The National Lottery Community Fund: Awards for All Northern Ireland

Open or will open again Active citizenship Addiction and substance misuse Adult Education/Learning Advice services Age discrimination Archives and artefacts Arts, culture and heritage Black and minority ethnic Buildings and built environment Communities Community and neighbourhood development Community development Community safety and crime prevention Cross community Cultural heritage Cultural, events and festivals Dependants and carers Education and learning environment Family and parenting Gender equality and sexual orientation good relations Health promotion Health, wellbeing and sport Healthcare services Housing and homelessness Human rights and equality Medical conditions Medical research Miscellaneous Multiculturalism Natural environment and climate Offenders and ex-offenders Peace and reconciliation People with disabilities Policy, advocacy and campaigning Poverty and deprivation Pre-school education Racial equality Recycling and waste management Refugees and asylum seekers Rescue and emergency Rural development School, Colle Northern Ireland Medium (up to £60,000) Micro (up to £1,000) Small (up to £10,000)

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Overview

They offer funding from £300 to £20,000. And can support your project for up to two years.

They can fund projects that’ll do at least one of these things:

bring people together to build strong relationships in and across communities
improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage
support people, communities and organisations facing more demands and challenges because of the cost-of-living crisis.

Summary details

Area: Northern Ireland
Suitable for: Voluntary or community organisations, public sector organisations
Funding size: £300 to £20,000
Application deadline: Ongoing. Apply at least 12 weeks before you want to start the activities or spend any of the money.

Who can apply?

You can apply if your organisation is a:

voluntary or community organisation
registered charity
constituted group or club
not-for-profit company or Community Interest Company
school (as long as your project is not within school hours or considered part of the curriculum and has wider community benefit)
statutory body (including town, parish and community council).

If you’re a smaller organisation

They are more likely to fund groups with smaller incomes.
Due to high demand, organisations that have a large annual income might not be able to get funding.

You need at least 2 board or committee members who are not related

All companies who apply must have at least two directors who are not related in any of these ways. This also applies to companies that are also registered as charities.

The projects they fund

They can fund projects that’ll do at least one of these things:

bring people together to build strong relationships in and across communities
improve places and spaces that matter to communities
help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest stage
support people, communities and organisations facing more demands and challenges because of the cost-of-living crisis.

Your project should involve your community

People know best what’s needed in their communities. It’s important to involve your community from the start - in the design, development and delivery of the activities you’re planning.

They want to fund projects that are connected to local people and their communities, and use their existing skills and experience.

Funding Level

They offer funding from £300 to £20,000. And can support your project for up to two years.

Eligible costs

They encourage you to think about any organisational costs and overheads needed to help you and your community when preparing your project budget.

They can fund:

equipment
one-off events
staff costs
training costs
transport
utilities or running costs
volunteer expenses
small land or building projects.

If you need funding for land or refurbishment projects

You need to either:

own the land or building
have a lease that cannot be ended for five years,
have a letter from the owner saying the land or building will be leased to you for at least five years, or
have an official letter from the owner or landlord that says you're allowed to do work on the building.

You should also find out if you’ll need planning permission for the work.

They can fund some political activity and campaigning

But only if:

the activity is not party political. This means that it must be about policy, practice, or legislation rather than opposing or supporting a political party.
the activity is meant to help the cause of your organisation and benefit the public or society.

They will not fund projects where political activities are the main purpose. But they can fund projects that are mainly about campaigning.

Notes for applicants

Environmental Impact

They encourage and support all projects and communities to consider their environmental impact when designing their projects. For example, if your project requires:

Funding for an improved outdoor surface like a car park or outdoor meeting area, we want you to consider using materials that are better for the environment and not tarmac or concrete. There are many greener alternatives that allow rainwater to filter through the surface and not into drains.
If you need a new heating system for your community building consider improving the insulation first as this may allow you to install smaller, more cost-effective alternatives such as infrared heating panels.
If your community building needs a new roof, is this the time to consider installing solar panels so you can generate your own electricity or even install a living green roof to help keep your building warm in the winter and cool in the summer?
If you need new equipment, such as computers or kitchen appliances, make sure they are as energy efficient as possible (look for the A+ rating) as this will help keep your energy costs down.
If you are considering upgrading the lighting in your community building we encourage you select low energy LED alternatives.
They also encourage you to think about what you are going to do with the things you are planning to replace. Can they be reused and donated to another organisation in your community? Can the materials be recycled? – check with your local council recycling centre

If your project focuses on sports, arts or heritage

They’ve made a few changes around how they fund sports, arts and heritage projects. They’re looking for projects where the main aim is to strengthen your community in some way.

What they mean by strengthening your community

They know most sports, arts and heritage projects are good for communities generally. But they’re looking for projects that do a little more.

An example of the kind of sports project they might fund - Consider a football group for young people. Football is good exercise, so it promotes health (which is great). But they’re looking at how that activity strengthens the other people in the community too.

Maybe it helps the community with social isolation. Or the project might aim to move young people away from anti-social behaviour.

Reduce your environmental footprint

The National Lottery Community Fund cares about our environment and are always striving to manage our environmental impact. They encourage and support projects and communities to do the same. Learn more about how you can make your project or event more environmentally sustainable and perhaps save money at the same time in their guidance on reducing your environmental footprint.

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