The Business Archives Council of Scotland is pleased to announce a Micro Grants Programme for 2026/27.
This programme is designed to support projects that enhance the care, visibility, and use of business archives in Scotland. The fund aims to assist BACS members with small but impactful initiatives that contribute to good archival practice, advocacy for business heritage, and improved access to collections.
Available Funding
Standard Grants: £50–£500
Available for a wide range of small-scale activities, such as:
- Conservation materials
- Cataloguing or listing projects
- Training or professional development
- Equipment or supplies
- Engagement or small outreach activities
Other purposes will be considered so long as they enhance awareness or use of business archives in Scotland.
Photography Grants: Up to £1,000
Available for projects involving professional photography of business collections. This is separate to digitisation of collection items and is intended to help a service create a set of images they can use for marketing and publicity purposes. For examples to use in new leaflets, online or for anniversary purposes. See examples in used in the Ballast Trust’s 30th anniversary publication.
Condition: A selection of the resultant digital images must be made available to BACS to use in future publicity, advocacy, and promotional materials.
Eligibility
Open to all current BACS members, including:
- Corporate members
- Institutional members
- Individual members
Applicants must agree to participate in limited publicity relating to their award. This may include:
- A short BACS website and/or newsletter feature
- A social media post (e.g., LinkedIn post)
- Use of selected images (from the photography grant)
Assessment Process
Applications will be assessed by a panel of BACS Executive Committee members. Decisions will be based on:
- Relevance to the aims of BACS
- Value for money
- Clarity and feasibility of the request
- Potential impact on the care or visibility of business archives
- For photography grants: quality and potential publicity value of images
Aims of BACS (from our constitution)
The objects of the Council shall be:
- To advance education in business and economic history through the study of business archives.
- To advance Scottish heritage and culture through the identification and preservation of the historical records of business enterprises in Scotland.
Timeline
- Application deadline: 31 August each year
- Assessment period: At the September BACS Executive Committee meeting
- Notification of outcomes: Shortly after the September meeting
- Publication of awardees:
- Listed on the BACS website
- Publicity shared through BACS social media channels
Conditions of Award
- Funding must be spent on the activities outlined in the application.
- Recipients agree to participate in BACS publicity.
- Photography grant recipients must provide a selection of copyright-cleared images for BACS promotional use.
How to Apply
Applicants should submit a short email application including:
- Applicant details and membership status
- Project summary
- Amount requested with budget breakdown
- Purpose and expected outcomes
- How the request supports the aims of BACS
- Willingness to take part in publicity
- (For photography grants) a brief description of the archive service and/or collections to be photographed and anticipated uses. For example anniversary publication, promotional leaflets, etc
BACS Membership
If you are not currently a BACS member but would like to join, please find out more.
