The National Lottery Community Fund

And that’s a wrap on 2024! 🎁 What a year. Thanks to #NationalLottery players, we awarded over £724 million to community projects across the UK. That’s an average grant size of nearly £56,000 per community group! Here’s just some of our highlights over the past year. 👇 - On average, we awarded 8 grants every hour - The average grant amount per community group was nearly £56,000 - We also made well over 100 payments to active projects every working day - Almost two fifths of applicants in 2024 were first-time applicants (38.6%) - Over a third of awards were made to new grant holders (34.7%) - On average, it took just 2 months for community groups to apply for and then receive their National Lottery grant - This year, community groups could apply for up to £20,000 on the Awards for All (A4A) programme, double the previous maximum amount - Our smallest grant awarded was £300 - We awarded nearly 10,500 A4A grants in 2024 - We doubled the average A4A grant – £16,000, up from £8,000 last year - Nearly half of our funding went to grassroots organisations (48%) - The majority of UK communities were within 5 miles of an A4A project.

Appying to us for funding? Make sure your organisation meets our safeguarding expectations. We’ll consider how your organisation meets these when we make decisions about who to fund, so it is important that you read through the guidance. These expectations apply to all organisations we give #NationalLottery funding to, as well as their partners. If you are a current grant holder, please read through the safeguarding expectations carefully. We may use them when we ask for updates on your funding. They’re also written into the terms and conditions of all of our funding. Read the guidelines on our website here: https://lnkd.in/eC4gcbDT

Happy Hooves CIC are heading into 2025 with #NationalLottery funding for an animal road trip project!🪿 Louise Johnson, Director of Happy Hooves said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to #NationalLottery players. This funding will allow us to take our animals out into the community, bringing emotional support and comfort through the love of animals.” 🧠💚

We’re looking back at some of the projects that have been funded in 2024 and are making a huge difference to their communities. 🎄 Right to Succeed received £1.2 million in #NationalLottery funding to expand its Cradle to Career programme across Liverpool, focussing on literacy to support young people in some of its most deprived areas. 📚 Since launching ‘Cradle to Career’ in North Birkenhead, Right to Succeed has managed to close the average 15-month reading age gap among children aged 8-16, at eight schools.

Did you know the average UK household produces 30% more waste at Christmas? Meanwhile, The Big Swap CIC encourages people to reduce waste and consume less all-year round. It recently received £20,000 of #NationalLottery funding to expand its climate awareness workshops! ♻️ Zoe Sussmeyer, Creative Director and Founder at The Big Swap, said: "Thanks to National Lottery players, The Big Swap can reach more people and inspire change through the power of clothes swapping. Our movement is growing, building a brighter future, one swap at a time.” 👗 “Special thanks to the young swap advocates at John Ferneley College for helping launch this exciting project - access is key and young people are vital leaders in shaping our future."💚

Spreading Christmas cheer! 🎄⛄ Festivities are in full swing at Food Aware CIC in South Yorkshire, who have been hard at it all year, collecting and distributing food donations to those in need. With the help of £20,000 in #NationalLottery funding, the team will also be providing toys for children, as well as Christmas dinners for around 50 families. Melanie Howram, Vice-Chair at Food Aware CIC, said: “Thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund and National Lottery players, we are able help people celebrate, if just for one day, and forget about their worries and concerns.”

We’re looking back at some of the projects that have been funded in 2024 and are making a huge difference to their communities. 🎄 Like Community Bees CIC in York, which received over £18,000 in #NationalLottery funding to help men facing loneliness, anxiety and depression, navigate the complexities of hoarding disorder. Watch this short video and see how it has helped one of its clients, John, declutter his home and get his life back on track. 👉 https://ow.ly/esYH50UqxwG

It was a pleasure to join HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh at Disability Initiative last week and to see first-hand how, thanks to #NationalLotteryPlayers, Disability Initiative is bringing people together and enabling them to lead happier, healthier lives.   The National Lottery Community Fund has been a longstanding supporter of Disability Initiative and I was blown away by the breadth of activities and support they deliver – from Yoga to drama to nutrition to employment support and even magic (seriously). HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh, myself and associated guests, took part in mince pie baking, singing and art work for a really festive time at their centre in Camberley. This work represents the breadth of impact that we see our funding has across communities around the country, and a huge thank you to Lucy Brown and her team at Disability Initiative for hosting us! https://lnkd.in/eq5Pjck9 Al Pinkerton Eugene Grant Miaya Dangol KC

Good news! The deadline to apply for the Climate Action Fund has been extended to Spring 2025, and the funding has increased by £10 million to £30 million! 🌍💡 One project already benefiting from this #NationalLottery funding is Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), an educational charity created by students and staff at the National Union of Students (NUS). They empower students to promote climate action through energy literacy and peer-to-peer education. Their goal? To empower students with the knowledge and tools to improve energy efficiency in their communities. By raising awareness of practical, everyday actions, SOS-UK is making a big impact in the fight against climate change. Feeling inspired to make a difference? Find out more – https://ow.ly/QI8u50UnwUU #ClimateFundUK

📣. Registration is open for National Lottery Open Week 2025 – don’t miss out! Has your community project benefitted from #NationalLottery funding? Want to say thanks to the National Lottery players who have supported projects like yours over the years, and welcome new visitors to your venue or project? We’re inviting our grant holders to participate in National Lottery Open Week 2025, which will take place from Saturday 15 – Sunday 23 March 2025. The idea is simple: National Lottery funded projects across the UK make a ‘special offer’ available to players which can be redeemed with a National Lottery ticket, scratchcard or proof of play online. Find out more and sign up here: https://ow.ly/S4ly50UmhEZ