Investing in heritage of diverse ethnic communities

At The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we support all sorts of projects which explore and celebrate the heritage of diverse ethnic communities.
We want to support all communities to explore and share their heritage, enriching people’s lives and increasing the diversity of heritage workforces, leadership and audiences. That's why under our Heritage 2033 investment principles inclusion, access and participation must be part of every project we fund.
The terms we use
Some of the terms we use include:
- diverse ethnic communities, or ethnically diverse communities. In Scotland we use MECC (minority ethnic and cultural community). We have revised our usage of the term BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic).
- LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other identities)
- Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. This describes a range of ethnic groups or people with nomadic ways of life who are not from a specific ethnicity.
We use these terms because we believe they are widely understood. Identities can be complex and intersectional, and we are also aware that for many these terms may feel inadequate or limiting. We keep the language we use constantly under review.
South Asian Heritage Month
Taking place from 18 July to 17 August, South Asian Heritage Month is an opportunity to share and celebrate the cultures and stories of communities in the UK who have roots in South Asia.
South Asia is made up of:
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- India
- The Maldives
- Nepal
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
British South Asians have made significant contributions to modern-day British life, and have made the UK's heritage richer. The month also helps us recognise the complicated impact the UK has had on South Asian countries over hundreds of years, including colonialism, the British Empire, war and migration.
Get inspiration for your project
Explore the projects below and find out more about applying for our funding.

Projects
Memories of My Mother: Unravelling the Sari story of Manchester
This project aims to explore the migration-driven arrival of the Sari in the city's South Asian community.

Projects
Where East meets West: Celebrating South-Asian LGBTQ+ Heritage through Club Kali Network
We’re helping the UK’s first safe space for LGBTQ+ people of South Asian heritage to preserve and showcase their history dating back to 1995.

Projects
Passing on hobbies within the South Asian community
This intergenerational project engaged migrant women in sharing the hobbies they had enjoyed back home in the sixties and seventies, ensuring these pastimes weren't lost forever.

Blogs
‘Heritage is a bridge that connects me to my South Asian and Scottish identities’

Stories
The extraordinary 18th-century women inspiring young people to embrace heritage

Projects
Lost Mills and Ghost Mansions
This oral history project captured the unheard voices of Bradford’s textile mill workers to celebrate the area’s rich industrial heritage.

Stories
Battlefield bonds: sharing the heritage of Nepal and the UK’s military partnership

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.

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.

Projects
You, Me and Tea
Exploring Northern Ireland’s association with tea, its trade links with India and China, and bringing diverse communities together.

Projects
Connecting people and nature on the South Downs
Changing Chalk is restoring rare chalk grassland and helping local communities reconnect with the area’s rich natural and cultural heritage.

Stories
How community grants can support grassroots heritage

Projects
Exploring and recording Manchester’s Roma heritage
The Roma Heritage Project will work with local people in Manchester to share traditional dishes and record oral histories from Roma communities.

Projects
Roma and Irish Travellers: A Shared Story
People from different cultures and backgrounds came together for workshops and celebration events about Roma and Irish Traveller cultural heritage organised by Armagh Roma Traveller Support.

Projects
Bringing to life Roma stories in Newport, South Wales
The Roma of Newport, South Wales project is recording and sharing the personal stories, culture and heritage of the area’s Roma community.

Projects
Roma Empowerment Through Heritage
This pilot project trained volunteers including young Roma people to record heritage and ran a Roma cultural heritage festival.

Projects
Sharing stories of Black identity and belonging in the South West
We’re supporting the Black South West Network to establish the UnMuseum – a community-led project that reimagines how Black cultural heritage is defined, preserved and shared.

Stories
Turning a stately home into a ‘house of opportunity’

Stories
Shining a light on Arthur Wharton: the first black professional footballer

Blogs
Rebel Curators: reclaiming narratives of slavery at Bristol’s M-Shed

Projects
Sickle Cell Stories - Then and Now: Plasma of Hope
The Sickle Cell Stories project is capturing and sharing stories of sickle cell disease in the west midlands, paving the way for positive change.

Stories