Museums, libraries and archives
 
  Through preservation, exhibition and community engagement, they can bring collections, places and ideas to life. They help us to understand culture, science and history, and give us a sense of place, identity and community.
Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded £2.5billion to 6,000 museum, library, archive and collection-based projects across the UK. See stories from projects we've funded below.
What do we support?
We provide grants for heritage projects from £10,000–£10million for projects led by or featuring museums, libraries and archives.
Our funding supports institutions large and small, including:
- national, local authority and independent museums, libraries and archives
- historic libraries
- community archives and oral history collections
- institutions with heritage collections
Project ideas
Our funding could help people:
- create exciting new exhibition and learning spaces
- attract new and more diverse audiences
- acquire new items and develop collections
- improve organisational resilience
For more inspiration, see the stories below, browse projects we've funded, or explore our recent Dynamic Collections campaign.
How to get funding
Our National Lottery Heritage Grants programme is open for applications.
 
  Stories
Changing lives: St Fagan's course helps Tom beat anxiety
 
  News
Museum of the Year 2019 finalists announced
 
  News
Life by the loch: discover Linlithgow’s links to Scottish royalty
 
  Stories
Changing lives: volunteering helps Ben turn away from trouble
 
  News
Celebrities and surprises spotted in Painted Hall, Greenwich
 
  News
National Football Museum acquires prize-winning Toynbee artwork thanks to National Lottery grant
 
  News
Leeds Eulogy project to celebrate Jamaican lives
 
  News
Secrets of Essex's Sculpture Town revealed in new archive
 
  News
Scotland’s National Museum unveils final phase of dramatic transformation
 
  Projects
Celebrating Community Heritage
Social, cultural and industrial heritage of people in the North East was the subject of a three-year project run by Beamish Museum.
 
  Projects
Diary of a Dude: Bringing Jack Pulman's First World War Diary to Life
This project explores the diary of Jack Pulman, a first-hand account of life as an overseas serviceman during the First World War.
 
  Projects
Scotland's pride in focus
Pink Saltire is a Scottish LGBTQ+ news and information charity founded in 2014.