National Lottery Community Fund announces largest grassroots funding expansion in 30 years
Melanie May | 21 May 2024 | News
Under new three-year plans, the National Lottery Community Fund aims to reach more than 80% of areas across the UK with its largest expansion of grassroots funding in three decades, it has announced.
The targets are part of The National Lottery Community Fund’s Corporate Plan for 2024-27, which follows its ‘It starts with community strategy’ published in June 2023.
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As well as expanding its grassroots funding, the plans include:
- More than 50% of all grants to go to communities experiencing greatest poverty and disadvantage.
- At least 15% of funding to go to environmental sustainability projects.
- The primary focus of more than 90% of grants to be on one of four community-led missions: supporting communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.
The new plan has tackling inequality and taking an equity-based approach at its centre, and the organisation is currently finalising a review of its funding activities across the UK. Following the review of its portfolio, The National Lottery Community Fund will implement a new grant budget and allocations formula for more than £3 billion of National Lottery funding activities in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and across the UK, with the aim of enhancing accessibility and reach.
David Knott, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
“This plan encapsulates the next three years of our strategy and coincides with a new chapter in The National Lottery story. It’s one that anticipates increasing returns to good causes, as this year we celebrate its 30th anniversary.
“We pledge to extend grassroots funding to communities across the UK, concentrating on reaching places that have not previously sought funding and staying rooted in the communities we serve. We will target seeing more than 80% of local communities apply for National Lottery funding. Representing communities from Bude to Ballyclare, Brynmawr to Bannockburn, this initiative is the largest expansion in National Lottery funding in the past three decades.
“This plan puts tackling inequality and taking an equity-based approach at the core of what we do. We receive an idea every three minutes, so we will support what matters most to different communities by targeting delivery across our four community-led missions and focusing on where there is greatest need. We’ll embed support for environmental action across all funding, dedicating 15% of funding for environmental sustainability and supporting projects to consider the environment even when it isn’t their main focus.”
Last November, the Fund also delivered a major achange to its flagship product National Lottery Awards for All. This saw it double the amount of funding available to grassroots projects and the time that they can be funded for. Since then, first time applicants are up by 8% to 45%, with £62mn going to grants of over £10,000.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK, with The National Lottery Community Fund able to distribute £615.4 million of funding to communities last year as a result.
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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.