BAFM Friends of the Year Award 2026 | British Association of Friends of Museums

In Association with the Marsh Charitable Trust

Guidance Notes for applicants
BAFM wants to recognise the exceptional work that Friends Groups are doing through our latest BAFM Friends of the Year Award 2026. We are proud to announce their continuing partnership with The Marsh Charitable Trust who will help select the winners of the competition

Award winners will receive £500 kindly provided by The Marsh Charitable Trust
and each shortlisted organisation will receive a Certificate of Merit.
A follow up article in the BAFM Journal will be published, promoting your group, showcasing your work, and sharing your ideas and best practice.

The Award, in association with The Marsh Charitable Trust is open to all groups of Friends affiliated to BAFM. There are several criteria applicant groups must fulfil:

Applicants must be members of BAFM
Friends’ Groups can apply themselves or be nominated by the museum or heritage site they support.
Applicants can be Friends Groups of any size as it is the impact of the work that is considered, not simply the scale or number of pounds raised. Examples of work recognised by the Award have included: fundraising, engaging new audiences at the museum, Filling gaps in museum provision or service and preserving local heritage or the environment

The Award application form is available to download here:

Friends of the Year Award 2026 (docx)

Friends of the Year Award 2026 (pdf)

Applications are accepted from 1st March 2026 to 30th June 2026

You will need to send your application form, a letter of support from the museum your groups supports and one supporting document or photograph that is relevant to the application.

The Award short list will be announced in the September edition of the BAFM Journal, and the winner and runners up will be notified privately before the public announcement at the 53rd BAFM Conference and AGM in Southampton

Although applications will generally be submitted by digital means, if your group would prefer to submit by hard copy, please contact nrwspexard@outlook.com .When completing the application form be concise and to the point but make sure you give us some facts and figures and tell us why this activity is important. Together with your application form, groups must submit a letter of support written by a staff member of the museum or heritage site they support. The name and role of person writing the letter with brief details of the museum or heritage organisation should be included. Again, this letter should be clear and concise.