Gerald Coke Handel Foundation

The Gerald Coke Handel Foundation, established in 1996, administers the endowment for the Gerald Coke Handel Collection—one of the world's premier archives on George Frideric Handel, his associates, and eighteenth-century musical culture—housed at London's Foundling Museum. Its core mission is advancing public education through the collection's care, conservation, and development, embodying values of cultural heritage preservation, scholarly rigour, and broad accessibility for researchers, musicologists, students, musicians, and the public. Distinctively integrated with the Foundling Museum, it sustains this unique resource of over 15,000 items, including manuscripts, scores, and artefacts, to foster enduring scholarly and public engagement with Handel's legacy.

The foundation prioritises funding for arts, culture, heritage, and education initiatives tied to Handel and eighteenth-century music, supporting collection maintenance, cataloguing, digitisation, conservation, academic symposia, research projects, publications, and public displays or educational programmes. Beneficiaries include the general public, scholars, students, and cultural institutions leveraging the collection for musicological study, music printing history, and related heritage activities.

Eligible applicants are limited to UK-registered charities and academic institutions in England and Wales, with a strong preference for established specialist entities like the Foundling Museum or aligned partners; it does not support grassroots groups or impose strict income thresholds. Typical grants range from £5,000 to £60,000 for significant projects, awarded adhoc via internal trustee decisions aligned with museum planning—no unsolicited applications, open calls, or deadlines exist. Enquiries go to handel@foundlingmuseum.org.uk, but funding is directed exclusively to collection-related work, excluding general purposes, unrestricted support, or unrelated projects.