Established in 2016, the Cultural Protection Fund (CPF) is led by the British Council in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).  

CPF’s role is to safeguard cultural heritage at risk primarily due to conflict and/or climate change and to contribute to sustainable social stability and economic prosperity.  

To date, the Cultural Protection Fund has given grants of over £57m to 178 projects in 20 countries.  

Expressions of Interest are now open for multi-year funding. Apply by 20 July.  

We are now accepting Expressions of Interest from organisations for grants of up to £500,000. Only selected applicants will be permitted to submit a full application. 

On this page you will find full details on how to apply, including information on participating countries, grant amounts, eligibility and application guidance to support you in your application.   

Key dates 

  • Applications open: Tuesday 23 June 2026  
  • Expressions of interest deadline: Monday 20 July 2026, 23:59 BST.  
  • Online information session: Monday 1 July, 10am – 11am BST.  
  • Full application deadline: Friday 28 August 2026, 23:59 BST.  
  • Projects start: December 2026.  
  • Projects end by: 31 January 2029.

About the grants and how to apply 

Participating countries  We’re looking for projects protecting cultural heritage at risk in: Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Yemen.
Grant allocations and eligibility 

Projects must be submitted by one lead organisation. While organisations can be registered anywhere in the world, your project must include partners registered in CPF’s target countries. All projects must demonstrate evidence of local demand and support for proposed activities. 

Organisations can apply for grants of up to £500,000. While each application will be assessed on its own merit, although we have limited funding available, we expect to make approximately: 

  • seven awards for projects with grant values between £100,000 and £500,000; and  
  • 20 awards to projects with grant values under £100,000. 
Online information session  

We are running one information session to support you with the application process and answer any questions.  

Please register here for the one taking place on Monday 1 July, 10am – 11am BST. 

If you are unable to attend, we will be publishing the recording on our website afterwards.

Before beginning your application

Please read our FAQs below and download and read our Application Guidance.  Click to expand the sections below to read in-depth information.

Close up of someone writing notes on a piece of card

Cultural heritage includes many different things from the past that communities value and want to pass on to future generations. For example: 

  • archaeological sites and monuments 
  • collections of objects, books or documents in museums, libraries or archives 
  • historic buildings 
  • cultural traditions such as stories, festivals, crafts, music, dance and costumes 
  • other expressions of living heritage related to specific sites, places or landscapes 
  • histories of people, communities, places and events 
  • the heritage of languages and dialects 
  • people’s memories and experiences (often recorded as ‘oral history’). 

This funding round will support projects which will protect cultural heritage at risk, not merely to preserve the past. 

Cultural heritage is everything we inherit from past generations that determines our traditions, rituals, and values and form our sense of place and identity.  CPF perceives the most urgent threats to be related to:  

  • Conflict: Cultural heritage is increasingly deliberately targeted during conflict including through destruction of sacred places, by removing people’s rights to their identity and traditions and through attempted suppression or erasure of narratives. 
  • Climate change: Extreme weather and geological events can destroy buildings and sites; temperature spikes threaten ancient objects and records; scarcity of resources can force communities from where they live, restricting them from passing on skills, traditions, recipes and languages to the next generation. 

  • Registered organisations. Sole traders are not eligible to apply. All applicants will be required to submit evidence of legal status and supporting documentation in English. 
  • Any kind of organisation can apply, public or private, as long as they are legally registered. Private organisations will not be permitted to make profit from a CPF project. 
  • We encourage projects to work in partnership across organisations, and those partnerships should be formalised through signed agreements.  
  • All projects must include protection of living heritage. 
  • Organisations can be registered anywhere in the world, but if it is outside of the target country the project must include partners registered inside the target country. You must be able to demonstrate evidence of local demand and support for proposed activities.  
  • Applications must be submitted by one lead applicant organisation who has overall legal and financial responsibility for managing the grant. If a grant is awarded, the lead organisation will be required to accept the terms and conditions of our Grant Agreement. 

While each application will be assessed on its own merit, although we have limited funding available and expect to make approximately: 

  • 7 awards for projects with grant values between £100,000 and £500,000; and  
  • 20 awards to projects with grant values under £100,000. 

They must meet the strategic objectives of fund which are:  

  • Heritage – Cultural heritage will be in better condition, more prepared and better understood 
  • Society – Societies will be stronger, more inclusive and more resilient  
  • Economy – increased opportunities and benefit for people and places 

For further detail on example activities and eligible costs, please refer to our application guidance. 

You will need to create an account or log into an existing account to apply via our Good Grants portal.   

Expressions of Interest and applications must be submitted through Good Grants only. We recommend:  

  • Using an up-to-date browser  
  • Avoiding any setbacks by regularly pressing ‘save’ manually on completing a section 
  • Keeping an offline copy of your application as a backup. 

Further information about Good Grants can be found in our application guidance.

Our goal is to develop inclusive programmes and projects that bring together people with different experiences and backgrounds. We aim to create opportunities and reduce barriers for everyone, particularly under-represented groups. We are committed to making sure there is no unjustified discrimination in our processes for funding awards. 

If you require support to submit an application to this funding round, we can help you to access this through an agency or consultant of your choice. Please contact us at cpfapplications@britishcouncil.org to discuss your requirements. 

Get in touch  

If you have a specific question not covered in our FAQs, please contact us here. 
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