anam community fund
What is it?
The anam community fund is a member-powered fund that lets people directly support emerging artists and collaborative art projects — no gatekeepers, just collective impact.
It’s a simple idea: our members contribute a small monthly fee, and that money goes straight into a fund to support new creative work. Every quarter, the community decides which artists to fund through an open voting process.
Anyone over 18 with a creative practice based in Scotland can apply. Keep reading to find out how.
Why are we doing it?
Traditional arts funding is often slow, complicated, and competitive and too often, artists spend more time applying than creating.
We believe there’s a better way. By building a community-funded model, we’re creating a more sustainable, transparent, and artist-led way to support creativity now — while continuing to seek long-term funding as a social enterprise.
How it works?
Members pay a monthly contribution (as little as the cost of a coffee).
These contributions go into the anam community fund, which is distributed quarterly.
Each round, 10 artists are selected (5 by our team, 5 at random) to be featured on our members-only proposals page.
Each profile includes a short proposal, a budget, and a sample of their past work.
Members vote for the artist(s) they’d most like to see supported.
The top 2 artists receive funding and project support from our team.
70% of all membership contributions go directly into the fund
30% supports our organisation’s core work
Who is the fund for?
Anyone 18 or older, based in Scotland, with a creative project idea.
We welcome artists working across any discipline — music, visual art, performance, digital, interdisciplinary, and more.
There’s no fee to apply, and the only input our team has is to check that applications meet our eligibility criteria.
Why this matters?
Too many artists are stuck trying to navigate impossible systems for support — facing barriers that stop them from creating or sharing their work.
If every one of our Instagram followers gave just £2 a month, we’d be able to distribute over £7,000 per quarter. That means:
More paid opportunities
More time and freedom to create
A funding model that works for artists, not against them
This isn’t just about giving money. It’s about building a sustainable future for the arts — one where artists and communities hold the power.
