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 innovative musical research, development, and performance to delight, inform, and move participants and audiences alike.

The Cockaigne Fund is here to help projects get over the line into viability – it is not a Kickstarter. In 2024 and 2025, the average grant size was around £1,500. Due to the high demand for this funding, we expect most grants in 2026 to be a similar size, so please bear this in mind when applying. 

Purpose of this fund

The decision-making panel includes people with experience related to classical, traditional, and community music. They are searching for 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. Priority is given to projects leading to public performance, including tours across Scotland. 

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. The maximum for such bursaries is £500.

Additional criteria

The project must be based in Scotland or have a clear Scottish connection. For the budget section of the application form, applicants must list all project costs clearly and accurately. Please provide as much detail as possible.

You must have other funding for your project before applying to the Cockaigne Fund. The decision-making panel prioritise projects that are well developed and close to reaching their fundraising target. You can only apply once per calendar year.  

Who can apply?

The Cockaigne Fund welcomes applications from individuals and organisations. 

Organisations must meet Foundation Scotland’s common eligibility criteria. Please note that smaller organisations are prioritised, and make sure to check the criteria before applying.

Individuals must be self-employed and registered with HMRC, or in full-time education. All applicants are required to provide a recent bank statement. 

What can’t be funded?

• Ongoing projects/programmes that require year-on-year or consistent funding.
• Projects primarily focused on therapy or wellbeing.
• Instruments.
• While not strictly excluded, projects focused on working with schools or school-aged young people are rarely supported.

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

How are decisions made?

If you are applying as an individual, please use this application form.

If you are applying on behalf of an organisation, please use this application form.

As part of the application form, you will be asked to provide an itemised budget. Please ensure this is as detailed as possible, as the Fund may be able to support specific elements of the project even if the whole amount cannot be granted. 

If your project focuses on musical research, please explain how you plan to share your findings with the wider community. For performance-based projects, be sure to include details of your marketing strategy.

We aim to share decisions within six weeks. However, there may be delays during busy periods.