National Lottery Awards for All - The School Funding Service

With thanks to Lucy Acheson for writing this guest blog post, read on for the lowdown on National Lottery Awards for All funding.

There have been some big changes in the organisations that distribute lottery funding. The Big Lottery Fund is now known as The National Lottery Community Fund and its Awards for All programme has new funding priorities and a new application procedure.

So what is it?

National Lottery Awards for All offers funding to support projects that matter to people and communities.

What should I know?

Funding is available for organisations with great projects or ideas that do the following:

Bring people together and build strong relationships in and across communities.
Improve the places and spaces that matter to communities.
Enable more people to fulfil their potential by working to address issues at the earliest possible stage.

It is essential that you involve your community in the design, development and delivery of the project for which you are applying for funding. By doing this, it is more likely that your project will meet the above criteria, resulting in a greater likelihood of receiving funding.

Am I eligible to apply?

Schools are welcome to apply.

A range of other non-profit organisations are also eligible for funding if their aim is to improve and help their community.

What is available?

Funding is available from £300 – £10,000.

The National Lottery can only fund your organisation for a maximum of £10,000 within a 12 month period and you can only hold one grant at a time.

Can my project be funded?

Funds are available for:

equipment
one-off events
small capital projects
staff costs
training costs
transport
utilities/running costs
volunteer expenses

Schools across the country have used the funding for a multitude of different projects:

The funding was used to run activity clubs for the children and families at a school in Derbyshire.

A school in Blackpool used the funding to create a community garden hub for the school and wider community.

In Leeds, a school used the funding to develop a creative play zone for their early years children.

Mental health training courses were delivered to staff and parents, and resilience training delivered to pupils, using the funding at a school in Maidstone.

How do I apply?

There is no closing date for National Lottery Awards for All; applications can be made at any time. You should be informed of the decision on whether or not you have been successful in your application approximately 14 weeks after you have submitted your application.

In order to apply, you must register with the National Lottery by providing an email address before filling out an online application form. Both of these can be found on the Community Fund section of the National Lottery website.

Within your application, you must include the following:

The names, contact details and dates of birth of two unconnected people from your organisation, one of whom will be the legally responsible contact for any grant awarded (unconnected meaning not related by blood or by marriage, in a long-term relationship or living together at the same address).

Your organisation details, including the full legal name, address and postcode.

Your accounting details, including your accounting year end date and total annual income (to be eligible for funding you need to produce annual accounts, or have set up your organisation less than 15 months ago and not yet produced them).

A copy of your organisation’s bank statement from the last three months (or a bank welcome letter if you have opened a new account in the last three months) for the UK-based account you would like your grant payed into, if you’re successful.

Your project details, including name, when the project will start, where the project will be, any costs involved and whether your project targets a specific group of people and, if so, who.