The UK Fund is one of the National Lottery Community Fund’s first significant commitments as part of its new strategy for the period 2023-30, ‘It Starts with Community.' The UK Fund is looking to fund organisations that want to do more to help communities come together and help create a better-connected society.
Projects must either work across the UK, or be able to inform, influence or scale up across the UK. The National Lottery wants to support ambitious projects that aim to create longer-term, transformational change. It will take an equity-based approach to tackle inequality. This means funding will be directed to areas where the greatest need can be evidenced. A blog explaining more about the UK Fund and giving some examples of the type of project that could be supported is available on the NLCF website (registration is required before the blog can be accessed).
Funding is available for projects that:
o Create connections between online and offline communities.
o Help make sure people from all backgrounds can shape the future of their communities, and
o Strengthen relationships between people whose experiences of life have not been the same. For example, relationships between people of different ethnic backgrounds, generations, occupations or geographies.
Revenue grants of between £500,000 and £5 million are available over 2-5 years (and in exceptional circumstances up to 10 years) to not-for-profit organisations for projects that have a UK-wide reach and the ability to create better connected communities. Up to 20 projects are expected to be funded. Partnership proposals are welcomed.
Grants can be used for:
o Capital costs (although applicants should note that this is mainly a revenue grant scheme).
o Costs associated with delivering the project in other languages.
o Development work (testing new ways of working, staff training and development, developing governance, tech or IT upgrades and purchases, sharing learning).
o Equipment.
o Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.
o Staff costs, including sessional workers.
o Transport.
o Utilities and running costs, and
o Volunteer expenses.
Funding is not available for:
o Activities where a profit will be distributed for private gain.
o Alcohol.
o Fundraising or paying someone to write the grant application.
o Individuals, or items which will only benefit an individual, rather than the wider community.
o Loans, endowments or interest.
o Organisations based outside of the UK.
o Religious or political activities.
o Replacing statutory obligations or activities that replace government funding.
o Retrospective costs.
o Sole traders, or
o VAT that can be reclaimed.
The programme will open to applications on Monday 4th August 2023. There is no closing date; applications will be assessed on an ongoing basis once the UK Fund opens.
Further information about the UK Fund is available on the National Lottery Community Fund website.
