Online Toolkit
Use our Online Toolkit to find out more about Northern Ireland’s historic environment and to learn about the processes which will you help you better understand, protect, conserve, regenerate, and highlight our significant historic buildings and monuments
Finance A Heritage Project
While many heritage projects revolve around physical endeavors, such as acquiring, maintaining, or restoring historic buildings, it is important to acknowledge the resource-intensive and time-consuming nature of these projects. Consequently, not everyone possesses the means to engage in such activities. However, there are alternative heritage projects that focus on interpretation and education, providing a tangible link to the intangible aspects of our history sustained and embodied by the historic environment. These projects are designed to encourage participation from individuals of all backgrounds and ability levels.
By embracing interpretation and educational initiatives, we can contribute to the preservation of our heritage. These projects foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of our past, enabling individuals to become custodians of our shared history. It is through such endeavors that we ensure the enduring legacy of our historical treasures for future generations.
Before you apply for funding
Importance of regular maintenance
If you are the owner of an historic building, or have recently come to possess or inherit one, it is of paramount importance that you institute a programme of regular repair and maintenance.
A costly, time-consuming restoration project can be totally mitigated with more frequent but much smaller financial outlays to address minor problems such as leaks, cracks, or vegetation growth. Left unchecked, these and other problems can lead to a building falling into a ruinous condition. The more perilous a structure’s condition, the more work required to rescue it, the more money necessary, and the more difficult it will be to acquire these funds.
Furthermore, to strengthen your case for any potential external funding, it is essential that you can demonstrate that you have tried to maintain your building where possible. However, it is understood that in some cases historic materials come to the end of their lifespan and may need to be repaired or, as a last resort, replaced.
For more on the maintenance and rescue of built heritage, consult our Maintain Historic Buildings and Rescue Heritage
Before applying for funding, it is advisable to have a discussion with the funding body you intend to apply to in order to ensure you understand what they fund and what deliverables they may require from you. If part of an organisation, consult with your board or committee to establish a realistic work plan of what you would like to achieve. Funders want to know that you have the capacity and skills to deliver your proposal.
Funders may seek to clarify one or more of the following:
• Your group is properly constituted, e.g. is a registered charity
• You have skilled people on your team and have assigned key roles and responsibilities
• You have an interesting project/historic building which is valued by the community
• You have ownership of a building or, where not, a long term lease is agreed
• You can demonstrate evidence of need/future use
• You have consulted with a range of people including local communities, local authorities,
and government bodies, where applicable
• You have researched examples of similar projects
• You have a good community-business plan, where applicable
• You have sought the appropriate planning consents for the project
• If relevant, you have identified any smaller scale works that could be carried out to prevent
the building falling into disrepair whilst the project is planned
In addition to awarding grants and advising on financial matters, many funding bodies can provide guidance and assistance with other aspects of project planning, such as feasibility studies and condition assessments.
Budgeting
A well planned budget will enable you to identify how much funding your project will need, directing you towards the grants most appropriate for you or your organisation.
As your project progresses, you’ll use your budget to track how your actual costs measure up against your estimated costs. If project requirements change, your budget may also change to reflect these.
Project budgets are also important because they:
• Are useful in the evaluation stage of your project, as they reflect your progress, successes, and failures by tracking expenditure against key milestones
• Can help to secure further funding by providing transparency into how resources are used
• Give insight into costs for potential future projects
Key funders
National Lottery Heritage Fund
The NLHF is the most prolific funder of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. Since 1994, it has awarded over £8 billion to heritage projects nationwide, including £250 million in Northern Ireland. Funding from the NLHF covers a range of activities, including the purchase price of collection items or property, repair and conservation, new staff posts, and other costs to improve access to heritage.
Below are some of the funding programmes offered by the NLHF:
| National Lottery Grants for Heritage – £3,000 to £10,000 | For Projects lasting up to 1 year Not-for-profit organisations and private owners of heritage |
| National Lottery Grants for Heritage – £10,000 to £250,000 | For Projects lasting up to 5 years Not-for-profit organisations, private owners of heritage (grants up to £100,000), partnerships |
| National Lottery Grants for Heritage – £250,000 to £5million | For Projects delivered over 5 years (with a development phase of up to 2 years) Not-for-profit organisations or partnerships led by not-for-profit organisations |
Department for Communties
The Department for Communities’ Historic Environment Division is the government body responsible for recording, protecting, conserving, and promoting Northern Ireland’s historic environment. It offers various grants for owners and groups to repair, research, and regenerate historic buildings, historic monuments, and the wider historic environment:
| Historic Environment Fund HED’s principal funding programme for the repair of heritage assets or the development of ideas to realise the wider value of our heritage. Subject to budget confirmation, it is normally launched in May each year. | Repair Stream – Focused on essential repairs to roofs and windows, with priority given to thatched buildings, buildings on the HARNI Register, and buildings with owners on eligible benefits – £6,000 per roof (£12,000 for thatch) Scheduled Monument Regeneration Stream – £2,000 to help historic monument owners carry out minor works Research and Revival Streams – Up to £10,000 per award to support work to research or celebrate the historic environment |
| Village Catalyst grant scheme A partnership initiative between the Department for Communities (DfC), the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE). Applications are invited from charities, social enterprises, and other not-for-profit groups in rural villages of less than 5,000 people who want to tackle rural poverty and social isolation in their area by developing a sustainable use for a disused historic building in their village. | Project Viability Grant – To carry out viability work, with support offered up to £10,000 Project Development Grant – To further develop your plans with support offered up to £20,000 Delivery Grant – To deliver your project, with capital funding offered up to £200,000 |
Other Funders
| Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) AHF is a charity working since 1976 to promote the conservation and sustainable re-use of historic buildings for the benefit of communities across the UK, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas. | Heritage Impact Fund – Loans from £25,000 to £500,000 for up to five years to support applicants across the UK who are seeking to acquire, reuse, or redevelop buildings which are of historic or architectural importance. The end use should be financially viable and provide impact to or benefits for the communities in which the buildings are based |
| National Churches Trust A charity which promotes and supports church buildings of historic, architectural, and community value across the UK | Treasure Ireland Grants – £500-£10,000 for church maintenance or urgent repair work |
| Listed places of worship grant scheme Overseen by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport | These grants cover the VAT incurred in making repairs to listed buildings in use as places of worship |
| Community Ownership Fund Overseen by Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities | Through the Community Ownership Fund, voluntary and community organisations are eligible to bid for match funding to take ownership of assets, amenities, and facilities at risk of being lost that otherwise have value for the local people and place. Up to £250,000 is available per project |