WAF Grants
The WAF 2026 Grants fund activities and events that will take place as part of Wandsworth Arts Fringe from Fri 5 June - Sun 21 June 2026. You must complete an Expression of Interest form before applying for a WAF Grant.
Deadline: Wed 5 November, 12pm
The WAF Grants are open to individual artists and organisations wishing to use their creativity to make a positive impact in Wandsworth, working with our inspiring residents, communities, and places.
The grants are funded directly by Wandsworth Council through the Wandsworth Grant Fund initiative. All applications will be assessed by the WAF Assessment Panel.
Awards
The maximum award is £2,000. Grants can fund up to 70% of the total project cost.
Eligibility and Assessment Citeria
Who can apply?
Applications are open to organisations, partnerships and individuals that demonstrate how they meet the criteria of the grant, provided the proposed activity takes place or culminates during WAF and is fully budgeted.
N.B. WAF Grants funding must represent no more that 70% of the overall budget.
The fund is unable to support:
- profit making ventures
- fund-raising activities
- capital costs
- core costs
- course fees
For the full list of items the Council is unable to fund, please refer to the WAF Grants Terms & Conditions.
Applicants do not have to be based in Wandsworth. However, the proposal must take place in the borough and benefit Wandsworth residents. We recommend that you include a carefully considered marketing and audience development plan in your application.
Applicants who were awarded a WAF grant in the past 3 years but failed to produce an evaluation report may not apply.
How do we select grantees?
Each year, the WAF Grant scheme awards up to £2000 (per project) to support the realisation of creative projects that engage meaningfully with Wandsworth communities and meet our strategic goals.
Assessment criteria
- Artistic quality: we are looking to develop bold work, engaged artistic practice or innovative working model
- Strategic fit: does your project address at least one of our strategic priorities?
- Deliverability: project timeframe, partners and collaborators
- Impact: who will benefit from your project and how so? How will you measure it? Is it value for money?
How To Apply
Complete the grant application form and budget worksheet by Wednesday 5 November 2025, 12pm.
If you would prefer to apply in another format for access reasons, including a word document, please contact us to discuss your requirements.
NOTE: WAF reserves the right to prioritise proposals that fill existing gaps in provision.
All applications must embrace equality of opportunity and professionalism. By professionalism we mean, for example, undertaking risk assessments, having a safeguarding policy in place and recognising the need for artists to be fairly paid for their work.
Please note: You need to have completed an Expression of Interest Form before you can apply for a WAF Grant.
After you've applied - what happens next?
Once you've submitted your application, we will not be in touch until after the deadline has passed, unless we have specific questions about your application.
If you have a query about the WAF Grants application process please contact us.
It will not be possible for the WAF Grants team to reply to application queries that come in after Fri 27 September.
You will be contacted on the outcome of your application no later than Fri 20 December – we will not be able to respond to follow-up enquiries until January 2026.
We aim to announce the successful projects to be supported by WAF Grants in February 2026. Award outcomes are embargoed until then.