National Lottery Heritage Grant

National Lottery Heritage Grant …

As you will know from previous blogs, the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum has received a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help with the reopening of the museum.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown began, the museum has been unable to open, and as we are a volunteer-run museum that relies on heavily on donations and some income from the NAAFI cafe, Bric-a-Brac and shop sales, we have been unable to earn any income since March.

Steve Bell, the Chairman of the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum said: “Thanks to the National Lottery and its players, the £17000 provided in the grant, we have been able to plan for the reopening, purchase signs, equipment and provide training for volunteers so that we are able to open again to the general public again on the 6th September 2020. We’re grateful that The National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting us at this crucial time – it’s a lifeline to us and others who are passionate about sustaining heritage for the benefit of all.”

The funding, made possible by National Lottery players, was awarded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund. £50million was made available to provide emergency funding for those most in need across the heritage sector.

The UK-wide fund aimed to address both immediate emergency actions and help organisations to start thinking about recovery.

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, supporting economic regeneration and benefiting our personal wellbeing. All of these things are going to be even more important as we emerge from this current crisis.

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to be able to lend our support to organisations such as the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum during this uncertain time.”

Like the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, other charities and organisations across the UK that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus outbreak are being given access to a comprehensive package of support of up to £600 million of repurposed money from The National Lottery. This money is supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and span the arts, community, charity, heritage, education, environment and sports sectors.

Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for good causes, including heritage of local and national importance. By playing The National Lottery, people up and down the country are making an amazing contribution to the nationwide-response to combatting the impact of COVID-19 on local communities across the UK.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund is now closed for applications. To find out more about how The National Heritage Emergency Fund is supporting the sector at this time please visit: https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/responding-coronavirus-covid-19

To find out more about the National Lottery Good Causes, visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/coronavirus-pandemic-response