National Lottery Awards for All - England

Background

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes over £600 million a year to communities across the UK, raised by players of The National Lottery.

Objectives of Fund

National Lottery Awards for All is a small grants programme provided by the National Lottery Community Fund. 

The funding is intended for projects that support communities to thrive by: 

• Bringing people together to build strong relationships in and across communities.

• Improving the places and spaces that matter to communities.

• Helping more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage.

• Supporting people, communities and organisations that are facing increased demands and challenges as a direct result of the cost-of-living crisis.

Value Notes

Grants of between £300 and £20,000 are available for up to two years. 

The NLCF can only fund an organisation for a maximum of £20,000 within a 12-month period.

Match Funding Restrictions

Grants can be used to pay for some or all of the project costs.

Who Can Apply

Applications are accepted from: 

• Constituted voluntary and community organisations.

• Constituted groups and clubs.

• Registered charities.

• Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs).

• Not-for-profit companies.

• Community interest companies (CICs) limited by guarantee or limited by shares (if limited by shares, they must follow the Regulator of Community Interest Companies’ guidance on sharing profits)

• Schools (for projects that mainly benefit and involve the communities around the school).

• Statutory bodies (including local authorities, town, parish and community councils).

• Community benefit societies.

To be eligible for funding applicants must have: 

• At least two board or committee members who are not related

• A UK bank account in the name of their organisation.

• Annual accounts (unless the organisation is less than 15 months old).

Priority is given to groups with smaller annual incomes. Due to high demand, organisations with larger incomes are less likely to get funding.

Location

England

Restrictions

The following are not eligible for funding: 

• Individuals.

• Sole traders.

• Organisations based outside the UK.

• One organisation on behalf of another.

• Companies that can pay profits to directors, shareholders or members (including Companies limited by shares).

• Organisations that currently have National Lottery Awards for All funding or have already applied and are awaiting a decision.

• Alcohol.

• Contingency costs, loans, endowments or interest.

• Paying someone else to write an application.

• Fundraising activities.

• Recoverable VAT.

• Religious activities. (NLCF can fund religious organisations if the project benefits the wider community and does not include religious content.)

• Statutory services or activities.

• Schoolwork support during school hours.

• Overseas travel.

• Retrospective costs.

• Activities that make a profit for private gain.

• Giving cash or gifts directly to individuals.

Eligible Expenditure

To be eligible for funding projects should: 

• Involve people and communities from the start.

• Build on people's strengths.

• Be connected in their community.

The grants can be used for the following costs: 

• The organisation's running costs.

• Equipment.

• One-off events.

• Staff costs.

• Training costs.

• Transport.

• Utilities.

• Volunteer expenses.

• Small land or refurbishment projects (relevant permissions need to be in place).

Applicants are encouraged to think about any costs that help their organisation and community cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

How To Apply

Applications may be submitted at any time. 

There is high demand for funding and the funding teams will assess applications in the order they are received. They aim to communicate their decisions with the applicants as soon as possible. At the moment, this may take around 16 weeks. 

The online application form can be found on the National Lottery Community Fund. 

Contact the National Lottery Community Fund for further information.

Useful links

National Lottery - Awards for All England
https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/funding-programmes/national-lottery-awards-for-all-england

National Lottery Community Fund
https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/

Addresses and contacts

For further information on how to obtain this grant locally, please contact the following:

Enquiries
National Lottery Community Fund
Apex House
3 Embassy Drive
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 1TR
Tel: 0345 4 10 20 30
E-Mail: general.enquiries@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk