Fund

• Unincorporated organisations that are intending to incorporate (for Project Viability Grants only)
• Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs or SCIOs)
• Charitable Companies Limited by Guarantee
• Community Benefit Societies
• Not-for-private-profit Companies Limited by Guarantee
• Community Interest Companies (CICs) Limited by Guarantee
• Cooperatives
• Parish and Town Councils

Independent secular organisations seeking to take ownership of/long lease on a place of worship that may retain some religious use. Any ongoing worship must account for less than 50% of the proposed use of the space. (Not valid in Northern Ireland, where we cannot support projects that will continue to include any regular worship activity.)

• Private individuals
• Local authorities and other public sector bodies other than Parish and Town Councils (unless applying on behalf of an organisation still in formation)
• Universities, colleges and other mainstream educational institutions including independent schools
• For-profit companies, unless in a partnership led by a not-for-profit organisation
• Unincorporated organisations (e.g. charitable trusts and associations) that are not intending to incorporate
• Community Interest Companies Limited by Shares (may be eligible for our grants provided they are a Schedule 2 CIC)
• Limited liability partnerships
• Organisations with fewer than three Trustees or Directors. If there are only three Trustees/Directors, none of these should be spouses or otherwise related to one another.
• Churches or other places of worship, where the building or the space within the building you are enquiring about will primarily be used as an active place of religious worship.

As the Architectural Heritage Fund, there has to be a historic building involved in whatever we support. We generally look to support projects where there is a change of use or change of ownership involved with the building – such as bringing something disused back into use. We don’t prioritise just basic repairs or maintenance – there has to be a step change in how the building is going to be used to support your community. 

No. Only charities and social enterprises are eligible for our funding, as well as the lowest tiers of local government. Please refer to the eligibility page.

If your building is nationally or locally listed, in a conservation area, or otherwise formally identified as being as historic merit, that is straightforward. If it’s not listed, you will need to explain why it is of importance to the history of your community.

We generally look to support projects involving buildings, rather than historic structures – so we don’t usually fund monuments, ships, piers, railway lines, or archaeological ruins. If you are unsure, consider if what you want to do involves using the building to do something, rather than just repairing it for its own sake.

Firstly, take a look at the type of not-for-profit organisations we can support on the eligibility page. Then, you should submit the short project enquiry form outlining the proposal and the support you require. Your local officer will provide advice on whether we can consider your proposal.

Usually this is not needed for Project Viability Grants. We normally expect some match funding to be raised for Project Development Grants (at least 10% match is required for projects in England).  This can either be from your organisation’s reserves or from other sources. You can use the UK-wide Heritage Funding Directory to help identify possible funding sources.

Generally, we prefer cash match funding. However, if it is genuinely in-kind contributions for example, a trustee who is a chartered accountant providing their professional expertise to help progress the project, then this could be acceptable.

We generally consider applications by considering the heritage merit of the building and its condition, the social and environmental impact of what the project is hoping to achieve, the financial need of your organisation and we also consider if there are any urgent factors as to why the proposed work needs to happen now.

Through our grant programmes, generally no – most grants are for work required before the construction phase of projects. Costs for capital repairs can be included in applications for Crowdfunding Challenge Grants in England and for some programmes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but on-going maintenance costs are not a priority. Our loans can also cover capital repair costs. 

No but to be eligible for a Project Development Grant you should be able to show in your application that your project is ‘broadly viable’. We ask you to provide evidence such as a feasibility report, viability appraisal or outline business plan to support that. This does not have to be a project viability report funded by AHF. 

Yes, up to the overall maximum amount for that grant type in the country the project is based in (e.g. £100,000 for Project Development Grants in England) but each application will be assessed on its own merits and additional grants are not guaranteed to projects previously supported.

You do not have to before you apply but it is recommended good practice to do so. If you obtain at least three quotes this helps to ensure that the costs in your application are accurate and represent good value for money. If a grant is awarded, competitive tenders will be required to be obtained where the fees of a professional or the cost of an item will exceed £10,000 but it is advisable to do so for pieces of work below that cost threshold. 

Decisions on grant applications made under the Transforming Places through Heritage programme in England are made every three months. Application deadlines are set out on our website here. If you're applying in Wales or Northern Ireland for up to £10k, or in Scotland for up to £20K, decisions are usually made within 6 weeks. If you're requesting over these thresholds, then decisions will be taken at quarterly Grants Panel meetings. Please refer to the application deadlines page.

Our grants are usually paid in arrears – this means you must have done the work, or incurred the expenses involved, before we can pay out. We can only pay for work that is done after the date of our formal offer letter. Although we don’t normally pay up front, we can consider advance payments in certain circumstances – for example, for new or small organisations with limited cash flow. Speak to your local AHF officer if you would like to request this. 

If a grant is awarded, the offer will stand for one year from the date of the grant offer letter – this is the grant expiry date. The work being claimed for must have taken place (the invoice must be dated) before the grant expiry period. You must submit your claim for payment of the grant before the expiry date. 

So long as you submit your online grant claim form by 1st of the month with all the relevant evidence of expenditure (e.g. invoices or payslips) and outputs (for example, reports or plans), then we aim to pay by the first week of the following month. The ‘How to claim your grant’ guidance note provides more details on this. (Note that there is no payment run in December).

Yes, the officer who assessed your grant application will normally be the one who reviews the report produced as a result of that funding. We will want to ensure that the content covers the areas set out in the project viability report template and that it is a fair and independent assessment of the project’s viability. The officer will also want to see evidence of the specific elements we have funded being incorporated into the report (eg condition surveys, market research etc). 

Possibly. You should contact your local officer in the first instance to discuss the reasons why the application was unsuccessful. We will try to explain why your application was not successful, and if there is anything you can do to improve the chances of success in the future.

Social investment is repayable finance, with interest and fees, that supports not-for-profit organisations to achieve its social purpose.

Firstly, take a look at the type of not-for-profit organisations we can support on the eligibility page. Then, you should submit the short Expression of Interest Form outlining the proposal and the support you require. One of our team will get in touch to discuss your project and confirm whether we can consider your proposal.

We can only support projects involving a building of historic or architectural significance. Our loans can help with buying or redeveloping a building, working capital, including bridging finance, energy improvements, repairs and maintenance, or developing new activities and services within the building.

Yes, we support not-for-profit organisations, such as Building Preservation Trusts, that purchase, restore and sell historic buildings, where surpluses are reinvested for the next historic building preservation project(s).

Once you have submitted an Expression of Interest and we have discussed with you if our loans are right for you, we will guide you through the full application and due diligence process, where you will be asked to send in more information. A full list is provided within our Loans Guidance, but typically we will ask for:

• An up to date Business Plan which includes a summary of the professional experience of your Board and Senior Management Team.
• Financial Accounts for the past 3 years (including income and expenditure and balance sheet), if available. 
• Management accounts covering the period since the last full year end (including income and expenditure and balance sheet).
• Financial forecasts for at least the next two years (forecast income and expenditure).

Depending on your loan requirement and stage of project, we may also need evidence of planning consents and a RICS Red Book valuation of the building. 

Typical terms and costs are listed within the Funding Finder search pages and will be discussed during the due diligence of your full application. In addition to the applicable interest rate and arrangement fees, any legal fees associated with the loan, including legal due diligence and putting in place a legal charge, will be paid by the borrower.

Majority of our loans are secured, but we can consider unsecured loans on a case-by-case basis. We can discuss this with you once you submit an Expression of Interest Form.

Our key lending criteria is for organisations to demonstrate an ability to repay our loan, which is done through our due diligence process and your supporting information. For Heritage Impact Fund loans, we also want to see how your project will deliver heritage and social impact through the completion of our Social Impact Framework.

Decisions are made at our quarterly Credit Panel meetings, typically held in March, June, September and November. However, we may be able to present exceptional urgent cases to our Credit Panel outside of these set times. We will confirm timescales once you submit your Expression of Interest.