Key takeaways
- Amazon’s Regional Creatives Fund returns for 2026, offering multiple grants of up to £30,000 for UK charities, CICs, and CIOs upskilling people for creative industries careers.
- The fund supports charities, CICs, and CIOs that run programmes aimed at boosting skills and increasing access to creative industry careers in the performing arts, TV, podcasting, gaming, fashion, photography, journalism, comedy and more.
- The fund is open for applications from single charities, CICs, and CIOs and consortiums across the UK.
Amazon has announced that charitable organisations will be awarded up to £30,000 in grants through its Regional Creatives Fund.
Launched in 2025, the Regional Creatives Fund is available to charities, CICs, and CIOs which support individuals breaking into publishing, music, gaming, film, TV, fashion, advertising, and other creative sectors where diversity and fresh perspectives can drive innovation and change. The fund exists to widen access to creative industry careers for people in underserved communities (as defined by Creative Access, the UK’s leading inclusivity organisation in the creative industries) and aligns with the Government’s Creative Places Growth Fund.
In addition to financial support, the Regional Creatives Fund uses Amazon’s network of creative industry professionals to offer charitable organisations pro-bono upskilling programmes — including mentoring, work experience, placement opportunities, and digital training, with support provided by minds from Amazon Music, Prime Video, Amazon Games, and more.
The initiative comes at a crucial time, as recent research from The Sutton Trust reveals that younger adults from working-class backgrounds are four times less likely to work in creative industries compared to their middle-class peers. Data from Arts Council England shows only 9% of the creative workforce identifies as disabled, compared to 22% of the general working-age population.
Photo by Screen Berkshire, Photographer: Rishi RaiThe Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who launched the 2026 Regional Creatives Fund at the National Theatre, said: “The UK’s Creative Industries are the best in the world, from film and TV to theatre and music production. The Creative sector is a leading driver of economic growth and a provider of good jobs. This Government is determined that access to those jobs should be spread across the country, and available to everyone, everywhere.
“I’m really pleased to have worked with Amazon during the recent Greater Together LA conference to secure further investment in their Regional Creatives Fund, a great scheme that is investing directly in people’s potential.”
Who is eligible for Amazon’s Regional Creatives Fund?
2026 applications are welcome from small-to-medium-size single charities, CICs, and CIOs — up to £30,000 — and from consortiums — up to £100,000 — whose members are based in the same region, provided they already run skills projects making a real difference and are looking for further funding to grow, maintain, or reimagine that work.
The Regional Creatives Fund welcomes applications from organisations working across the creative industries, including:
- Music — performance, production, artist development, sound engineering, music business.
- Performing Arts and Live Events — theatre, live performance, events production, stage management, technical production.
- Screen and Audio — film, TV, animation, podcasting, radio, audio production.
- Digital and Interactive — gaming, XR, AI-enabled creative tools, digital design, social media production.
- Publishing and Communications — books, journalism, copywriting, PR, advertising, podcasting.
- Fashion, Craft and Visual Arts — fashion, textiles, fine art, illustration, photography, graphic design.
- Comedy — stand-up, sketch, sitcom, comedy writing, character comedy.
- Cross-disciplinary — projects that genuinely span two or more of the above.
- Other — creative industries where a strong fit is demonstrated.
By backing charities, CICs, and CIOs with established creative upskilling work, the Regional Creatives Fund gives community organisations the freedom to tackle their most urgent priorities.
Applicants must be able to show the grant will expand or sustain an existing programme that's already making a difference for underserved communities, whether that's through placements in game development studios, music production training, or portfolio development for the advertising creatives of tomorrow.
Grants are awarded by an independent judging panel made up of senior leaders from Amazon, The National Theatre, BAFTA, Arts Council England, Northern Ireland Screen, Creative Wales, Help Musicians, Audible, and the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
Applications are assessed across five key areas. Strong proposals needed to:
- Show energy, optimism, and a clear creative purpose
- Deliver real impact through skills, access, and industry links
- Show a smart, achievable plan with confident delivery
- Amplify underrepresented voices
- Build on existing programmes to grow what’s already working.
Meet the 2025 awardees
Beat Routes, England
Beat Routes is a charity based in Slough and received a grant of £10,000 from the 2025 Regional Creatives Fund. Katie Nutt from Beat Routes said: “The £10,000 grant from the Regional Creatives Fund has been vital in sustaining our year-round creative employment pathway for young people facing barriers in Slough. Over the past year, it's helped more than 300 young people gain creative skills, build confidence and take real steps towards careers in the music industry.
"For so many of them, Beat Routes is something they rely on, for their mental health, their creativity, for connecting with friends and making new ones, and for the mentorship that opens up genuine opportunities. Amazon's support means we can keep that door open.”
Into Games & Helm and Hot Chocolate Trust, Scotland
Into Games is one of the UK's leading charities dedicated to driving social mobility in the games sector. Leading a consortium with Helm and Hot Chocolate Trust, they were awarded £86,000 from the Regional Creatives Fund.
They will use the money to develop the UK's first regional 'Waypoint' in Dundee—a collaborative programme designed to inspire, guide, and connect local talent from working-class and low-income backgrounds to careers in the games industry. The programme will include a regional games careers festival, activities in secondary schools, paid internships, and sector training for youth workers and careers staff.
Nerve Centre, Northern Ireland
Nerve Centre is Northern Ireland's leading creative media arts organisation, engaging over 120,000 people annually through festivals, screenings, and education programmes.
They were awarded £26,800 from the Regional Creatives Fund and will use the money to launch their new Unreal Engine Academy. This intensive training programme will teach 20 young people aged 16-19 each year to use industry-standard technology for careers in games, animation, film, TV, and virtual production. The funding will cover facilitation costs, travel bursaries, equipment, and access to cutting-edge virtual production spaces.
Kirklees Theatre Trust (Lawrence Batley Theatre), England
Lawrence Batley Theatre is a performing arts venue in Huddersfield that presents a year-round programme of drama, dance, circus, and pantomime while nurturing local talent.
They were awarded £10,000 from the Regional Creatives Fund and will use the money to expand their Future Creative programme, which offers inclusive volunteering opportunities for young people affected by poverty and unemployment in Kirklees. The funding will help engage 50 young people aged 18-30 in volunteering across West Yorkshire over two years, sustain a dedicated Volunteer Manager, deliver creative and employability skills workshops, and cover travel expenses through a 'no-worries fund'. The programme will also include cross-sector placements in theatre, music, digital media, and visual arts across West Yorkshire.
Pathfinders Cymru, Wales
Pathfinders Cymru is a South Wales charity supporting young people with learning disabilities and neurodiversity.
They were awarded £14,400 from the Regional Creatives Fund and will use the money to expand their Pathways Through Pixels – Digital Storytelling and Creative Futures programme. The initiative provides inclusive training in storytelling, digital design, and multimedia production, helping young people build confidence, explore identity, and discover career pathways in the creative industries. Building on the success of their recent STEM in Film project, the funding will support essential equipment, voice actor training, performances, and specialised SEN tools to create pathways to creative careers where they don't currently exist for these young people.
The full list of 2025 awardees
- Articulate Cultural Trust - Scotland
- Arts Emergency - London / Greater London (with activities elsewhere)
- Audio Active - South East - Brighton
- Beat Routes - South East (Slough, Berkshire)
- Bolton School Bursary Foundation - North West (Bolton)
- British Youth Music Theatre - Leeds - virtual
- Brixton House - London
- Citrus Arts Ltd - Wales
- Compass Live Art - Yorkshire and The Humber (Leeds)
- Cutting Edge Theatre - Scotland
- Daisi - South West (Exeter)
- DD8 Music - Scotland
- Diverse FM - East of England (Luton)
- Endure Mentoring - London
- Hope 4 Life NI - Northern Ireland
- Icon Theatre - South East
- Into Games - Scotland (Dundee)
- Kirklees Theatre Trust (Lawrence Batley Theatre) - Yorkshire and The Humber
- Multitrack - London
- Music and Arts Production Leeds (MAP Charity) - Yorkshire and The Humber
- Music Broth - Turbojerry - Scotland (Glasgow)
- Music for Youth - West Midlands (Birmingham)
- Nerve Centre - Northern Ireland (Derry)
- New Writing North - North East
- Newtownabbey Arts & Cultural Network - Northern Ireland
- Northern Roots - North East
- Octavia Foundation - London
- Pathfinders Cymru - Wales
- Pedestrian - East Midlands
- Pentabus Arts Limited - West Midlands (Shropshire)
- Shakespeare North Trust - North West (Prescot)
- TeenTech Charity - North West (Manchester)
- The GoodWork Foundation - London
- Turn The Tables - Scotland
- upReach - London / Greater London
- WAY UK - South West (Swindon, Wiltshire)
- Writing on the Wall - North West (Liverpool)
- YMCA Leicestershire - East Midlands (Leicestershire)
- Youth Theatre Arts Scotland - Scotland
James Dibbo, Amazon VP and CFO for Global Entertainment, said: “Amazon is significantly invested in the success of the UK’s creative industries. This includes working together with the UK government to unlock creative opportunities across every nation and region of the country.
"After seeing the incredible impact of our first awardees, we are delighted that the Regional Creatives Fund is now reopen for applications. Where you start should not determine how far you go – and we want to help build a future where creativity belongs to everyone, everywhere.”
Apply here for the 2026 Regional Creatives fund. Applications close on Sunday, August 2.
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