Community heritage
Since 1994 we have awarded £590million to more than 27,600 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.
Blogs
How Walsall’s heritage is thriving
News
£12.2million investment to help save UK’s historic buildings
Stories
Cleveland Pools opens for swimming after 40 years
News
Applications open for One Young World Heritage Fund scholarships
Projects
Forgotten Faces of the First World War: The Chinese Labour Corps
The Meridian Society and documentary filmmaker Peng Wenlan collected oral histories for a documentary about the Chinese men who worked as labourers on the Western Front during the First World War.
Projects
Cambodian Recollections
Cambodian people living in the UK shared their memories of their experiences under the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime in this oral history project.
Stories
Seven projects to connect communities to local heritage
Projects
Kimjang, Making and Sharing Kimchi
The practices of a UNESCO-recognised Korean tradition were recorded and preserved for the future and celebrated with the wider community.
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
The UK’s first centre dedicated to anti-apartheid heritage
This project will restore the former headquarters of the African National Congress at 28 Penton Street, London, creating a new centre to share the stories of South Africa's liberation.
Projects
Unveiling Literary Treasures: D H Lawrence Portrait Finds Home in Nottingham City Museums
The acquisition of a portrait of writer D H Lawrence celebrates Nottingham’s UNESCO City of Literature and opens up new avenues for engaging with diverse communities.
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.