Community heritage
Celebrating our community heritage can help bring people together, feel pride in where they live and save stories and traditions.
Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded over £500m to 26,700 community and cultural heritage projects across the UK.
What do we support?
We help people who are researching and sharing the history of a community or of a place.
We also fund projects which combine different types of heritage in a particular location.
Project ideas
Our funding could help people:
- research the impact of a historical event on their town. They could then share their findings through displays, talks and online
- investigate the names on a war memorial
- crowdsource documents and photographs linked to the LGBT+ 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
How to get funding
Our National Lottery Grants for Heritage programme is open for applications, with refocused priorities for 2021-22.
Blogs
How ‘small’ grants can make a big impact for communities
Our Director of Wales marks St David’s Day by reflecting on how the wisdom of the Welsh patron saint can bring communities closer to their heritage.
News
Help us shape the future of heritage funding and strategy
We’re building a new research panel, bringing together people from across the heritage sector, to share views and knowledge and influence our work.
Pearson Park in Kingston upon Hull
Hub
Thriving Places
We are committed to supporting heritage projects that create better places to live, work and visit.
Videos
What do we mean by heritage?
If you need inspiration for your heritage project idea, our team in the Midlands & East has set out to answer: ‘what exactly is heritage?’
Hub
How to consider environmental sustainability in your heritage project
We expect the highest standards of environmental sustainability in all the projects we fund – and there are lots of ways to get started.
Programme
Local Places for Nature
A capital grant scheme to enable communities in Wales to restore and enhance nature. Grants up to £250,000 available.
Engagement Manager Dawn Bainbridge (centre) on the job – visiting a jazz archive project
Blogs
Luton: A vibrant, diverse town with a rich heritage identity
Our Engagement Manager for England, Midlands & East, Dawn Bainbridge, tells us about our work and investment into Luton’s heritage – one of our 13 Areas of Focus.
Event held at St George's, one of the Camden 4 churches
News
The changemaker churches supporting their local communities
Two church projects are using new and innovative approaches to help the most deprived and vulnerable members of their local community.
The current Lord Leycester Brethren. Credit: Kevin Fern
News
A new chapter for the Lord Leycester Hospital
National Lottery funding – announced ahead of Remembrance Sunday – means former soldiers and their stories will continue to have a historic home in Warwick.
The conservation-themed activity of meadow management, for Wild Ways Well
Projects
Creating Natural Connections in Cumbernauld
The Scottish Wildlife Trust are bringing transformational change to Cumbernauld’s natural heritage, and helping local people engage with its greenspaces to improve mental health.
Wickham Market's community saving The George Community Pub. Credit: Julian Evans
News
A new lease of life for Wickham Market’s community pub
A grant of £988,200 has been awarded to The George pub in Wickham Market, Suffolk – a Grade II listed building which will serve as a thriving community hub.
News
How we’re working towards an ambitious vision of inclusive heritage
The Review, launched in June 2020, drew on internal expertise and evidence, commissioned external research and examined best practice in the heritage sector and beyond. We set out to define an ambitious vision of inclusive heritage for ourselves and the sector. It was led by Andrew White, Director