# Big Lottery Fund to spend £15 million on families in N Ireland - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/05/08/big-lottery-fund-spend-15m-families-n-ireland/ - Published: 2012-05-08T09:24:45+01:00 - Author: Howard Lake The Big Lottery Fund in Northern Ireland has allocated £15 million to support families from 2012 to 2015. Under the open grants programme, the Fund will provide funding for up to five years for activities that develop the skills of families with children under the age of 12 to provide supportive and nurturing relationships to improve their children’s lives. Grants will be in the range of £100,000 – £500,000 to fund revenue activities which support the programme outcomes. Last week a consultation on the programme ended and an online survey was also conducted to get views on the new funding and encourage applications. This latest consultation followed a similar exercise in 2008/9 which highlighted the challenges facing families. ## Advertisement Big Lottery has already indicated what it expects from the new funding programme with outcomes around helping families overcome adversity, increasing opportunities to learn together and supporting participation in community life. The funding will be directed at families which face challenges such as abuse, poverty, substance/alcohol misuse, disability, homelessness, separation, social isolation and caring issues. It is expected that further details of the funding programme will be announced later in the year. www.biglotteryfund.org.uk * **[NI capital funding programme delayed](https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/07/04/ni-capital-funding-programme-delayed/)**( 4 July 2012) * **[DSC in video appeal to Prime Minister for return of Olympics lottery cash](https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/07/24/dsc-video-appeal-prime-minister-return-olympics-lottery-cash/)**( 24 July 2012) * **[£100 million made available for public parks over three years](https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/10/29/100-million-made-available-public-parks-over-three-years/)**( 29 October 2012)