Bringing People Together

BSL video: Who can apply

Watch British Sign Language interpretation of 'who can apply' with English voice over and subtitles (YouTube):

We support applications from:

• both large and small organisations
• consortiums or partnerships – in this case, a lead partner will need to take responsibility for the application process.

 You can apply if you are a UK-based: ​ 

• registered charity   
• community interest company (CIC)
• Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) 
• community benefit society 
• co-operative society (if it has a not-for-profit clause and registered with the Financial Conduct Authority) 
• voluntary or community organisation   
• statutory body (including town, parish and community councils) 
• company limited by guarantee (if it has a not-for-profit clause or is a registered charity).

We want to support underrepresented communities

We're particularly interested in projects led by, or supporting people and communities experiencing ethnic or racial inequity, discrimination or inequality, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, and people who are seeking asylum or who are refugees. We want to see more people in these communities represented in our funding.

If you already have funding from us

You can still apply if you have a current grant from The National Lottery Community Fund. We’ll have to consider how this funding would complement and impact on existing awards during the assessment process.

If there’s a high demand for this funding, we may need to prioritise organisations that do not already have grant funding from us.

Board or committee members 

You need to have at least two people on your board or committee who are unrelated​. By unrelated we mean people who are not:  

• related by blood to each other 
• married to each other  
• in a civil partnership with each other 
• in a long-term relationship with each other 
• living together at the same address.

We cannot accept applications from:

• individuals   
• sole traders   
• organisations focussed on making profits and sharing these profits privately - including companies limited by shares, organisations without the right asset locks, or organisations that can pay profits to directors or shareholders
• organisations based outside the UK   
• applications made by one organisation on behalf of another   
• schools.

If you’re not sure if you should apply

You can:

• phone us on 0345 4102 030 – lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm
• contact us by email at general.enquiries@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk
• check if a different fund is better-suited to your project – for example, if your project is about bringing a local community together, you should look at information about other types of funding.

BSL video: What we're hoping to fund

Watch British Sign Language interpretation of 'what we're hoping to fund' with English voice over and subtitles (YouTube):

Your project must focus on one or more of our priorities 

We recognise that most community-led projects will bring communities together in some way. However, in this programme, we’re particularly interested in projects that focus on one or more of the following priorities. We’re looking for projects that: 

• build connections across communities, not just within existing communities. We’re looking for projects that can foster a positive sense of belonging by reducing divisive ‘us and them’ attitudes
• support and explore what’s needed to connect communities and enables stronger collaboration to bring people together and keep people together – for example, community infrastructure like networks, shared resources or coordinated approaches, or supporting infrastructure organisations that support the work of other groups
• focus on creating longer-term change. This could mean a focus on improving the conditions available to communities to help create this change (instead of only delivering services or a series of public events)
• build collective action and strengthen communities’ own abilities to have control, influence and agency on the things that matter most to them.

We’re also interested in supporting projects that respond to national and significant moments that are important to communities across the UK and relevant to the societal challenges we face.

We’re interested in projects that:

• deliver across at least two UK countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) – you can work in a network or partnership
• are bold and experimental responses to bringing people together using new approaches, or a new combination of approaches
• can demonstrate clear positive impacts for communities, including those communities most in need of support
• have a clear focus on equality, diversity and inclusion
• can demonstrate they can learn and adapt as they go.
  

Here are some examples of projects we’ve funded before.

We'll support a range of projects

We want to fund projects that reflect a mix of communities and places from across the UK. However, we're particularly keen to support:

• a geographical spread of funding across the UK
• projects that are open for everyone and can show what proactive action has been taken to ensure any potential barriers for participation will be addressed – particularly for disabled people, communities experiencing ethnic or racial inequity, discrimination or inequality, LGBTQ+ people and people who are seeking asylum or are refugees.  We also recognise that there may be some circumstances where projects will only work with specific communities – you should explain why that's necessary in your application
• projects that will connect with each other and share approaches and learning. We'll offer support to the awarded projects as a whole group and we'll discuss what this activity could look like at the assessment stage.

We'll take these factors into account when assessing your application against others.

Bringing People Together in uncertain times

We understand that bringing people together continues with uncertainty at this time, so we welcome projects that are testing new ideas.

We’re comfortable with uncertainty - we want to understand what we can do to build capacity in communities and learn from your experiences. We’ll work flexibly to allow you to bring people together in a way that makes sense to you.

We’ll have to make difficult decisions

We expect demand for this funding to be high and we’ll have to make difficult decisions about what we’re able to fund. 

What we’re unlikely to fund 

We’re unlikely to fund: 

• place-based activities which are exclusively focussed on a community space or hub in one area and does not deliver across a minimum of two UK countries - this may be more suitable to other funding programmes
• one-off events and projects that are focussed on service delivery without any clear longer-term sustainability or evidence of impact
• projects that are exclusively transferring their activities to deliver online
• projects that cannot show how the wider community has informed its design and development.

Delivering your project in Wales 

If one of the countries you’ll be working in is Wales, you'll need to deliver your services bilingually (in Welsh and English). This is part of our grant condition. Read our guidance on managing your project bilingually.

If you’re not sure if you should apply

You can:

• phone us on 0345 4102 030 – lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm
• contact us by email at general.enquiries@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk
• check if a different fund is better-suited to your project – for example, if your project is about bringing a local community together, you should look at information about other types of funding.

BSL video: What you can spend money on

Watch British Sign Language interpretation of 'what you can spend money on' with English voice over and subtitles (YouTube):

We can fund things like:

• Staff costs, including sessional workers
• development work (testing new ways of working, staff training and development, developing governance, tech or IT upgrades and purchases, sharing learning) 
• transport 
• utilities and running costs 
• volunteer expenses 
• learning and evaluation
• equipment  
• capital costs (we can consider funding capital costs but do not anticipate these costs to be a significant amount of the proposed budget)
• costs associated with delivering your project bilingually in Wales, such as translation costs.  

If you’re invited to the next stage, we’ll talk to you to agree what the funding will cover. 

We cannot fund:

• statutory activities and activities that replace government funding
• loans, endowments or interest 
• paying someone else to write your application 
• activities where a profit will be distributed for private gain
• fundraising activities  
• VAT you can reclaim 
• alcohol 
• things you’ve spent money on in the past and are looking to claim for now  
• items which will only benefit an individual, rather than the wider community 
• religious activities (but we can fund religious organisations if their project benefits the wider community and does not include religious content). 

UK’s subsidy control commitments

Our grants come from public funds and successful applications will be asked to comply with the UK's International Subsidy Control Commitments listed on the GOV.UK website. You should seek independent legal advice if you need more guidance.

Considering your environmental impact

We're committed to helping you protect the environment. You can check our guidance on reducing your environmental impact. Our Climate Action Hub also has information about our approach to tackling the climate emergency, including learning and insights, stories and funding.

We expect all funded organisations and any partners to consider their environmental impact. This includes having the relevant policies or action plan in place to help minimise negative impacts on the environment.

If you’re not sure if you should apply

You can:

• phone us on 0345 4102 030 – lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm
• contact us by email at general.enquiries@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk
• check if a different fund is better-suited to your project – for example, if your project is about bringing a local community together, you should look at information about other types of funding.