The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has agreed to reduce its match funding requirements as part of new measures designed to help applicants secure support.
Bidders seeking grants worth more than £1m will now only have to secure 10 per cent of total project costs in match funding, and only 5 per cent for grant requests under £1m.
Similar match funding changes will be applied to joint schemes - such as Parks for People. Meanwhile, the cost of maintenance and management will also be included as part of match funding.
The HLF has also agreed to be "more willing" to look at requests for grant increases as a means of protecting existing investment, as well as requests for short-term revenue funding from former grant recipients.
HLF chief executive Carole Souter said: "This is our second set of measures to help organisations cope with the current and forthcoming economic challenges.
"There will be more money on offer for applicants who are finding it hard to raise funds elsewhere and new ways of protecting HLF's past investment."
In August, the HLF announced that it would be providing more cash for heritage projects, with an increase in its allocation for major schemes from £20m to £30m per year.
Image: HLF chief executive Carole Souter – Robert Greshoff
