The UK Heritage Lottery Fund has announced £27.5million of grants to help eighteen heritage organisations across the UK.

The grants have been awarded through the Catalyst Endowment programme, a joint initiative between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Designed to bring new money into the cultural sector, the programme offers match-funding to help arts and heritage organisations secure their financial stability by building a new endowment fund or developing an existing one. The organisations will use the grants of between £500,000 and £5million to attract money from private philanthropic sources.

Successful Heritage Lottery Fund applicants include:

• Windermere Steam Boat Museum (£500,000)

• Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College (£1,000,000)

• Mary Rose Trust (£1,000,000)

• National Museum of the Royal Navy (HMS Victory) (£5,000,000)

The Heritage Lottery Fund will run a second round of Catalyst Endowments in the European autumn of 2012, with awards to be announced in northern spring 2013.