David Knott announced as National Lottery Community Fund CEO
Melanie May | 19 October 2021 | News
The National Lottery Community Fund has announced that David Knott, who has been acting as interim CEO since June this year, is to take up the role on a permanent basis.
Knott joined The National Lottery Community Fund back in October 2020. Prior to this, he was Director for Civil Society and Youth, responsible for policy on charities, volunteering, young people, philanthropy, dormant assets, impact investment and mission-led business. He has also worked internationally, advising on governance and public policy in more than a dozen countries, and in the private sector.
In a first move under his leadership, The National Lottery Community Fund has published Putting Communities First – Our Commitments to Communities. This sets out what grant holders and other partners can expect over the coming year with the funder remaining focused on supporting communities, particularly as they build back from the pandemic.
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Knott has also outlined his vision to grantees and other stakeholders in a statement published on The National Lottery Community Fund’s website.
Knott commented:
“Over the last five years we’ve backed more than 72,000 community projects through over £3.4billion of grants. This money is life-changing for people and communities, which is why I am delighted to be leading The National Lottery Community Fund into the next, exciting new chapter.
“As we build back from the pandemic, my commitment is to put communities first. The National Lottery Community Fund will be there to support people and communities to prosper and thrive, and we’ll redouble our efforts to have the greatest possible impact we can across the UK. As we do this, fairness and inclusion will be at the heart of our organisation. These will be my priority areas as we move forward – there for the communities we serve by being the best we can be.”
Blondel Cluff CBE, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
“I am delighted to welcome David Knott as the new Chief Executive. He will lead our organisation forward and ensure that it is confident, accountable and purposeful.
“National Lottery players raise £36 million a week for good causes – we are privileged to be trusted shared custodians of this public money and to be supporting communities as they emerge from a challenging period in which the true value of community was demonstrated so vividly. We will be there to support – putting communities first in all we do. To achieve this, we must be able to demonstrate the difference we are making and to use impact evidence to shape our future direction.”
Former CEO Dawn Austwick announced last June that she would be stepping down at the end of 2020, after seven years at the helm.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.