The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, the natural environment and cultural traditions, HLF provides grants to support all aspects of the UK's diverse heritage.
Since 1994, HLF has supported more than 33,900 projects, allocating £4.7 billion across the UK.
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Major projects supported by HLF include:-
HLF also supports a wide range of smaller, community-focused schemes. More than half of its grants are for ‘Your Heritage’ for example The Ballet of Change project and ‘Young Roots’ projects that encourage local community groups and young people to explore the past that interests them.
Although HLF is branded as though it a body in its own right, it is actually administered by a pre-existing non-departmental public body - the Board of Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF). The turnover of the HLF is considerably larger than the ongoing work of the NHMF (funded from Exchequer grants and endowments). Although HLF is not a government department, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport issues financial and policy directions to the organisation, which reports to Parliament through the Department.
HLF decisions about policies and large applications are made by the Trustees of the NHMF. There are also decision-making committees in the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Head office is in London, with separate offices in each of the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.