£80 million National Lottery cash boost for 2,000 community projects since the beginning of the year

The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, has funded over £80 million in the first quarter of 2020 to more than 2,000 community projects across England.

This National Lottery funding was made prior to the COVID-19 crisis, with the Fund subsequently announcing that over the next six months it will prioritise getting funding to groups best placed to support their communities at this vital time.

Elly De Decker, Director of England Funding at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Since making many of these grants, the world is in a very different place. It’s been heartening to see our funded groups stepping up to support people and communities during the crisis. They are playing a vital role in their community, overcoming obstacles to still bring people together while for health reasons we are all physically apart. We are incredibly grateful for their efforts and are working hard to support them.”

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Last year it awarded over half a billion pounds (£511.1 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK and supported over 12,000 projects to turn their great ideas into reality.