New £92million Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage launches
Last updated: 6 August 2020
The Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage is providing grants from £10,000 up to £3m available for heritage organisations in England.
Funds will be distributed by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).
The funding pot totals £92m, with £88m available for Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage grants. The additional £4m is being allocated to support schemes for the sector, including £1m each for The National Lottery Heritage Fund's Digital Skills for Heritage and resilience initiatives.
"For many heritage organisations this funding will be the lifeline they have been waiting for and I urge them to apply as soon as possible."
Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, says: “For many heritage organisations this funding will be the lifeline they have been waiting for and I urge them to apply as soon as possible.
“As the lockdown has lifted, and the public begin to return to some of our much-loved places, the true value of our heritage is more obvious than ever. Heritage is vital in creating economic prosperity, in making local communities better places to live, and in supporting our own personal sense of wellbeing.”
The deadline for applications is midday Monday 17 August. Don’t miss out on heritage recovery funding. Start your application now.
It does not matter if you have previously received or applied for funding from us. It also does not matter if you have received emergency funding from us, such as Heritage Emergency Fund, or emergency funding from others.
How to apply
We have made our application process as straightforward as possible, but please do get in touch with any queries.
Find out more about our criteria (which are set by DCMS) and our application guidance.
The deadline is midday Monday 17 August. Decisions on awards will be made from late September.
Who can apply
- any heritage organisations managing a heritage site or visitor attraction
- private owners of a heritage site, venue or attraction
- organisations managing, maintaining or caring for culturally significant assets or collections
- businesses which are part of the heritage ecosystem, including conservators, contractors, specialists and suppliers
- organisations that manage culturally significant assets or collections
Non-accredited museums can apply for funding. Accredited museums and those working towards accreditation should apply to the Culture Recovery Fund through Arts Council England.
Find out more about who can apply.
Protect the past. Fund the future.
This new fund is part of the Government’s wider £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund announced earlier this month. Separate portions of the funding are being distributed by Arts Council England for arts and culture, and the British Film Institute for film and cinema.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund, which also operates as The National Lottery Heritage Fund, is delivering the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage on behalf of DCMS.
Ros Kerslake says: “We remain dedicated to helping the heritage sector emerge from this crisis with strength and resilience so that it can thrive once again.”
Sir Laurie Magnus, Chairman of Historic England adds: “This crucial funding will help the organisations and businesses who look after our locally-cherished historic sites. It is a recognition that investing directly in historic places can bring wide ranging social benefits, inspiring communities to engage with their past and encouraging creativity, regeneration and growth.”
Devolved administrations
The Government’s £1.57bn rescue programme includes £188m for arts, culture and heritage for the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland (£33m), Scotland (£97m) and Wales (£59m).
To date the following funding programmes have been announced:
We want to support the sector’s recovery in Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and are currently in discussion with our respective government colleagues regarding this.
We are also looking at how best we allocate National Lottery money as part of our wider plans.