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.
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.
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.
Blogs
Inspiring pride in place through a volunteer-supported festival
Projects
Linen Biennale presents a new chapter in Northern Ireland’s linen history
Linen Biennale celebrates the versatility and beauty of linen with a packed events programme bringing people together to share skills and reimagine the fabric’s future.
Projects
Capturing stories of those at the 1981 People’s March for Jobs
The Giz a Job project will support a group of volunteers to produce an in-depth ‘people’s history’ of the iconic march and the right to work movement.
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.