TalentAid

Eligibility

All applications are subject to the following eligibility criteria:

Masonic Connection:

• The TalentAid candidate must be the child, step-child or grandchild of a Freemason. (Please be aware that if the Freemason’s membership is not active there is a set period of time after the membership ended in which an application can be submitted. Please contact us for further information before submitting an application).

Household & Finances:

• The candidate must be aged 25 or under and in full-time education as of 1 September 2026.
• The family’s household income must qualify under our financial assessment Candidates must apply for all other sources of available funding such as grants, scholarships and sponsorship.
• Please note. TalentAid grants are affordability tested and so a household contribution may be required. If you have a high level of income and/or capital and you are unsure if you are eligible to apply to the scheme, please contact us.

Costs:

• Costs requested must be essential to the development of the candidate’s talent.
• The MCF will only consider costs that are required for the forthcoming academic year (2026/7). Any costs outside of this timeframe cannot be considered.
• Assistance with school fees for music or dance students can only be considered if they are attending a Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) accredited establishment AND are on a course eligible for funding from this scheme. Please see the list of eligible schools.
• Assistance with course fees for performing arts students can only be considered if they are studying a Level 5 or Level 6 Diploma in Professional Acting, Dance or Musical Theatre that is eligible for a Dance and Drama Award (DaDA). Please see the list of eligible establishments.
• We can only consider assistance with school fees for other disciplines if the candidate attends a choir school or a sports college based on their exceptional talent. Choristers must also have applied for funding from the Choir Schools’ Association when submitting an application. Please see their website for further information.
• In certain circumstances we can consider support for undergraduate degrees if the Student Finance Tuition Fee Loan does not cover the full cost of the tuition fees. Please contact us for further information before submitting an application.

Talent:

• Candidates must intend to pursue their talent as a career.
• The candidate must be able to demonstrate exceptional talent by passing recognised examinations, gaining entry to highly competitive schemes or by performing at regional and national levels.
• Grants are not available to fund a hobby.
• Grants are not available to support academic excellence.

Application process and deadline

TalentAid applications are considered during the summer for the forthcoming academic year. You will be notified of the outcome of the application by the end of August.

For those seeking support for the 2025/26 academic year: The TalentAid scheme has closed for this academic year so we are not accepting any further applications.

For those seeking support for the 2026/27 academic year: Applications are now being accepted.

There are three parts to the application:

1. Application form
2. Supporting statement
3. Tutor/coach reference form

The Tutor/Coach reference form and Supporting Statement must be completed. These forms are used to help us identify the very best candidates. The application will not be considered without these forms and we will not accept alternative documents in place of any of the three TalentAid forms.

Please send the Tutor/Coach reference form to the nominated tutor/coach and ask them to complete and return the form to us as soon as possible. You should provide their email address on the TalentAid application form and the forms must be sent to us from that email address. Forms completed by the parent/guardian cannot be accepted.

If we do not receive all three parts of the application, together with supporting financial documents, the application will not be progressed. The deadline for completed applications (comprising Application Form, Supporting Statement, Tutor/Coach reference form and supporting documents) is 9am Friday 29 May 2026. Any application received after this date will not be considered.

To submit the application, please email talentaid@mcf.org.uk to request an RMail encrypted link. This will keep all of your information secure when you send it to us. We aim to provide this link within one working day.

Please note that all forms & supporting documents should be clearly labelled and provided as a PDF, Microsoft Word document, JPG, and/or PNG files.  We are unable to accept applications sent via other file sharing services such as DropBox/WeTransfer etc.

You will receive an acknowledgement email once the application has been received.

Further information

If you have any questions about the TalentAid scheme, please get in touch

0800 035 60 90 (option 2)

talentaid@mcf.org.uk