there is a connection between what you do and our constellations (storytelling, ritual, gathering), we would love to hear why.
If you are applying on behalf of a group, then please try to capture a shared sense of how your group responds to folk.
2- If you were successful, how would you like to spend the grant? What would being awarded the grant allow you to achieve? (500 words)
This is where you persuade us. Tell us what being awarded the grant would actually allow you to do, and why that is important.
You do not need to produce a detailed budget or timeline at this stage, but please think carefully about how your plans correspond to your chosen grant pot (£5,000 / £10,000 / £20,000).
3- Please provide a brief summary of your previous work, including up to three examples that you feel are relevant to your application? (300 words)
This is where you support your application with examples of previous work. These don't need to be professional, but should give us confidence that you can bring your plans to life.
Supporting materials are the documents or media that will illustrate your application. These may include photos, videos, and audio recordings.
You may only upload a maximum of five supporting materials that are directly referenced in your answers to the three questions. These materials should be clearly labelled and presented in a single PDF.
You may include links to video and audio within your supporting materials.
You can apply for one of three grant pots.
£5,000 / £10,000 / £20,000
You may only make one application. Please think carefully about which grant pot suits your plans best, and demonstrate this in your answer to question two.
This decision is entirely up to you.
We have structured our grant pots to encourage applicants to think carefully about which grant pot suits their plans best. We do not expect, for example, an application for £5,000 to have the same scope or impact as an application for £20,000.
The Ffern Folk Foundation is committed to awarding a total sum of £50,000. This will be distributed across the three grant pots of £5,000 / £10,000 / £20,000.
We cannot guarantee that each grant pot will be awarded a grant. We will, however, attempt to maintain an even weighting across our final decision.
No. Each application will be judged entirely on its own merit. We judge merit in terms of professional or personal development, community engagement, and originality. We use these strands to guide our decision making across the Foundation as a whole, and to ensure our successful cohort is balanced in its impact.
An application does not have to touch each of these strands to be considered successful.
Once the application window has closed, the Foundation Curator will present our Guild with a shortlist of applicants.
The Curator and the Guild will then convene to carefully consider each shortlisted application, before deciding on the allocation of the grant.
We will aim to respond to all applicants by Friday 16th October, 2026.
Once the applicant has been notified that they have been awarded the grant, they will work with the Foundation Curator to ensure the successful development and delivery of their project.
Recipients will be invited to a Guild meeting and we hope to form a supportive alumni network in time.
We are happy to extend our support for up to two years, beginning from January 2027.
No. Each applicant will need to resubmit their existing proposal, or develop a new one, for the next application window.
We will delete all unsuccessful applications following the award of the Grant.
Yes. We believe that everyone should be able to complete an application for our Grant in a fair and equitable way. If you are currently experiencing barriers when applying for the Grant, please email folkfoundation@ffern.co to find out what support we can offer you.
You can contact Danny, the Foundation Curator, via folkfoundation@ffern.co.