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.

Projects
Black on Both Sides: The Black British and Colonial Contribution to WW1
Young people from British African and Caribbean backgrounds looked at the role of black people who served on behalf of both the Allied and Central powers during the First World War.

Projects
Freedom Youth: the first 20 years
Freedom Youth is Bristol's oldest LGBT youth group. They marked their 20th anniversary by recording and interpreting the stories, memories and experiences of past members.

Projects
Chips, Curry and Cappuccino - the Diverse Food Heritage of Swansea
The Ethnic Youth Support Team led on a project to discover, record, and appreciate Swansea's multi-cultural food heritage.

Projects
Restoring St Matthew's churchyard restoration uncovers family history
Our grant helped to restore the churchyard of St Matthew's Church in Lightcliffe.

Projects
Attitudes towards disability and employment
The Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People created an exhibition aimed at changing attitudes towards people with disabilities in employment.

Projects
Women in World War I: The Welsh Experience
This 12-month project focused on the hidden histories of women in the First World War. It marked the Centenary of 1915 – the year when women were first actively encouraged to undertake work traditionally performed by men.

Projects
Out and Proud Histories in Greater Manchester
The Out and Proud project explores and celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) histories and heritage across Greater Manchester using digital technologies.

Projects
Peckham War Horse Project
Communities from Peckham came together to recreate a photograph of war horses destined for the Western Front.

Projects
Radical Citizenship project saw young people explore political archive
This dynamic project empowered under-served young people to explore concepts of citizenship through the archives of a political movement.

Projects
Womens' Work: Sharing the stories of Birmingham factory women
Women from Small Heath, Birmingham came together to learn more about the little-known story of female factory workers in the First World War.

Projects
Keesbury Manor in Cawood: from manor house to market garden
Volunteers from Cawood in Selby have been trained as heritage detectives to investigate the archaeology of their local moated manor site and the surprising importance of gooseberries for the development of the village.

Projects
History of Chinese People in Reading
The history of Chinese migrants in Reading, so far undocumented, is now available to all thanks to a heritage project spanning multiple generations.