Grants for museums from ICOM Ukraine

The ICOM Ukraine Rapid Response Grant Programme is aimed at emergency response to threats caused by war in the cultural sector. It continues under the initiative “Museums of Japan for Museums of Ukraine”.

The main objectives of the programme include:

• supporting museums in crisis conditions;
• preserving cultural heritage.

The programme supports activities such as:

• rescue of museum collections;
• stabilization of cultural heritage objects;
• evacuation of museum assets.

The initiative is supported by ICOM Japan and the Japanese Association of Museums, which previously raised 29,624,390 yen to assist Ukrainian museums affected by armed aggression.

Applications for the grant may be submitted by organisations whose projects meet the programme’s conditions and address war-related risks.

Key eligibility conditions:

• The project must respond to an immediate threat caused by the war (shelling, occupation, proximity to frontline, etc.);
• There must be a risk of loss of museum collections, buildings, or documentation without intervention;
• Only activities focused on stabilisation and prevention of further damage are supported.

Within the grant programme, financial support is provided for activities aimed at preserving cultural heritage during wartime.

Key funding parameters:

• Grant size: from UAH 50,000 to UAH 500,000;
• Funds are allocated for activities such as:

• • rescue of museum collections;

  • stabilization of cultural heritage objects;

  • evacuation of cultural assets.

The funding is targeted and designed to support rapid response to threats in the cultural sector.

Within the grant programme, activities are supported that focus on rapid response and preservation of cultural heritage during wartime.

Eligible activities include:

• Assessment of damage to museum buildings or collections;
• Emergency repair works (temporary roofing, reinforcement, waterproofing, etc.);
• Stabilisation of climate conditions in storage facilities;
• Evacuation of collections to safe locations;
• Rescue operations involving removal or clearance of damaged collections;
• Emergency documentation or digitisation of collections at risk of destruction.

To submit a request, please fill out the form at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/r6NaZmU0dQ

Applications within the grant programme are assessed based on:

• first-come, first-served review process;
• acceptance of applications until available funds are fully allocated.

Priority is given to museums that:

• are located in areas of active or potential hostilities;
• are based in temporarily occupied territories (provided they are re-registered in government-controlled areas) or in frontline communities;
• operate in regions with постоян threats of shelling;
• host evacuated museum collections.

Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, and the program will continue until the available budget is exhausted.

Decisions regarding the awarding of grants will be made by the program’s expert council, which will include representatives of initiatives that have actively supported museums and museum collections since the start of the full-scale invasion. 

To initiate the application review process, the applicant must complete the following steps and provide the required documents:

• After submitting the form, an email is sent with a link to upload the budget file (Excel or free format);
• Uploading the budget is a mandatory requirement to start the review process;
• Through the same link, applicants may optionally submit additional materials, such as:

• • photos;

  • videos;

  • project description;

  • supporting documentation.