UK’s largest community funder to put community power at the heart of funding in England

The National Lottery Community Fund commits to at least £3 billion of life-changing funds in England by 2030
Announcement comes as 45% of UK adults say residents have too little say in making their local area better
New plans put community agency, power and control at the heart of funding in England
£275 million will be invested to support the ‘building blocks’ of community-led change

Today The National Lottery Community Fund has committed to at least £3 billion of life-changing funds in England by 2030.

The announcement comes as a new survey finds that over half (55%) of UK adults feel proud to live in their local area. However, 45% say that residents have too little say in making their local area better.*

Of those surveyed, over half (56%) said that local people (residents’ associations and other people who live in the area) should help decide how funding in their area should be used. 42% said local charities / non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should help make these decisions, and 32% said the same for businesses operating in their area.

Recognising this feedback, The National Lottery Community Fund’s latest plans put community agency, power and control at the heart of its funding in England. This is the latest step in embedding the funder’s strategy to 2030, ‘It starts with community’.

£275 million will be invested to support the ‘building blocks’ of community-led change, with an emphasis on those who feel least empowered. This includes:

a £100 million, ten-year Community Power Fund to help people influence and change the places they live, the services they use, and decisions that affect their lives across England
a new £50 million community leaders programme to support informal community leaders who are making a difference in their area
a new You Decide funding stream, worth at least 5% of all funding in England, where communities will decide which good causes funding should support.

Over £4 million will be available for civil society organisations and communities who would like to take part in the development phase of You Decide and the Community Power Fund.

Recognising the critical value of grassroots funding, The National Lottery Community Fund is also making at least £135 million available per year through its popular National Lottery Awards for All funding programme, up to 2030.

Full details of today’s announcement, including how to get involved, can be found at tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/englandplan

Phil Chamberlain, England Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “There is great pride in communities, and the expertise to tackle local issues. Yet 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.

“We are ambitious about the power of communities and connection, and we’re focused on helping them where we see the biggest challenges - and the greatest potential to build a fairer, stronger society. By making communities more inclusive. Supporting children and young people. Taking on health inequalities. And tackling environmental injustice and access to nature.”

Aimee Jefferson, Health and Wellbeing Coordinator at the Aston Villa Foundation – which is using over £250,000 of National Lottery funding to teach families about budgeting and cooking to eat nutritious food – said: “It’s great to see The National Lottery Community Fund’s commitment to supporting the expertise in local communities. Our relationships here in Birmingham mean we understand people’s needs, and can help provide the solutions.

“Over 61,000 free school meal vouchers were given out in the city last year and it’s a real challenge for families to balance budgeting with a healthy lifestyle. We’re here to help improve household food security, so local families can live healthier lives and children can learn the right habits for life early.”

John Mothersole, England Chair at The National Lottery Community Fund, added: “We’re rooted in communities and that’s key to our strategy. Last year, we listened far and wide to understand what the key issues are in areas, and the potential for positive change.

“Now, across our funding in England we’ll partner for bigger, long-term impact, as we recognise that not all communities start from the same place. We’ll give them more of a say in where our support goes, to build from their strengths and go where their aspirations take them.”

This year The National Lottery celebrates its 30^th Birthday. It has been changing lives every day for the past 30 years, funding thousands of projects to help build resilient, inclusive and environmentally sustainable communities - and create healthier and happier lives. Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £49 billion has been raised for good causes in this time.

Last year (2023/24) The National Lottery Community Fund awarded over half a billion pounds (£686.3 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, supporting over 13,700 projects to turn their great ideas into reality.

Find out more

Date published: 6 November, 2024
Region: England

Notes to Editors

The National Lottery Community Fund’s England Director, Phil Chamberlain, is speaking at the Locality Convention 2024 in Manchester on Tuesday 12th November. There, he will tell the sector more about the Fund’s plans in England.

* [1] 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 interlocking quotas on age and gender, and quotas on 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.

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.

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