Charities & community groups awarded almost £252mn of National Lottery funding
Melanie May | 25 July 2023 | News
Almost £252 million of National Lottery funding has been awarded to over 5,000 charities and community groups in England over the last four months, it has been announced.
Grants awarded range from £2,800 to over £30 million and will collectively drive forward The National Lottery Community Fund’s four key missions, which are to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive, and enable people to live healthier lives. The Fund plans to distribute at least £4 billion by 2030 in support of activities that create communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
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Emma Corrigan, England Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
“Thanks to National Lottery players and the hard work and dedication of local groups and projects, this funding will make a big difference to people’s lives. The quality of applications we receive speaks volumes of the care and ingenuity of local people – we’re delighted that our grants are being used to support great projects that strengthen communities and improve lives across the country in many ways.”
The largest grant was awarded to The Access to Justice Foundation, which received £30 million for its Improving Lives Through Advice project. Funding will be used to provide access to specialist social welfare legal advice. Approximately 75 expert organisations will be supported to help some of the most marginalised communities in England – including people with disabilities, women fleeing abuse and families facing eviction.
Other projects funded in the last three months include:
- Sense has received over £1.2 million for a new national early intervention and play programme for children aged 0-8 years with complex disabilities and their families.
- York’s The Recycle Project CIC has been awarded over £9,700 to provide 100 recycled bikes to those who can’t afford to buy their own.
- Worcestershire’s Wyre Community Land Trust will use their £9,900 grant to develop at least 20 volunteers to become wildlife champions. The Trust will run 12 workshops and events over 12 months, on various aspects of wildlife found in the Wyre Forest, followed by six small group working sessions to build volunteers’ confidence.
- Cumbria’s Signal Film and Media Ltd has received an over £9,300 investment in their Cooke’s Crew project, which will deliver film and media training to young, disadvantaged people.
Richard Kramer, Chief Executive of Sense, said:
“We’ve seen from our Birmingham pilot how impactful this service is for improving the lives of disabled children and their families. Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant for Connect and Play means we can expand early intervention support for children and families across England and allow Sense to reach more families with this essential service.”
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. As a result, last year The National Lottery Community Fund distributed £615.4 million of funding to communities.
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.