Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been at the forefront of providing emergency support to the heritage sector. It quickly launched a lifeline £50million fund which has been helping organisations across the country navigate the many challenges they are facing. The criteria for that fund  has now been expanded  to help heritage organisations safely reopen in line with the Scottish Government’s new guidelines.

The application deadline has also been extended  to Friday 31 July 2020.

Caroline Clark, Director Scotland of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

“So far, our emergency fund has been helping heritage survive the immediate impact of lockdown – costs for key staff, helping  maintenance bills, developing digital capabilities and  helping organisations prepare for new ways of operating.

“But we have always aimed to be flexible and responsive, and we recognise that many organisations are now planning for reopening. We want to make it clear that our grants will support those costs too.”

The Heritage Emergency Fund offers grants of between £3,000- £250,000 to organisations which have received National Lottery Heritage funding in the past.

Applications are open to the full breadth of heritage, from historic sites, industrial and maritime heritage, museums, libraries and archives to parks and gardens and landscapes and nature.

The extended criteria will support organisations with reopening and recovery costs associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This could include strategic reviews of business models, operating plans and business plans, or investment to enable digital delivery of services. It can also be used to help manage heritage sites while following social distancing guidelines, for example:

  • additional staff to help manage queues;
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff and volunteers;
  • training;
  • additional cleaning;
  • implementing contactless payment methods; and
  • temporary structures to help manage visitors such as shelter for queues or additional toilets

For an informal chat about how the Heritage Emergency Fund might be able to support your organisation, contact the Scotland team,  or visit our funding page for more information.

The Heritage Emergency Fund has been made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottery players.