2023 has also been a year in which we have been developing our Wales Portfolio in line with our new strategy and we thank stakeholders for sharing their ideas and helping us shape our offer. Our popular responsive programme People and Places  and National Lottery Awards for All were open all year, enabling communities to access funding for the things that matter most to them. 

A key highlight for me has been meeting the inspiring people who worked tirelessly across the year to deliver for their communities. I witnessed resilient National Lottery funded groups that are determined to deliver lasting change for the communities. Projects such as Gellideg Community Foundation were awarded a grant of £99,875 for a warm hub and to expand its community pantry scheme for residents. The grant enabled free transport for residents in Merthyr Tydfil that otherwise have no access to transport or have mobility difficulties that prevent them accessing services. 

I, along with our Wales Committee and UK Board members, had the pleasure of seeing firsthand the work of OASIS  a charity supporting refugees and asylum seekers in Cardiff. We enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by the volunteers and staff funded through "The Plate Project", a five year project supporting asylum seekers and refugees opportunities to participate in catering qualifications, cookery classes and volunteering.  

It has been a privilege to witness how our colleagues have been able to support community organisations through working closely with them, to develop their ideas. Our staff work in different regions to ensure that we understand the needs of communities across Wales. Across all our work we have supported communities to access National Lottery funding. We delivered a programme of funding events, targeting those places where we have traditionally seen lower levels of applications. One example is Cymunedau Cerdd/Music Communities who successfully applied for a grant of £97,959 to develop community-based programme workshops and cultural events to improve the skills and wellbeing of young people and the wider community in Maesgeirchen and Maesincla in Gwynedd. 

Through 2023, the Fund helped community organisations struggling with increasing running costs caused by the cost of living crisis. We awarded over £5 million to support a variety of projects including warm spaces, transport, uniform exchanges and community pantry schemes. For example, the Islwyn Ministry Area Foodbank, based in the Rhymney Valley, received a £23,000 grant to help reduce the impact of the cost of living crisis for people in the area. The group provided a warm hub, offering hot refreshments, transport, and support and guidance on how to maximise income.  

Another grant of £248,708 means DSNcan employ specialist project workers and staff to support deaf children, young people, and their families in Wrexham and Flintshire. This will improve communication in the home and in social environments, as well as improving confidence, independence and socialisation for the participants, and reduce relationship breakdown and bullying. 

We are strongly committed to supporting communities to address climate change.  As the distributor of Dormant Assets Scheme funding (money left untouched in accounts for longer than 15 years, which is used for charitable causes) we have supported communities to take local solutions to addressing the impacts of climate change through our support of Sustainable Steps Wales programmes including the Egin project.   

In the last few weeks, we have launched Sustainable Steps Green Careers (£10.25 million), a new grant programme funded through Dormant Assets with the goal of encouraging young people across Wales to work in the green industries of the future. The programme is aimed at young people with disabilities and those from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The successful applicants for the grants on offer will be expected to attract equal numbers of each gender and to work closely with potential employers.   

So, what’s to come for The National Lottery Community Fund in 2024? 

During 2024 we’ll further roll out our new strategy – with more to come in the weeks and months ahead. We’ll be considering how we can better support our customers, bringing together learning from across the UK. In Spring we’ll make some further announcements about the next iteration of our funding Portfolio in Wales. In particular, we expect to be more focused our four community-led missions which will support communities to: 

1. come together 

2. be environmentally sustainable 

3. help children and young people thrive 

4. enable people to live healthier lives.  

I want to finish by saying thank you. National Lottery players raise over £30 million for good causes each week throughout the UK. Without this generosity we wouldn’t be able support amazing community-led projects up and down the country.  

I want to wish you all a healthy and happy New Year and to reassure you that we are here to help your community to access National Lottery funding.