Making a bigger impact in communities in the years ahead, says The National Lottery Community Fund

The National Lottery Community Fund has announced changes to its main funding initiative following extensive consultation with communities.

The funding programme People and Places will invest up to £20 million per year to communities across Wales, thanks to the money raised by players of the National Lottery.

Following the launch of our new strategy - It Starts with Community, the Fund has refreshed its funding offer to support communities in Wales. People and Places is now looking to make a bigger difference in the years ahead by being guided by the Fund’s new four missions, which are supporting communities to:

come together
be more environmentally sustainable
help children and young people thrive
enable people to live healthier lives.

Grants of up to £500,000 will be available. Groups applying will need to demonstrate how they have involved the community, and built upon the skills, experiences and strengths of people and show how they are filling a gap. All projects will also need to consider the environmental impact of their activities and there is more support available at Reduce your environmental footprint | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)

John Rose, Director of The National Lottery Community Fund, announcing this new programme, said: “We are looking to make a bigger difference in the years ahead and to be more focused across our four new missions which are supporting communities to come together, be more environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.

“We will be applying a sharper focus on tackling inequality meaning we will focus more on the places, people and communities who experience poverty, disadvantage and discrimination in Wales. We will also be supporting environmental action across all our funding, investing in environmental sustainability and supporting projects to consider the environment even when it isn’t their main focus.”

“We have therefore refreshed our main funding programme People and Places which builds upon our new strategy ‘It Starts with Community’ and the consultation we conducted with the public and stakeholders in Wales asking what would be their key priorities for The National Lottery Community Fund in Wales.”

One project already focussing on health, environment and young people is the Game Change Project based in Powys. It is using a National Lottery People and Places grant of £304,240 over three years, to support young people who struggle to engage with traditional approaches to education. Through the project they gain skills and qualifications, through hands on experiences including rural skills, equine handling, conservation, mechanics, woodwork, digital volunteering, gardening and animal care.

Sian Roberts, Director of The Game Change Project, based in Powys said: “We create opportunities for young people in Powys to raise their aspiration and confidence by providing an outdoor learning environment where they can develop their confidence and skills to thrive and contribute to Mid Wales.”

“We are so thankful to the National Lottery Community Fund for the grant which enables us to run a programme of activities for young people who rely on the service. We work in partnership with other organisations, schools and businesses to ensure we provide young people with life long skills that will also enhance their future careers by providing them with skills, confidence and qualifications.”

This year marks 30 years since the first National Lottery draw in 1994, and thanks to those who play the games and raise £30 million for good causes each week, with over £1 billion been awarded to communities across Wales through 23,096 grants over this time.

In the last five years alone, over £117 million being distributed through People and Places to communities across Wales.

Groups with ideas for funding are encouraged to get in touch to discuss their idea on 0300 1230 7335 or email wales@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

For more information on all funding available from The National Lottery Community Fund visit https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding

Date published: 9 October, 2024
Region: Wales

Notes to Editors

About The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest non-statutory community funder in the UK – community is at the heart of our purpose, vision and name.

We support activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable and that will strengthen society and improve lives across the UK.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with government to distribute vital grants and funding from key government programmes and initiatives.

As well as responding to what communities tell us is important to them, our funding is focused on four key missions, supporting communities to:

1. Come together

2. Be environmentally sustainable

3. Help children and young people thrive

4. Enable people to live healthier lives.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, we distribute over £600 million a year through 13,000+ grants and plan to invest over £4 billion of funding into communities by 2030. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £49 billion has been raised and more than 690,000 individual grants have been made across the UK - the equivalent of around 240 National Lottery grants in every UK postcode district.