WIREDGOV

At least £100 million a year is to be invested across England by the BIG Lottery Fund in a new improved version of its flagship Reaching Communities programme for each of the next five years.

The new funding which will be introduced this spring comes with two distinct improvements.

First, applicants seeking smaller sums of money will enjoy a simpler application and assessment process.

Second, a two-stage decision making process for larger bids will ensure that all applicants will learn sooner whether their project is in with a chance of receiving funding. For those invited to the second stage, the likelihood of success will be much higher, making work on completing a full application more worthwhile.

Also in the pipeline for later in the year is a third element, a dedicated capital stream offering funding within the familiar Reaching Communities application process to respond to the high, unmet demand for funding for community buildings.

The changes are a response to the Fund’s major public BIG Thinking consultation last year. In addition, the Big Lottery Fund is promising more informative feedback on all unsuccessful applications.

Over 75 percent of BIG Thinking’s respondents said that it was better to give early decisions on applications, including rejecting those likely to be unsuccessful, based on a few key questions at the enquiry stage.

Sanjay Dighe, Chair of Big Lottery Fund England Committee said: “Reaching Communities is the centrepiece of our funding for 2010 and beyond and the enhancements we are making are a response to popular demand. Voluntary and Community Sector groups have welcomed the chance to access as much as £500,000 for up to five years but many have also told us that in the current, uncertain times, they would value a version of the  programme that is easier to access. That’s why we are introducing a lighter touch  Reaching Communities programme for people seeking sums of up to £40,000 a year.

“It is business as usual, so projects should continue to get their applications in and we can support many more grassroots organisations to develop ideas that will flourish and benefit the wider community.”

The dedicated capital element which will be available in the Autumn is likely to fund medium sized refurbishments, new builds or extensions to community centres, village halls or other community use buildings meeting local community needs and aspirations.

The main aim of Reaching Communities is to help bring real improvements to communities and to the lives of people most in need. Over 1,400 awards have been made which translates into £336 million Lottery good cause money for communities across England since the first award was announced in 2006.

You can find out more about the programme, as well as how these changes will effect you, on the Reaching Communities programme page

Further Information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone:  0845 6021 659

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• Under Reaching Communities, the Big Lottery Fund awards grants between £10,000 and £500,000 to projects that offer people better life chances, build stronger communities, develop improved rural and urban environments and improve health and well being. The criteria for eligible organisations remains the same for the improved programme.
• 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.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £24 billion has now been raised and more than 317,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.