The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) announced that from 1 April 2025, the Reaching Communities programme has new priorities which will help the funder to deliver its missions and create fairer, stronger, more resilient futures for communities across England.
Not-for-profit organisations, including schools, statutory or public bodies, serving communities in England can apply as long as they meet the new priorities, which are for projects that:
- Support places, people or communities experiencing poverty, disadvantage or discrimination, and
- Support people and communities to shape the decisions that affect their lives.
Projects must achieve one of the NLCF missions, which are to support communities to:
- Come together, by
- Providing inclusive places, spaces and activities (either physical or virtual). Especially for communities where people are least able to come together.
- Help children and young people thrive, by
- Developing positive social and emotional skills.
- Providing safe spaces and relationships they can trust.
- Involving them, and their families, in the decisions that affect their lives
- Helping prevent issues before they happen.
- Be healthier, by
- Supporting people most affected by health inequalities.
- Supporting people who've experienced health inequalities to influence the health system.
- Helping prevent issues before they happen.
- Be environmentally sustainable by:
- Empowering people to engage with climate issues and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. Or,
- Taking part in activities to make a positive environmental impact. Like reducing carbon emissions or creating space for wildlife. Or,
- Helping communities to have access to nature. By increasing the amount and quality of natural space for wildlife. Meaning that people can experience nature around them, and that more varieties of wildlife can thrive.
NLCF aims to fund projects of all sizes.
The minimum grant is £20,001. There is no maximum grant; however, most grants will be for less than £500,000. The funding can be for up to five years or for short-term projects.
Grants can be for both existing work and new projects or ideas and will support:
- Direct costs to deliver activities in the community
- Organisational development
- Costs that reduce negative impacts on the environment. Applicants do not need to be a climate or environment focused organisation to do this.
- Costs for the normal running of their organisation (also known as 'core costs' or 'fixed costs').
- Land or building costs (also known as 'capital' costs).
NLCF can also fund communities to change the services or systems that affect their lives.
Partnerships or groups of organisations can also apply as the separate NLCF Partnerships programme is now closed. (Information on NLCF future plans for partnership funding will be provided when it becomes available.)
There are no deadlines. Applications may be submitted at any time.
Reaching Communities England | The National Lottery Community Fund
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