Cockaigne Fund

About this fund

The Land of Cockaigne is a mythical paradise of cakes, ale, and splendid entertainment. Although the Cockaigne Fund can't provide the cakes and ale, musical entertainment is on the menu. Since 2022, the Fund has supported boundary-pushing musical research, development, and performances to delight, inform, and move participants and audiences alike. In 2024, the average grant size was around £1,900. 

Purpose of this fund

The Fund supports creative, challenging, and original projects that explore cultures and traditions, past and present. They have a particular interest in historically-informed projects related to classical and traditional music of all periods.

The Fund may also consider community projects that push boundaries, strive for excellence, and enable people to access new musical experiences. Regarding funding for studies, the Fund will only consider applications related to specialist one-off courses or masterclasses, not full academic programmes. 

Additional criteria

The project must be based in the UK.

If you are applying for funding towards a musical instrument, please provide a quote or web listing for the instrument.

Who can apply?

The Cockaigne Fund welcomes applications from individuals and organisations. 

Organisations must meet Foundation Scotland’s common eligibility criteria. Please check the criteria before applying.

Individuals must be self-employed, registered with HMRC, and able to provide a recent bank statement. 

What can’t be funded?

Please see Foundation Scotland’s what we can’t fund page.

How are decisions made?

The first step is to get in touch with Grants Officer, Livi Seligmann. Please answer the following questions:

• Are you applying on behalf of an organisation or as an individual?
• Could you tell us more about yourself and/or the organisation?
• How much funding are you looking for? (£5,000 is the maximum. For instruments, it is limited to £500 for individuals and £1,000 for groups. The £500 limit also applies to individuals requesting funding for studies)
• How would the funding be used? (a brief summary of the project and a breakdown of costs)

You’re very welcome to include questions for us in your email too. Livi will reply as soon as possible and guide you through the next steps. The Cockaigne Fund expects to make 4 to 6 awards per year.