National Lottery Awards

The National Lottery was introduced in 1994 and since then, more than 280,000 grants have been awarded.

Grants from £300 up to £10,000 are awarded to sport, heritage and community activities and projects that go towards promoting education, health and the environment in local communities.

Depending on what the project is will determine which Body you need to apply for to get a Lottery funded grant. There are currently six different bodies: Sports Council; Arts Council; Heritage Lottery Fund; Big Lottery Fund; NESTA; and Awards for All.

Sports Council

The Community Investment Fund is the National Lottery funding available from the nine regions of Sport England (formerly Sports Council for England).

Sport England funds projects that help people get involved in sport and physical activity. The money received can be put towards refurbishment costs, the building of new facilities, or used to develop activities that improve help and education within local communities

There is, however, a very complex application process for this form of funding, and the final decision is made by the Sport England Board. This is mainly because of the large amount of money being given, the minimum grant being £10,000.

Arts Council

The Urban Cultural Programme provides around £19.5 million of funding for cultural projects in 19 urban areas across the UK, including 14 in England.

Projects that could be eligible for the funding are required to demonstrate how culture and the arts contribute and influence the lives of those in an urban area.

Heritage Lottery Fund

Money that is raised through the national lottery is used by the Heritage Lottery Fund to help sustain our heritage, including various museums, historic places, parks and archaeology.

Big Lottery Fund

The Big Lottery Fund is the largest Lottery distributor responsible for giving out half the money raised by the National Lottery for good causes: 14 pence of every pound spent on a Lottery ticket.

These grants cover health, education, environment and charitable purposes with a focus on the difference that the funding makes to communities, as opposed to the specific organisations that receive the money.

NESTA

New ideas often fail due to a lack of funding. NESTA uses National Lottery funds to encourage the exploration of new idea, development of new products, or other projects that use the arts, technology and science to encourage creativity.

This grant is not just available for groups or organisations, individuals can also apply for help.

The funding starts from £500, and awards of more than £85,000 can be made to worthy applicants.

Awards for All

If you have a project in mind that will bring people together to take part in community activities, then you could benefit from this fund.

Specifically designed for those projects that help to improve the lives of individuals, boost creativity or encourages more people to get involved in local communities, the fund can supply anything from £300 to £10,000.

There are lots of lottery funds available that cover such a wide remit, and there are a lot of projects eligible to receive some help. There is more information on each specific fund and the requirements for applications available at www.lotteryfunding.org.uk.