Community heritage
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.
Blogs
LGBTQ+ heritage: building an inclusive future
Stories
Changing lives: Jade's journey from care to college
Projects
Black History live
Black History Live revealed the stories of Kent’s African and Caribbean residents of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Projects
Human Henge: historic landscapes and mental health at Stonehenge
Human Henge improved participants' mental health by providing high quality, small group experiences of archaeology and historic landscapes.
News
Christmas comes early for St Grwst Church thanks to National Lottery
News
UK’s oldest open-air pools to be restored to their former glory
Projects
Creating Natural Connections in Cumbernauld
The Scottish Wildlife Trust are bringing transformational change to Cumbernauld’s natural heritage, and helping local people engage with its greenspaces to improve mental health.
Projects
Rainbow Pilgrims: The Rites and Passages of LGBTQ+ Migrants in Britain
Liberal Judaism, a multi-faith support organisation, discovered that the stories of many of the LGBTQ+ migrants they met were being lost.
Projects
Hull UK City of Culture 2017
As holders of the UK City of Culture title in 2017, Hull received a grant of £3million to embed its rich heritage into the heart of its year-long cultural programme.
Projects
Caribbean takeaway and oral histories shared
The stories of 10 Caribbean elders from the Windrush generation, who arrived in the UK between the 1940s and 1960s, have been recorded and shared for the first time.
Projects
Queer Britain at the Salisbury Playhouse
Queer Britain created an online film archive featuring women who have made a difference.
Projects
Young people with disabilities explored disability stories from the First World War
For the Zebedee Troupers – Abled Not DISabled project, young people with disabilities discovered the role disabled people played during the two world wars.