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Community heritage

Community heritage

The interior of a 1950s hairdresser's shop. A visitor is having their hair styled by a stylist in vintage clothing. A child sits in a high chair next to the visitor.
Visiting the 1950s hairdresser at Beamish Museum. Credit: Nigel Roddis
Celebrating community heritage can help people come together, feel pride in where they live and save stories and traditions.

Since 1994 we have awarded £460million to more than 24,100 community and cultural heritage projects across the UK.

What do we support?

We fund projects that are researching, conserving and celebrating the heritage of a community or place.

These projects could include lots of types of heritage, such as people celebrating living customs or improving a historic green space. What's most important is that the project involves and benefits the community.

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

  • research the impact of a historical event on their town, and share their findings through displays, talks and online
  • investigate the names on a war memorial
  • crowdsource documents and photographs linked to the LGBTQ+ community, creating an online archive and exhibition
  • set up an audio trail around a range of buildings, parks and monuments in a town
  • enable a youth group to research their local history and create an animated film about their learnings

For more inspiration, see the stories below or browse projects we've funded.

How to get funding

If you have an idea for a project, we would love to hear from you.

Explore our available funding
Volunteers planting a tree

Basic Page

How we're tackling the climate crisis

In our strategy, Heritage 2033, we have identified embedding environmental sustainability in our investment and operations as an organisational priority.
Crowd watching aerial performance
Design visual of the Wondrous Stories production. Credit: Motionhouse and Birmingham 2022 Festival

Projects

Solicited Application for Birmingham XXII Commonwealth Games

Running from March to September 2022, the £12million festival featured hundreds of artistic commissions, engaging a local and national audience with Birmingham’s cultural heritage.

Young people playing netball
Netball games with Sported charity. Credit: Sported NI

Projects

Sport in the Community: Shaping NI for 100 Years

Sported Foundation were awarded a £24,861 National Lottery grant to explore the history of sport and how it plays a part in Northern Ireland's identity.

Aerial view of Plymouth coast with lighthouse and dramatic sunrise
Site of the new marine park at Plymouth.

News

Heritage Horizon Awards: £50million to five life-changing projects

We are proud to announce the recipients of our Heritage Horizon Awards. Over £50million of funding has been awarded to five transformational projects across the UK. When we launched the Heritage Horizon Awards in 2019, we set out to fund ideas that unlocked possibility. From innovative farming
Three people look down over a valley with mountains in the distance
Braemar view.

Projects

Cairngorms 2030: people and nature thriving together

We have awarded nearly £12.5million to a life-changing project aiming to preserve the UK’s biggest National Park, bringing communities together to help nature and improve wellbeing.

A red and white lighthouse at sunset
Smeaton's Tower.

Projects

Plymouth Sound National Marine Park

We've awarded £11.6million to help create the UK's first National Marine Park, revolutionising the way Plymouth interacts with its marine heritage.

Ferry Meadows Country Park

News

£6.5million for heritage projects in Staffordshire, Peterborough and Dudley

The projects aim to preserve key heritage sites, and will benefit a diverse range of people – from the church community to the locals of Stafford town centre. History at the Heart of Community Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archives is receiving £3,964,000 for the History at the Heart of Community

If you query is regarding our application portal, please contact our support team.