Community heritage | The National Lottery Heritage Fund

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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.

Explore our available funding

Two people holding a sign for a local community organisation standing outside a historic pub building

Work is starting to restore the Y Plu pub and transform it into a local cultural hub

Projects

Saving a 200-year-old community pub on the Llŷn Peninsula

Our funding is helping the Menter y Plu Community Benefit Society plan how to save and re-develop a Grade II listed pub – Y Plu.

24/11/2022

Photograph of hands pointing at a map

My School, My Planet activities.

Projects

My School, My Planet: supporting schools and community groups to improve Walsall's natural heritage

My School, My Planet is helping 16 Walsall schools and community groups to learn about and improve their natural spaces and mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

21/07/2022

A young girl holds a cut out of a golden bird above her head. In the background are two adults working on a ladder.

The Flight of the Little Golden Swallow, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince, is an installation of 150 gold leaf swallows on retail stores, community buildings and schools in and around Enniskillen centre. The swallows were created by Fermanagh artists Simon Carman and Helen Sharp. Credit: Brian Morrison.

Blogs

Inspiring pride in place through a volunteer-supported festival

Heritage Innovation Fund grantee Paul Sternberg shares how cohort working has given him new ideas, and how that’s helping him measure impact and strengthen pride in place.

31/07/2023

A large group of people of all ages in walking gear on a rainy day. They are standing on a path through a wooded glen.

Boots and Beards encourage all generations to enjoy Scotland's countryside.

Projects

Outdoors for All: supporting South Asian communities in Glasgow

The founders of Boots and Beards are using their love for Scotland’s outdoors to bring together the wider South Asian community.

25/01/2022

Photograph of a colourful wall mural featuring a tiger

Celebrating Bengali Heritage Mural

Projects

Multi-generational project fosters sense of connectedness amongst Luton’s Bengali community

Bangladesh Youth League Luton aims to create greater understanding of Bangladeshi heritage and culture through creative activities, sharing heritage with the public and training project volunteers.

15/12/2021

Artwork created by local people on display with a group of people studying them.

LEEDS 2023 community artwork

Projects

Celebrating the rich heritage of Leeds with a landmark year of culture

In a programme of community projects, local people will come together to showcase what makes Leeds a city to be truly proud of.

16/09/2021

A colourful banner commemorating the landing of the Empire Windrush, saying 'Docked here at Tilbury, June 22nd 1948'

Commemorative banner at Tilbury

News

Six projects celebrating the legacy of the Windrush generation

To mark the 75th anniversary of the Empire Windrush landing in the UK, we spotlight some of the projects celebrating and saving the heritage of those who emigrated here.

22/06/2023

Children stand next to pysanka egg display for Eurovision celebrations

Children with the pysanka egg display for Eurovision.

News

Eurovision fever in full swing across Liverpool City Region

Thanks to £250,000 of National Lottery funding, we're supporting a host of activities as part of the Eurovision 2023 celebrations.

11/05/2023

People standing in front of a ceramic mural that spells out the words Strong Women

Participants of the Strong Women project with the mural in St Helens.

Projects

Celebrating the social history of women through public art

The Strong Women project aims to capture the untold stories of women in St Helens and Knowsley and celebrate their contributions through street murals.

11/04/2023

A group of people standing in front of Wordsworth Museum. One of them is holding a sign that reads 'Lyrical Ballads 21'

Invisible Manchester group at Wordsworth Grasmere

Projects

Wordsworth rewritten by people who experience homelessness

The Refuge from the Ravens project explored and retold the stories of an 18th-century book of poetry which featured poor people of the time.

26/10/2021

Group of children hold books whilst looking at the camera

School children take part in the Bradford Book Project

Stories

Bradford’s diverse community heritage celebrated and shared thanks to local knowledge

£100,000 National Lottery funding was shared across eight local projects, helping them delve into the upcoming City of Culture’s fascinating heritage.

Photograph of two women hugging each other in a park

Projects

RoseTinted: Empowering women in Walsall and beyond

This project used heritage as a lens to engage a wider range of people, while developing skills in research, financial planning, personal care and wellbeing.

08/12/2022