The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) offers grants to not-for-profit organisations (including schools) of £3,000 – £10 million that connect people to the national, regional and local heritage of the UK.
The amount you can apply for relates to the length of the project delivery:
- £10,000 to £250,000 – projects can last up to five years
- £250,000 to £10 million – projects can be in development for up to two years and delivered in up to five years
To receive funding, all projects must demonstrate they will achieve a number of key NLFH outcomes. The most important outcome that every NLHF project must achieve is to facilitate a wider range of people becoming involved in heritage. There are several additional outcomes, called investment principles that your project must consider, you can read more about those here.
There is an extremely wide range of heritage activities that can be funded as part of your project including: recording oral histories; exploring history of different cultures through the arts, food, languages etc; community celebrations; community archaeology; history buildings, monuments, historic environments; museums, libraries and archives; and acquiring new objects.
The NLHF also has a number of Strategic Initiatives – through which they aim to address long-standing heritage issues. There will be a number of initiatives over the coming years, currently these are:
- Heritage Places
- Landscape Connections
- Heritage in Need: Places of Worship
- Nature Towns and Cities
More detailed information is available in NLHF funding guidance. You can also get in touch with your local NLHF office if you have different idea for connecting people with heritage.
Applications via the online portal can be made at any time.
Grants up to £100,000 should receive decisions within 8 weeks and grants over will receive decisions quarterly.
