The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) is the UK's largest dedicated funder of heritage. It distributes money raised through the National Lottery to support projects that connect people with the UK's history, culture, and natural environment — from restoring historic buildings and digitising archives to conserving landscapes and reviving traditional crafts.
If your organisation works with heritage in any form, the Heritage Fund should be one of your first ports of call. But its programmes are outcome-driven and competitive, and understanding what the Fund actually prioritises is essential before you apply.
Who can apply?
The Heritage Fund accepts applications from a wide range of organisations:
- Voluntary and community organisations
- Registered charities
- Local authorities and public bodies
- Museums, libraries, and archives
- Historic buildings trusts and conservation bodies
- Faith organisations (for the heritage aspects of their buildings and collections — not religious activities)
- Companies limited by guarantee
- Academic institutions
Private individuals and purely commercial businesses cannot apply. Residential properties are not eligible unless there is a demonstrable public benefit.
Main grant programmes
National Lottery Project Grants
Scale: £3,000–£250,000 For: organisations delivering heritage projects with clear community benefit
Project Grants is the Fund's most accessible programme — open year-round with no fixed competition window. It funds a wide range of heritage activities: conservation work, interpretation, community engagement, digitisation, skills training, and events.
Applications under £10,000 go through a lighter-touch process. Above that threshold, the assessment is more detailed and competitive. The Fund publishes average success rates by region — worth checking before applying, as they vary significantly.
National Lottery Development Grants
Scale: up to £25,000 For: organisations developing a strong application for a larger Heritage Fund grant
If your project will eventually need more than £250,000, Development Grants help you get there. They fund the early work — consultation, feasibility studies, conservation plans, business planning — that makes a large-scale application competitive. Applying for development funding before a major project is strongly encouraged by the Fund.
Large Grants
Scale: £250,000–£5 million+ For: significant heritage projects with lasting impact
Large grants are the most competitive tier and typically involve complex projects: major building conservation, museum redevelopments, landscape partnerships, or large-scale community heritage programmes. Most large grant applicants go through a two-stage process — an expression of interest before a full application.
The Fund expects detailed business plans, evidence of public support, a credible governance structure, and a clear sustainability model beyond the grant period.
Landscape Connections
Scale: varies, typically £1 million+ For: landscape-scale projects addressing nature, heritage, and communities together
Landscape Connections funds large collaborative projects that work at the scale of whole landscapes — combining natural heritage, historic environment, and community involvement. These are partnership applications, usually led by experienced heritage or conservation organisations.
What the Heritage Fund prioritises
NLHF uses a three-part outcomes framework — Heritage, People, and Communities — and every application must demonstrate impact across all three.
Heritage outcomes:
- Heritage is identified, better explained, or more widely known
- Heritage is in better condition or better managed
- Heritage is more accessible and used by more people
People outcomes:
- People have learned about heritage
- People have developed new skills
- People have volunteered time
- People's wellbeing has improved
Community outcomes:
- The local area is a better place to live, work, or visit
- A wider range of people are involved with heritage
- The project contributes to environmental sustainability
Applications that address only Heritage outcomes — conservation without community engagement — consistently score lower than those demonstrating genuine impact across all three areas.
Evaluation and sustainability
Two areas that consistently separate strong applications from weak ones:
Evaluation. The Fund expects you to explain how you will know whether your project worked. A vague "we will monitor and evaluate" is not enough. Be specific: what will you measure, how, and at what points during and after the project?
Sustainability. What happens when the grant ends? The Fund does not want to be the only reason a heritage asset survives. Show how the project, organisation, or asset will continue beyond the funding period — through earned income, volunteers, other funders, or organisational capacity built during the project.
Common reasons Heritage Fund applications fail
Community involvement is claimed rather than demonstrated. Saying "we consulted local people" without showing who, how many, what they said, and how it shaped the project does not satisfy assessors. Evidence of genuine co-design scores significantly higher than tokenistic consultation.
The heritage significance is assumed rather than evidenced. Applications that do not clearly explain why the heritage matters — to whom, in what way — often struggle at assessment. Define the heritage value before describing what you plan to do with it.
No sustainability plan. Projects that end when the grant does raise questions about value for money. The Fund wants to see a credible plan for what comes next.
Budget is not detailed enough. Rounded estimates and unexplained contingencies attract questions. Be specific about costs, explain any assumptions, and use realistic figures.
Organisation is not ready. The Fund assesses the applying organisation as well as the project. If governance is unclear, finances are precarious, or the team lacks relevant experience, reviewers will flag it.
How to apply
All Heritage Fund applications go through their online portal at heritagefund.org.uk. For grants above £10,000, the Fund strongly recommends contacting your regional team before applying — they can tell you whether your project is fundable and what a strong application looks like in practice.
The Fund also publishes a large library of funded project case studies. Reading recent examples in your region and sector is one of the most useful things you can do before starting an application.
Also distributes National Lottery funding — see our guide to the National Lottery Community Fund for community-focused grants that may also be relevant to your organisation.
Finding Heritage Fund grants on Grants Hub
Grants Hub monitors National Lottery Heritage Fund programmes daily alongside 1,700+ other UK funding opportunities from 70+ sources. Search by sector, region, and grant size to see what is currently open across heritage and beyond.