Classics for All
“Launch of grants programme and call for applications
Classics for All is a new charity, set up jointly by JACT and Friends of Classics. Our aim is to complement the work of other Classical charities by raising significant funds to support projects for broadening access to Classical subjects. We are delighted to say that, thanks to the generous support of the major Classical bodies (the Hellenic and Roman Societies, the Classical Association, Friends of Classics and JACT) and of a number of individual founding donors, Classics for All has raised sufficient funds to be able to establish the charity, to appoint an experienced fundraiser, and to be in a position to make our first call for applications for funding.
We hope to give out around £100,000 in this first year, based on the recommendations of the charity’s Grants Advisory Committee at a meeting to be held in May 2011. We expect to make grants in the range of £3,000 to £30,000, although until we receive our first proposals we shan’t know the scale of new work which is planned. We are willing in principle to make grants to projects for more than one year, but at this early stage in our programme we cannot undertake to guarantee funding to any individual project for year two or subsequent years. So proposals should be designed to deliver meaningful outcomes in year one. If you are interested in putting forward a proposal for funding, more details of the types of project we will fund and the guidelines for making an application may be found at www.classicsforall.org.uk. The deadline for applications to be considered at the May meeting is 4 February 2011.
Even if you do not intend to apply for funding, as a new charity we would be very interested in the views of colleagues about our plans and aims, and whether you can suggest any improvements. Our target is to get Classics firmly embedded and with a sustainable future in 500 schools over the next ten years; and to have been a launch pad for the teaching of Classics in a further 500. The long term aim is to convert as many schools as possible into institutions which no longer need our financial support for their Classical teaching. Please send any comments to us at contact@classicsforall.org.uk.
It seems that Classics has never been so topical, and there is a genuine and growing wave of enthusiasm among young people and teachers for our subject. We have been heartened by the warmth and generosity with which Classics for All has been welcomed, as the “new kid” on the Classical block, and we very much look forward to unveiling our first funded work next summer.
Sarah Jackson, Chair of CfA
Professor Tom Harrison, Chair of Grants Advisory Committee, Classics for All and past Chair of JACT Council (2007-2010)”
Classics list
