Putting community agency, power and control at the heart of our funding in England

Phil Chamberlain, England Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, shares our latest funding plans in England

Our awards have been changing lives for three decades. Every year, more than five million people from across the UK benefit from projects we’ve funded. We’re trusted to turn the money raised by National Lottery players into game-changing grants. And we do that, day in, day out.

This funding can make a huge difference. But, increasingly, communities tell us that it’s not enough. Not on its own. Not if we want to make the greatest possible impact and take on some of society’s most urgent problems.

We know this from the thousands of individual conversations we have each year, and from the deep engagement we’ve done over the last 12 months. This is also what the data tells us. A recent survey we commissioned showed that over half (55%) of UK adults take pride in their local area. But 45% said that residents have too little say in how to make their local area better.*

There is great expertise in communities to tackle local issues, but too often people lack the power or resources to take action. Despite this, they show up every day with a passion for doing good. With a relentless commitment to making a difference, with National Lottery support.

That’s why we’re now committing to putting community agency, power and control at the heart of our funding in England, and standing alongside communities as they fulfil their potential. As part of this, we’ll be investing in the building blocks of community-led change, to address entrenched problems – especially where people experience poverty, discrimination and disadvantage.

We’ll partner for bigger, long-term impact; as we recognise that not all communities start from the same place. Keith Halstead is from The Royal Countryside Fund – one of our partners - working in isolated rural areas to empower local decision-makers to boost economic resilience and environmental sustainability. He put it perfectly when he described what they do as “powering up, rather than propping up communities”. That’s exactly what we want to do.

Over the coming months and years, we’re focused on supporting communities to tackle deep-rooted challenges. We want to develop more inclusive places and activities, where communities can come together. We want to help tackle health inequalities, so people can live healthier, happier lives. To provide the support for children and young people to navigate the trickiest transitions in their life, so they can thrive into adulthood. And to protect and promote environmental justice and access to quality natural spaces, working towards an inclusive vision of sustainability for communities.

And underlying all this – we'll target our investment towards communities who feel least empowered at the moment. We’re ambitious about the power of communities and connection.

Sustained change and long-term impact take time. We’re realistic about the journey we’re on. You’ll find out more over the coming months via our website, our socials, and blogs like this one. Opportunities to get involved in the consultation, development, and design of our future support are coming. And we’ll launch a variety of new programmes next year. Watch this space, because this is just the beginning.

The National Lottery turns 30 this month. During this time, almost £50 billion has been raised for good causes, thanks to National Lottery players. That’s extraordinary. But more extraordinary than that are the people who have, day after day, shown up, pitched in, and done what was needed to make their community a better place.

*About the research

The research was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of The National Lottery Community Fund. Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,192 adults aged 16-75 in the United Kingdom using its online i:omnibus between 11th-14th October 2024.

The sample obtained is representative of the population with quotas on age, gender, region and working status.

The data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions for age and working status within gender, and for government office region, social grade and education, to reflect the adult population of the United Kingdom.