Looking Back, Looking Forward: Community in 2025
January always feels like a moment of promise—a time to reflect on the past year’s achievements and challenges, and to look ahead to what we want to accomplish with communities across the UK. This year, we are particularly excited to embark on our first full year with our new Chair Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO CBE, whose passion, knowledge, and experience will undoubtedly help us realise our ambition of ‘It Starts with Community’.
Looking Back: 2024 at a Glance
2024 was a year of profound change and significant challenges. A new UK Government and global elections and developments reshaped the political landscape, while communities grappled with challenges from climate to poverty to societal division. In August, racist and Islamophobic riots, an ill many felt of our past, drew plain the urgent need for greater community cohesion.
Yet, amid these difficulties, there were countless reasons for hope. Across the UK, people came together to address the biggest challenges of our time. From grassroots groups to national organisations, individuals demonstrated the power of collective action to transform lives and strengthen the places they live and work.
At The National Lottery Community Fund, we awarded over £724 million in 2024. This funding supported 13,000 projects, an average of eight grants every hour, with an average grant of nearly £56,000. Over a third of these awards (38.6%) went to new grant holders, reflecting our commitment to reaching those who have not traditionally sought funding. From small grassroots projects to major initiatives, this investment has gone to the people and places that need it most.
Watch our funding wrap up of 2024
It was a busy year, with some key moments that stand out.
New Corporate Plan
In May we announced our corporate plan for delivering ‘It Starts with Community’, the largest expansion in our funding for 30 years. We made clear public commitments and asked to be held to account for delivering them in the years ahead. These include:
- More than 50% of all grants will go to communities experiencing greatest poverty and disadvantage.
- At least 15% of funding will go to environmental sustainability projects.
- Funding to reach more than 80% of areas across the UK.
- The primary focus of more than 90% of grants is 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.
And later, we launched our ‘missions framework,’ breaking down our community-led missions into clear outcomes and target groups.
Download our Missions Framework guide
Changes to our funding, across the UK
2024 saw us thread this work through renewed funding, both UK-wide and in individual countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). The refresh reflects our commitment to the four community-led missions we announced in our strategy, ‘It Starts with Community’. The differences and nuances are important: they reflect country priorities and circumstances and provide opportunity for learning, sharing and insight across the four countries of the UK.
For instance, in Wales, we’re requiring all projects to evidence the environmental impact of their activities – and the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act ensures we’re working towards the same purpose, to think about the long-term impact of decisions and tackle the large social issues our communities are facing. I’m looking forward to seeing what we learn there. Elsewhere, examples include Scotland launching Fair Life Chances and Community Action programmes; and in Northern Ireland, support for Sustainable Community Buildings. In England, we will focus on increasing the voice and resilience of communities and the organisations that support them. We’ll support communities to build power, influencing the decisions that affect them, and deciding where money and support should go.
You can find out more over on our website: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding
Celebrating 30 Years of Impact
Much of this came together in November 2024, which marked the 30th Anniversary of The National Lottery. Over the last three decades, thanks to National Lottery players, £50 billion has been raised for good causes, and we’ve awarded over £18 billion to 290,000 charities and community groups. It’s an extraordinary legacy of strengthening society and improving lives. This was a poignant moment, and I felt a lot of pride for the work of so many colleagues and partners over these years.
After all, for an organisation to fly, it must know its roots.
With 30 years of impact behind us, we’re building on this legacy to tackle the challenges and opportunities of the year ahead.
Watch our celebration of the National Lottery’s 30th Birthday
Onwards to 2025 – What Are Our Priorities?
1. Grassroots Funding and Community Agency
I’m incredibly fortunate in my role to travel across the UK and witness first-hand the remarkable work of our funded projects. From Land’s End to John o’ Groats, Belfast to Cardiff, the power and expertise of communities are undeniable. And that’s where you’ll continue to find us: supporting communities where it’s needed, when it’s needed.
We are doubling down on our commitment to grassroots funding. Through our popular Awards for All programme, we’ve increased the maximum award to £20,000 and extended the funding period, enabling small groups to make a big impact. Over 10,000 projects applied to this updated programme in 2024, showing the demand and value of this support.
Projects like Ray of Light Cancer Support in Abercynon, Wales, exemplify the power of grassroots initiatives. With an Awards for All grant, the group provides horticultural therapy to people living with cancer, fostering a sense of community and helping individuals cope with their diagnosis. These small, bold approaches are at the heart of our mission to enable people to live healthier, happier lives.
It’s this spirit we’ll progress in the year ahead. I’d describe this as the ‘human learning systems’ model. Human, because we start with people and communities, and put real lived experience at the heart of decision-making. Learning, because the cycle of learning with communities requires continuous learning, adaptation and experimentation. Systems, because complex, systemic and interrelated issues like health and wellbeing, inclusion and climate require collaboration and flexibility.
2. Youth Empowerment
Young people are at the centre of our work to create a fairer future. In Wolverhampton, The Way Youth Zone is transforming lives by providing employment and creative opportunities for young people in care. Over the past three years, we’ve invested £7 million in 180 projects across Wolverhampton, a city facing some of the most challenging indicators for young people in the country.
Building on our Youth Voice initiatives, we’ve introduced Youth Voice Advisors to train funding colleagues and participate in decision-making panels. In 2025, we will induct Youth Committee members into each country committee, ensuring young people’s perspectives are at the heart of our work. Like many funders and youth sector organisations, contributing to the National Youth Strategy planned for 2025, and ensuring co-development of solutions with young people, will be a priority.
3. Community-Led Climate Action
The climate crisis is the defining challenge of our time. In 2024, over half (56%) of respondents in our Community Research Index expressed concern about its local impact. Environmental sustainability is now one of our four core missions, with at least 15% of our funding dedicated to projects addressing the climate emergency.
Projects like Middlesbrough Environment City showcase what’s possible. With over £1.5 million of National Lottery funding, the initiative is reducing the town’s carbon footprint through pop-up eco shops, food waste reduction, and nature-based wellbeing programmes. Young people are at the forefront of these efforts, demonstrating how communities can lead the way in tackling global challenges.
In 2025, we’ll look outward to explore the next steps for building on our £100m Climate Action Fund, with a focus on systemic change and exploring where ‘bigger bets’ could be made.
4. Strengthening Community Cohesion
Our research shows that while 55% of UK adults feel proud of their local area, 45% believe residents have too little say in shaping their communities. We are working to change this by prioritising investment where it’s needed most and empowering communities with agency and control. By collaborating with local groups, charities, businesses, and researchers, we’re creating opportunities for communities to thrive.
5. Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for People and Communities
We’re now a quarter of the way through the 21st century. If the technological revolutions of the 20th century—mass industrialisation, transportation, and information technology—transformed how people and communities live, it’s abundantly clear that artificial intelligence (AI) will be the defining force of this century.
AI represents a transformative opportunity to unlock human potential, but its successful implementation requires an inclusive, ethical and responsible approach. Previous technological revolutions - from industrial mechanisation to digital transformation - demonstrate that managing change effectively depends on engaging communities and ensuring equitable distribution of benefits.
Our Innovation Unit has taken a strategic approach to exploring AI's capabilities, collaborating with internal teams and external experts to identify opportunities across our operational framework. We are now moving forward with targeted pilots to validate these tools and maximise their value for our organisation and the communities we support.
Our focus remains on harnessing AI's potential while maintaining our commitment to responsible innovation that serves all communities. This balanced approach will help us navigate both the opportunities and challenges of this technological transformation.
To guide us, we’ve collaborated with experts to develop 10 AI Principles grounded in our values. These principles ensure AI is used responsibly and effectively, retaining humans in the loop, ensuring transparency and accountability, and embedding inclusion, avoiding harm and discrimination with secure-by-design methods.
Early in 2025, we will share these principles to support others—helping the nine-in-ten charities that currently lack the capacity and expertise to embed AI, while learning alongside those already on this journey. By working together, we can ensure AI unlocks opportunity, equity, and benefit for all communities.
Looking Ahead
As we step into 2025, our focus remains steadfast: empowering communities to address their unique challenges and seize their unique opportunities. By harnessing innovation, amplifying grassroots efforts, and championing bold, community-led solutions, we’re ready to make an even bigger difference in the year ahead.