Acknowledging and celebrating your grant
| Attachment | Size |
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| Acknowledgement toolkit | 11 MB |
| Pecyn cymorth cydnabyddiaeth | 11.07 MB |
How to acknowledge your grant
Acknowledging your grant is an important part of your project.
It is your opportunity to credit our support and thank National Lottery players for the funding that has made your project possible.
Acknowledging your grant will show the impact that National Lottery players have and enable us to continue to support projects – just like yours – in the future.
If you are awarded a grant, you must acknowledge our support publicly. All acknowledgement should be prominent, with the level of prominence proportionate to the size of grant.
Download our acknowledgement toolkit
Our new acknowledgement toolkit contains everything you will need to plan your acknowledgement.
If you have received funding from one of our non-National Lottery programmes, please see the specific programme logo and acknowledgement criteria on our Download our logos page.
If you have received a Landscape Connections strategic initiative grant, follow these additional acknowledgement guidelines.
The following sections on this web page highlight some key areas of acknowledgement with inspiration and templates for you to use – see the toolkit for full guidance.
Our acknowledgement stamp and logos
You must use our acknowledgement stamp prominently throughout your project.
The stamp must be used clearly where people can see it along with the message ‘Thanks to National Lottery players’.
Download our acknowledgement stamps.
Be creative
We encourage you to be creative with your acknowledgement and where possible build it into the fabric of your building/space using environmentally friendly materials. See some examples from projects we’ve funded below.
Funders board at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings
Acknowledgement plaque at Sheerness Dockyard.
The acknowledgement stamp on a train.
Acknowledgement stamp on display at Chelsea Physic Garden.
Construction work hoardings.
Websites and digital
We expect to see our funding acknowledged online, including:
- on websites, by placing our acknowledgement stamp on the homepage and linking to our website
- on third-party websites mentioning a project funded by us
- in videos, blogs and presentations
Social media
Make sure to include our stamp when producing social media assets. You can download our editable templates and use them on Twitter/X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok:
Remember to tag and follow our social media accounts using @HeritageFundUK and use our hashtag #HeritageFund #NationalLottery. You can say your project is ‘made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.’
Find and follow your local Twitter/X account.
Join our social media moments
Take part in our social media moments on the following dates throughout the year to acknowledge your grant:
- #HeritageTreasures day on 11 January – highlight your heritage treasures of all kinds
- #HeritageIsOpen on 21 June and throughout summer – share your summer events and openings
- #ThanksToYou crossed-finger selfie day in November – say a big thanks to National Lottery players
- feature in our weekly Instagram project reshare – tag us on Instagram throughout the year
Media and public relations
Newspaper, radio, television and online coverage is an essential part of promoting your project and acknowledging your grant. Not only does it let people know about your success, it also brings to their attention how National Lottery players’ money is spent.
You should acknowledge your grant in any press coverage for the duration of the grant contract, not just at the time of announcing the grant or when the project has been completed.
Before initiating press coverage, you must get in touch with your Marketing and Communications Manager and Investment Manager and keep them informed of any further press activities.
You must also let us know if your project is nominated for, or wins, any awards. We expect you to acknowledge our support in any speeches, interviews or press releases relating to the award.
We may be able to provide extra support and help with your media and public relations, so please get in touch and see our acknowledgement toolkit for full guidance.
Press release templates
Here is a selection of press release templates you can use. Select the one that best describes the type of grant you have received.
Remember to send the completed template to your Marketing and Communications Manager and Investment Manager for approval before you send it to the media.
- Delivery grant press release template
- Delivery grant press release template WELSH
- Development grant press release
- Development grant press release WELSH
Other types of acknowledgement
We also expect to see prominent acknowledgement for the following, where applicable:
Launch, opening and milestone events
Use our logo on presentations and in printed materials, and acknowledge your grant verbally in any speeches, or when you explain what your project has achieved.
Signage for buildings, structures and external spaces
This could include permanent signage, including plaques, entrances and information boards. If you are creating a new space, for example a gallery, education room or visitor centre, consider acknowledgement in the naming of the space.
Exhibitions
Our acknowledgement stamp should be highly visible at the entrance to the exhibition space, on interpretation boards and at the point of display of the item or exhibit.
Staff recruitment
Our acknowledgement stamp and statement should be included in job descriptions and vacancy adverts.
Banners, flags and printed promotional materials
You can download our ready-to-print files for use on banners, flags and printed promotional materials below.
When printing these, please use environmentally-friendly or recycled materials.
- English printed materials
- Welsh printed materials
- Irish printed materials
- Scots printed materials
- Scottish Gaelic printed materials
- Ulster Scots printed materials
- Cornish printed materials
See our acknowledgement toolkit for full guidance on how to use these files.
Photography
As part of your grant progress report, you will need to submit images of your project.
We also require images for use on our website and to provide to the media. We are looking for the very best images to illustrate the positive and lasting change your project has created for people, communities and heritage.
Ideally we’d like images that show people and heritage together. The images must be high quality, at least 1,000 pixels wide (for digital use) or 300dpi for print. As a general rule, an image of 2MB or above is usually high enough resolution.
Please send images of your project to your Marketing and Communications Manager and brand@heritagefund.org.uk. Please include the relevant image permissions and credits. If we use your image we will credit your project.
Have a site or venue?
If you have a publicly accessible space, taking part in National Lottery Open Week is a great way to acknowledge the funding your organisation has received.
Anyone who visits a National Lottery-supported venue or project with a National Lottery ticket, Instant Win Game or scratchcard (physical or digital) is able to take up a special ‘thank you’ offer. This could be anything from free entry to a behind-the-scenes tour.
It is a great way to showcase what you are doing and welcome new audiences. Around 70% of visitors who took part in The National Lottery’s 2021 survey said they'd never visited the venue before, or hadn’t in the past two years.
Monitoring acknowledgement and the sign off process
When monitoring and assessing the progress of your project, we will look for appropriate visual recognition of your grant.
All promotional materials and branding featuring our acknowledgement stamp or logo should be sent to both your Marketing and Communications Manager and Investment Manager for sign off before they are used.
This will help to make sure that you have met the acknowledgement requirements of your grant.
Please allow seven days for approval from the Heritage Fund.
Get in touch
If you have questions about acknowledgement, email brand@heritagefund.org.uk.
Guidance updates
We will regularly review this guidance and respond to user feedback. We reserve the right to make changes as required. We will communicate any changes as quickly as possible via this webpage.