The Academy administers a number of gifts and bequests, which it has received over the years from both benefactors and members. Many of these are for the benefit only of members of the Academy. Others are for students or people exhibiting in Academy exhibitions.

The Exhibition Fund was established in 1911 by Sir James Guthrie PRSA for procuring meritorious and representative works of art from the Annual Exhibition.

The Maud Gemmell Hutchison Bequest created in 1991, set aside monies to be used by the Academy for a prize for the best colour drawing of animals, as a memorial to her late brother, George Jackson Hutchison.

The Meyer Oppenheim Prize Fund was established in 1972. From 1983 onwards an annual grant is received from the Meyer Oppenheim Trust to provide a prize for a work in any medium by an artist not having attained his or her 35th birthday on Receiving Day for the Annual Exhibition.

The Miss M O Taylor's Trust Fund was established in 1924 by the Will of Miss M O Taylor. With the residue of her estate, she wished a Fund to be established for the relief of impoverished authors, actors, actresses, artists and musicians who have achieved some measure of success in their field and are of sufficient standing to deserve the title. Application forms from the Secretary.

The Thorburn Ross Memorial Fund was established in 1914 by gift from Miss Jessie Smith Ross, in memory of her father Robert Thorburn Ross and her brother Joseph Thorburn Ross ARSA. The income is to be applied for purchase, by special committee of the Academy, of paintings exhibited in the Annual Exhibition or of portraits of the President or public or eminent persons for which the committee will have power to order commissions.

The John Kinross Fund was established in January 1954 in the form of a Trust to be known as The Royal Scottish Academy John Kinross Bequest. In 1981, Mr Kinross's son proposed an extension to the scope of use of the Fund. As a result, during the summer of 1981, selected students were sent to Florence to study. Since then, part of the income has been utilised to provide students in their final or post-graduate years at the four Scottish Colleges of Art with the opportunity to study for several months in Florence. Application Forms are available only from Heads of Departments in the Colleges in February each year.