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What does this country need most – more recycling, better educated youngsters, stronger community spirit or new investment in science?

Channel 4 is following the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) as it asks the British public how they would spend 10 million pounds of lottery money. The results of this nationwide debate will help directly determine which projects or charities will benefit from a huge cash injection.

From caring for the world around them, to helping people learn the skills they need to make the most of their lives, to tackling local issues– for the first time, the general public are being asked to decide the themes that best represent their priorities for Lottery funding in the current climate. The results will help BIG to find five inspirational projects across the UK, each to receive a multi-million Big Lottery Fund cash injection as part of its Millennium Now grant programme.

The entire process, from the canvassing of public opinion through to the distribution of that money will be followed for a five-part series (5 x 60 minutes) on Channel 4 called The Big Decision (working title).

The call-out launches on Monday 3 October. Channel 4 is assisting the Big Lottery Fund in capturing public opinion via a microsite (channel4.com/thebigdecision) and commissioning an Ipsos-Mori Poll.

Channel 4 Chief Creative Officer Jay Hunt says: “For the first time people will be able to influence which aspect of community life in the UK could benefit best from this huge sum of Lottery money. This series will provide a fascinating insight into what people care about most passionately and provide the opportunity to make real changes for the better.”

Chair of the Big Lottery Fund Peter Ainsworth said: “The public have raised billions for good causes by playing the National Lottery and with this programme we want to spark a nationwide debate on the best use of Lottery money and the themes that best represent the needs and aspirations of this decade. By telling us what really matters to them, the public will have a real say in where £10million of BIG funding will go next year.”

The Millennium Now programme, builds on the findings of the Millennium Now report launched in May 2011 to mark the legacy of the Millennium projects ten years on. It will aim to fund inspirational projects reflecting the five Millennium themes:

To coincide with the launch of the debate, Channel 4’s religion and ethics strand, 4thought.tv will be broadcasting a week of films on the theme: ‘When it comes to charity, who should we decide to give our money to?’ The films will air each night after Channel 4 News from 10^th October.

Further Information

Channel 4 – Justine Bower, 020 7306 8427, jbower@channel4.co.uk
The Big Lottery Fund – Julia Sweidan, 0207 211 1818/07799861445 julia.sweidan@biglotteryfund.org,uk

Notes to Editors

• To join The Big Decision please visit channel4.com/thebigdecision
• For more information on Millennium Now please go http://millenniumnow.org.uk/

The Big Decision (w/t) TX 2012

If you could change the world you live in what would you do? How would you spend £10million pounds of Lottery money? In a major new five-part series, The Big Decision reveals what people care about most – and the impact that substantial grants have on the charities that do the work.

From asking the public where they think the money should go through to the distribution of funds, this series gets to the heart of what people really care about and what that means for our society.

The Big Decision will be produced by TwentyTwenty and RDF Television for Channel 4 by Head of Documentaries Hamish Mykura

4thought.tv – tx 10-17 October

It's a time of economic hardship when every charity is feeling the pinch, and many of us have less cash than ever to spare. How do we strike a balance between doing the right thing for the most needy and ensuring less popular groups are not forgotten. As Channel 4 asks you to help the Big Lottery Fund make The Big Decision about where £10 million pounds of lottery money should be spent, 4thought.tvasks, ‘When it comes to charity, who should we decide to give our money to?’

The Big Lottery Fund (BIG)

The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.

BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.

The responsibilities of the Millennium Commission were transferred to the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) in 2006.The Millennium Commission was set up in 1993 by the National Lottery Act as a short-life organisation, with a specific aim: to fund projects to celebrate the end of the second millennium and the start of the third.

This is the first time BIG is asking the public to effectively help design and develop a grant programme from choosing the programme themes to the types of projects and beneficiaries they want funded. Through BIG’s other public engagement programmes and initiatives the public was asked to choose between specific projects.

Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £25 billion has now been raised and more than 330,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment