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.

Black History Month

We fund projects from diverse community groups to help make the stories of the UK’s four nations more inclusive of everyone’s heritage. By doing so we want to help to tackle prejudice and raise awareness about the past and present of the UK’s diverse communities.

During October we're marking Black History Month. 

Below, browse projects that reclaim narratives around black heritage and celebrate the cultures and stories of black communities.

Get inspiration for your project

Explore the projects below and find out more about applying for our funding.