Community heritage

Community heritage

A group of people with handmade props and decorations
Act for Action CIC, recipients of a community heritage grant from One Knowsley. Photo: Act for Action CIC.
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.

Heritage display for 'Woking's Story' exhibit, a collection of vintage postcards and books
Heritage display for 'Woking's Story' exhibit The Lightbox

Projects

Woking's Story: exploring local lives

Volunteers explored six centuries of history through the lives of local personalities, sharing their discoveries through the ‘Woking’s Story’ display at The Lightbox.

Participants exploring the forgotten industries of South Yorkshire
Participants exploring the forgotten industries of South Yorkshire

Projects

Forgotten Industries

As part of the All Our Stories programme, young people focused on the heritage of the coal and steel industry of South Yorkshire and were empowered to tell the local story of industrial decline.

International Womens Group hosting their Burns Night evening
International Womens Group hosting their Burns Night evening

Projects

International Haggis Journey

International Womens Group explored the connection between Scottish haggis and similar dishes from countries such as Syria, Iran and Egypt.

Participants measuring an archaeological sie

Projects

Ballintoy's Hidden History

Ballintoy's hidden heritage was uncovered through the community's exploration of the archaeology of Ballintoy village and the surrounding area.

Children taking part in Spinning Tops to Football Tops
Children taking part in Spinning Tops to Football Tops

Projects

From Spinning Tops to Football Tops

From spinning tops to football tops was a 12-week programme delivered in partnership with the grant holder Mini Millers and Rotherham United Community Sports Trust.

An icon, a simple line drawing of speech marks to represent oral histories

Projects

Pass on the Memories

Through this project, men and women in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia will be recalling and sharing their memories of working and living in Liverpool.

An icon of young people

Projects

Treuddyn Urdd Project

The community of Treuddyn, Flintshire worked on a project celebrating the ninetieth anniversary of Urdd Gobaith Cymru, Wales' largest youth organisation.

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