Since 1994, The National Lottery has raised more than £46billion for good causes. We have distributed over £8.4bn of this to more than 49,000 heritage projects across the UK.

Each year, the National Lottery Awards celebrate the inspirational people and projects who do extraordinary things with the help of that funding. Last year’s National Lottery Project of the Year winner was Pollinating the Peak – an ambitious project working hard to revive the numbers of bumblebees in the Peak District.

This year’s shortlist includes five heritage projects funded by us. Which one gets your vote?

South of Scotland Golden Eagle

Through a series of translocations (species relocations) over a period of five years, this project is helping to reinforce the population of one of Scotland’s most iconic species: the Golden Eagle.

Southern Uplands Partnership received a National Lottery grant of £1,679,600 towards the project, as well as funding from project partners and the Scottish Government.

In March 2022, the project's new research technique, under licence from NatureScot, increased the number of Golden Eagles in the South of Scotland to 33. This is the highest number recorded since the early 19th century.

Vote on the Lottery Good Causes website or by using #NLAGoldenEagle on Twitter.

Museum of Homelessness

The Museum of Homelessness, founded in 2015, is working to build the UK's first collection for homelessness. The museum is created and run by people with direct experience of homelessness.

The organisation previously received a grant of £9,000 in 2017 to help start its collection. They have since received a £98,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund which resulted in an 11-day immersive exhibition called the ‘Secret Museum’. The works of two artists affected by homelessness were exhibited alongside objects that told the stories of people who experienced homelessness in the pandemic. 

Secret Museum won the Museums and Heritage Award (2022) for best temporary/touring exhibition.

Vote on the Lottery Good Causes website or by using #NLAHomelessness on Twitter

An Tobar

An Tobar CIC, set up by sisters Margaret and Kathleen in 2018, is a community wellness centre and social farm that connects people with nature to improve their physical and mental health. 

They were awarded a £61,900 National Lottery grant in 2021 to help people connect with heritage in Brian’s Wood in Silverbridge – a wood of over 13,000 trees planted by the sisters in remembrance of their uncles.

The project helped An Tobar host 60 nature-based and cultural heritage workshops, improve access to Brian’s Wood and create a new website and interactive learning materials to promote the wood’s heritage to an even wider audience. 

Vote on the Lottery Good Causes website or by using #NLAAnTobar on Twitter.

Millennium Falcon Exhibition

From a galaxy far, far away to Pembroke Dock, Wales – the story of how the Star Wars films' iconic starship was built is being told thanks to a £8,000 National Lottery grant.

It was West Wales’ ‘worst-kept secret': in 1979, the first life-sized model of the starship was constructed for the Oscar-winning film The Empire Strikes Back in a Second World War aircraft hangar in the town of Pembroke Dock.

The permanent installation is available to visit at Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre. The exhibition features photographs, previously unseen footage, testimonies from the shipbuilders and a detailed model showing the various stages of construction.

Vote on the Lottery Good Causes website or by using #NLAPembrokeDockFalcon on Twitter.

The World Reimagined

The World Reimagined is a UK project to transform how we understand the Transatlantic Trade of Enslaved Africans and its impact on all of us.

A Heritage Fund grant of £250,000, along with funding from Arts Council England is supporting this important programme. The project enables communities new to this heritage to engage in an accessible way, connecting art, community, history and learning.

The Journey of Discovery collection features more than 300 stories contributed by researchers, academics and institutions, such as the history of Black music and its contribution to British identity. This complements artist-designed globe trails taking part in host cities; Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool City Region, London and Swansea.

Vote on the Lottery Good Causes website or by using #NLAReimagined on Twitter.

Find out more and cast your vote today

Visit the Lottery Good Causes website to see the full list of projects and to cast your vote. Voting closes on Wednesday 12 October at 5pm.

Winners receive a £5,000 prize and a trophy. They will be announced later this year. 

Have a project idea?

Got an idea for your own project that could make a difference to people and heritage in the UK? Learn more about what we fund and get in touch with your local team to discuss your idea further.