Launching The UK Fund: supporting communities to come together and help make us a better-connected society

It shouldn’t have taken a pandemic to feel how important social connection is. But COVID-19 supercharged my understanding of how much it matters. I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

As humans, we’re hardwired for connection. Our health and wellbeing are deeply rooted in our need for community. Social connectedness affects our life expectancy and economic mobility. It helps us get through crises and shape better futures.

While social distancing is no more, we still find ourselves too often separate from each other, and from nature.

It’s why our new strategy ‘It starts with community’ and The UK Fund both start with the building blocks that enable communities to connect, build relationships and act on what matters most to them.

We want to help create the best conditions for communities to come together both now and in the future. What needs to change? And what are the tools and structures that might help? What could our high streets, workplaces, and neighbourhoods look like if social connection were core to their design?

What we’re looking to fund

The UK Fund is one of our first significant commitments as part of our new strategy. This funding is designed to support communities to connect in ways that better fit our changing lives. It's an opportunity to rewire the social web. We want to support projects that are ambitious about shifting systems and shaping futures right across the UK.

We’re focusing on three dimensions of connection where we think our funding can have the most impact:

• Firstly, in bridging relationships between people with different backgrounds or experiences, because we know connection across social boundaries has huge public benefit.
• New technologies are enabling us to connect in more ways than ever before, but they can also drive us further apart. So, we also want to help create connections between online and offline worlds.
• Finally, we want to help make sure people from all backgrounds have opportunities to come together to shape the future of their communities and act on what matters most to them.

If you think your project is a strong fit, you can apply through our website.

If you would like to find out more, read the full programme criteria and how to apply.

Types of projects we may fund

We are looking to fund a wide variety of different projects; however, we’ll only be supporting projects that can demonstrate how they will:

• benefit communities across the UK (or have the potential to) - this could be by sharing learning, influencing, collaborating, convening or delivering activity across and between UK countries
• increase their impact – this might be expanding into new locations, developing infrastructure, strengthening delivery or increasing reach
• involve and benefit places, people and communities. We’re particularly interested in projects which focus on those experiencing poverty, disadvantage or discrimination
• have a positive impact on the natural environment
• share learning openly and be willing to adapt with an interest in working with others across sectors or systems to achieve lasting change.

For full details on how to apply, visit The UK Fund, or email TheUKFund@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk and general.enquiries@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.