A new report published by Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has found that its Catalyst programme has led to British heritage being more resilient and less reliant on public funding.

The Catalyst programme was launched in 2012 and was designed to enable arts and heritage organisations to diversify their income streams, increase their fundraising potential and explore innovative new approaches to securing private giving.

Since then, HLF has calculated that it has given almost 20,000 people across 4,100 organisations specialist fundraising training, mentoring and business support under the programme said the report, which was carried out by DC Research.

The funding body has invested £4.88m (US$6.3m, €5.5m) through its 'Catalyst: Capacity Building Programmes' and 'Catalyst: Umbrella' vehicles, according to the report’s findings, and for every pound invested by HLF, on average £3.82 has been raised by beneficiaries – creating an additional £9m (US$11.5m, €10.1m) of private money.

Meanwhile, 98 per cent of participants reported successful diversification of income, said the report.

"Today, thanks to National Lottery investment, we have world-class museums and cultural institutions, award-winning parks and landscapes and thriving habitats,” said HLF CEO Ros Kerslake.

"But these are challenging financial times and building resilience is vital to ensuring long-term sustainability. Catalyst has empowered heritage organisations to take control of their financial destiny."

One case study the report pointed out was that of a £750,000 (€842,255, US$958,197) 'Catalyst: Umbrella' grant given to the Heritage Alliance. In partnership with the Institute of Fundraising, the Heritage Alliance delivered 'Giving to Heritage' (GTH), a fundraising training programme.

The programme helped more than 1,700 staff, volunteers, committee members and trustees of more than 800 heritage organisations and groups to access fundraising training and capacity building opportunities. Included in this were workshops, executive coaching, one-to-one support and webinars and, as a result, £3.2m (US$3.8m, €3.4m) has been raised.

Loyd Grossman, chairman of the Heritage Alliance, said: "The GTH programme has successfully helped the heritage sector become more self-sufficient. We’re grateful for the transformative role HLF has played in supporting our sector’s future. We would welcome new investment to continue to allow GTH to spread best practice in the heritage sector."