National Lottery Funding Information

National Lottery and Associated Funds

Money from the National Lottery is given to good causes through a number of separate distributing bodies. Who you should apply to will depend on what your organisation would like to do and the size of the grant that you are applying for.
Voluntary and community groups from Islington have been very successful in applying for money from the National Lottery over the years and as a borough Islington consistently does very well per head of population in the funding that it receives.
Information on the different National Lottery distributors can be found by clicking on the links below.

Arts Council England - supports the development of arts throughout the country. As well as distributing money from the National Lottery it also receives money directly from the government which it gives to arts organisations, touring projects and performances as well as individual artists.
Arts England has a number of different funding programmes both for already established organisations and new projects.
It recently announced its strategy for allocating funding for the next three years. Details as well as information on the type of projects that they have funded can be found on the Arts Council England website.

Awards for All - is a lottery grants scheme aimed at local communities which funds projects that enable people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, as well as projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community.
Grants of between Ł500 and Ł5,000 are given out in a simple and straightforward way and you can apply at any time throughout the year.
To apply and obtain further information you should visit the Awards for All website.
Their web site also gives examples of the type of projects that they have funded.

Big Lottery Fund - is the largest of the lottery distributors. It gives out half of all the money raised by the National Lottery that goes to good causes. This is around Ł600m each year.
It has a range of funding programmes with different grants to suit the needs of different organisations. These range from small grants of five hundred pounds for one-off activity to larger schemes costing hundreds of thousands of pounds such as for building works or funding over a number of years.
The focus is on funding activity that will improve the quality of life for people in deprived areas such as Islington.
It is important that you apply to the right funding programme that best suits the needs of your organisation and there are different closing dates for each scheme.
More information on these as well as application forms and everything else that you need to apply for a grant can be found on the Big Lottery Fund website.

Heritage Lottery Fund - allows communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. However, this does not mean that you can only get a grant for restoring historic buildings, although this is an important part of their work.
The fund has enabled the restoration of local parks, such as the work currently underway to bring Finsbury Park back to its former Victorian glory, and nature reserves. Also, it gives grants to help local communities to record and celebrate traditions, customs and history such as through local history projects.
Grants of between a few hundred to millions of pounds are given through a range of different programmes with Ł330m available throughout the country this year
Full information along with application forms, case studies and help in applying for a grant can be found on the Heritage Lottery Fund website.

Sport England - expects to distribute around Ł2m this year to projects in London. The aim is to increase participation in sport, particularly when linked to community and urban regeneration, education, skills and health.
Competition for funding is fierce and Sport England is only likely to fund 33% of the cost of your project. You are also more likely to be successful when applying with another partner.
There are a number of funding rounds during the year and information on these along with Sport Englandís funding priorities can be found on their website

National Lottery and Associated Funds
		Money from the National Lottery is given to good causes through a number of separate distributing bodies. Who you should apply to will depend on what your organisation would like to do and the size of the grant that you are applying for. Voluntary and community groups from Islington have been very successful in applying for money from the National Lottery over the years and as a borough Islington consistently does very well per head of population in the funding that it receives. Information on the different National Lottery distributors can be found by clicking on the links below.
		Arts Council England - supports the development of arts throughout the country. As well as distributing money from the National Lottery it also receives money directly from the government which it gives to arts organisations, touring projects and performances as well as individual artists. Arts England has a number of different funding programmes both for already established organisations and new projects. It recently announced its strategy for allocating funding for the next three years. Details as well as information on the type of projects that they have funded can be found on the Arts Council England website.
		Awards for All - is a lottery grants scheme aimed at local communities which funds projects that enable people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, as well as projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community. Grants of between Ł500 and Ł5,000 are given out in a simple and straightforward way and you can apply at any time throughout the year. To apply and obtain further information you should visit the Awards for All website. Their web site also gives examples of the type of projects that they have funded.
		Big Lottery Fund - is the largest of the lottery distributors. It gives out half of all the money raised by the National Lottery that goes to good causes. This is around Ł600m each year. It has a range of funding programmes with different grants to suit the needs of different organisations. These range from small grants of five hundred pounds for one-off activity to larger schemes costing hundreds of thousands of pounds such as for building works or funding over a number of years. The focus is on funding activity that will improve the quality of life for people in deprived areas such as Islington. It is important that you apply to the right funding programme that best suits the needs of your organisation and there are different closing dates for each scheme. More information on these as well as application forms and everything else that you need to apply for a grant can be found on the Big Lottery Fund website.
		Heritage Lottery Fund - allows communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. However, this does not mean that you can only get a grant for restoring historic buildings, although this is an important part of their work. The fund has enabled the restoration of local parks, such as the work currently underway to bring Finsbury Park back to its former Victorian glory, and nature reserves. Also, it gives grants to help local communities to record and celebrate traditions, customs and history such as through local history projects. Grants of between a few hundred to millions of pounds are given through a range of different programmes with Ł330m available throughout the country this year Full information along with application forms, case studies and help in applying for a grant can be found on the Heritage Lottery Fund website.
		Sport England - expects to distribute around Ł2m this year to projects in London. The aim is to increase participation in sport, particularly when linked to community and urban regeneration, education, skills and health. Competition for funding is fierce and Sport England is only likely to fund 33% of the cost of your project. You are also more likely to be successful when applying with another partner. There are a number of funding rounds during the year and information on these along with Sport Englandís funding priorities can be found on their website