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.
Get inspiration for your project
Explore the projects below and find out more about applying for our funding.

Projects
Iranian Heritage Project
Northern Cultural Projects CIC spent a year investigating and documenting the Iranian Heritage of the North East.

Projects
The experiences of women workers in the manufacturing industries in Wales 1945-1975
The Women’s Archive of Wales recorded the experiences of women working in factories across the country after 1945, filling a gap in our social history.

Projects
Manchester's China Town Archive Project
Manchester Chinese archive trained volunteers to record, preserve and share a community’s hidden history.

Projects
Polish Archive, Exhibition & Book – Poles in the Bristol Area
The Anglo Polish Society created a touring exhibition, book and archive of reminiscences to raise awareness of the importance of Polish culture and heritage to Bristol’s diverse community.

Projects
Killyleagh Remembers: sharing local Catholic and Protestant stories of war
Catholic and Protestant communities were brought together in this project investigating the impact of the First World War on the local area.

Projects
Part of IT- Our story
Cultures CIC led a First World War project put together by the young people in the Teesside area which explored the contributions of African people and the effect of the war on the African continent.

Projects
Walter Tull: first black Tottenham Hotspur player and First World War officer
This project focused on the life of Walter Tull, the first black player for Tottenham Hotspur FC and one of the first black soldiers to have served as an officer during the First World War.

Projects
Dub Plate to Dub Step
Young people researched 50 years of Caribbean music and culture in Bristol and shared their findings via radio, film and online.

Projects
Exploring Romani art and decorating a traditional wagon
Luton Cultural Services Trust and a youth group purchased and decorated a traditional Romani vardo (wagon) in an original folk art style.

Projects
Young curators in Birmingham discovered west African textiles
Students from Birmingham universities worked with Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to create an exhibition to showcase and explore the museum’s West African textile collections.

Projects
Fashioning Africa
Meaningful relationships were built with local communities and diverse experts in this Collecting Cultures project, which saw new ways of working trialled and access widened.

Projects
I-Land Life
For Friction Arts' I-Land Life project, young people from Birmingham's Five Ways Estate discovered stories of their families' heritage and migration to Britain.