What We Do
Funding Finder has found 4 potential funding opportunities for your project!
The Heritage Revival Fund has been created to help communities across England rescue and repurpose neglected historic buildings. It does this by supporting community organisations to take ownership of, adapt and reuse the local heritage assets that matter to them, transforming them into thriving spaces that meet their needs.
This programme is focused on regenerating historic buildings in town centre locations.
The Heritage Revival Fund has been made possible with funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Historic England, and forms part of the government’s wider £1.5 billion investment in arts and culture.
We are currently offering capital grants of up to £500,000 to support work to restore and reuse historic buildings in town centre locations. Capital grants can be used to fund up to 80% of your total capital costs, or as a smaller % of a larger capital project. These grants are intended to support the costs of your project from RIBA 5 onwards. Costs can include professional fees, including design team fees, project management, repair and conservation work and/or work required to enable ‘meanwhile’ use or change of use.
Please note that projects must involve a significant change of use or ownership.
Grant size: Up to £500,000.
Match Funding: Minimum 20% match funding required
Length: Up to 18 months.
Location: Priority will be given to historic buildings in towns across England, especially in deprived areas
Organisation type: Charities and not for profit organisations, including social enterprises.
Funding covers: Project costs and overheads.
Project stage: RIBA Plan of Work stages 5-6. A summary guide to the RIBA stages can be found here.
We run a two-stage application process.
Full Capital Grant applications must be submitted by quarterly application deadlines. For 2026-2027, these are as follows:
Our General Funds are available to invest in heritage-led projects. For example, loans can be used for building preservation projects, including where the intention is to sell the restored building after completion.
You can use our loans for various purposes, including:
We typically support buildings that are listed or located within a conservation area. However, we will consider unlisted buildings outside of conservation areas if the applicant can demonstrate their historic and architectural significance.
We tailor our loan terms to fit each project’s unique needs. We offer full capital and interest repayment holidays, where required, and loans may be drawn in stages.
Please read our programme guidance for further information.
The AHF is an Access Point for the Reach Fund, which offers grants of £5,000 to £15,000 to help charities and social enterprises in England become investment ready. If you think this might benefit your organisation, our Investment Team can discuss this with you. The Reach Fund is delivered by Social Investment Business.
Apply
To get started, please fill out our short online Expression of Interest form.
Our Investment Team will contact you to discuss your needs and answer any questions you might have. We’ll ask about your project to see if you’re eligible for our funds and if repayable finance is a good fit for you. If we feel you meet our funding criteria, we’ll invite you to submit a full application. Our Application Help Notes will support you in preparing your application.
There are no deadlines for applying. We strongly encourage applicants to submit an Expression of Interest as early as possible.
Full support will be provided by our Investment Team throughout the application process.
If you'd like to speak to us about a loan for your project, please email us at invteam@ahfund.org.uk and someone from our Investment Team will contact you.
The Energy Resilience Fund is a programme providing a blended finance funding package to support charities and social enterprises that are looking to improve their energy resilience through the installation of energy-generating and energy-saving technology and building adaptations or the purchase of energy efficient or environmentally friendly equipment.
The AHF is a partner in this fund and can support charities and social enterprises based in historic buildings to apply.
This fund is delivered with Social Investment Business and in partnership with the Architectural Heritage Fund, Big Issue Invest, Charity Bank, Co-operative and Community Finance, Groundwork UK, Key Fund, Resonance Ltd and The Ubele Initiative.
The AHF is an Access Point for the Reach Fund, which offers grants of £5,000 to £15,000 to help charities and social enterprises in England become investment ready. If you think this might benefit your organisation, our Investment Team can discuss this with you. The Reach Fund is delivered by Social Investment Business.
Apply
Full support will be provided by our Investment Team throughout the application process. We will discuss your needs and answer any questions you might have. We’ll ask about your project to see if you’re eligible for the programme and if blende finance is a good fit for you. If we feel you meet our funding criteria, we’ll support you to submit an application.
For more information, please email our Investment Officer, Emily Greenaway: emily.greenaway@ahfund.org.uk
Visit the Social Investment Business website to find out more about the programme: https://www.sibgroup.org.uk/funds/energy-resilience-fund/
The Heritage Impact Fund is designed for charities and social enterprises that are looking to make a positive social impact by acquiring, reusing, or redeveloping buildings of historic or architectural importance.
You can use our loans for various purposes, including:
We typically support buildings that are listed or located within a conservation area. However, we will consider unlisted buildings outside of conservation areas if the applicant can demonstrate their historic and architectural significance.
The Heritage Impact Fund is a joint initiative with contributions from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Cadw, Department for Communities Northern Ireland and the Architectural Heritage Fund itself.
Additionally, Rathbone Greenbank Investments is pleased to provide investment management and loan facilities to the AHF.
We tailor our loan terms to fit each project’s unique needs. We offer full capital and interest repayment holidays, where required, and loans may be drawn in stages.
In addition, we can offer additional free expert support, advice and mentoring to clients through our RePlan capacity building service. This service can support sustainable business change and to help drive long-term social and economic impact.
Please read our programme guidance for further information.
The AHF is an Access Point for the Reach Fund, which offers grants of £5,000 to £15,000 to help charities and social enterprises in England become investment ready. If you think this might benefit your organisation, our Investment Team can discuss this with you. The Reach Fund is delivered by Social Investment Business.
Apply
To get started, please fill out our short online Expression of Interest form.
Our Investment Team will contact you to discuss your needs and answer any questions you might have. We’ll ask about your project to see if you’re eligible for our funds and if repayable finance is a good fit for you. If we feel you meet our funding criteria, we’ll invite you to submit a full application. Our Application Help Notes will support you in preparing your application.
There are no deadlines for applying. We strongly encourage applicants to submit an Expression of Interest as early as possible.
Full support will be provided by our Investment Team throughout the application process.
If you'd like to speak to us about a loan for your project, please email us at invteam@ahfund.org.uk and someone from our Investment Team will contact you.