The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was set up by Parliament in 1994 to give grants to a wide range of projects involving the local, regional and national heritage of the United Kingdom. We distribute a share of the money raised by the National Lottery for Good Causes.
We are officially known as a ‘non-departmental public body’. This means that, although we are not a government department, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport issues financial and policy directions to us, and we report to Parliament through the department. Our decisions about individual applications and policies are entirely independent of the Government.
National Heritage Memorial Fund
HLF is administered by the Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), the fund of last resort for the UK’s heritage, coming to the rescue by funding emergency acquisitions. NHMF allocates around £5million of government grant-in-aid money per year to our national heritage.
Where does our money come from?
From every pound spent on National Lottery tickets, 28p goes directly to the following good causes for the benefit of communities across the UK. The money is allocated to good causes in the following way:
- charities, health, education the environment: 46%;
- sports: 18%;
- arts: 18%;
- heritage 18%;
There are currently 14 Lottery funders who independently decide which projects have successfully applied for a grant. Each is independent of Government but has to follow guidelines when deciding who should receive National Lottery funding.