Our impact
It starts with community
We help strengthen communities. Strong communities:
change people’s lives
help people feel safer, healthier and more confident
give people a sense of control over their future
We invest where it's needed most. And where it matters to communities. We aim to make funding simple and flexible so organisations can do their best work and create lasting change.
Communities are where change happens. Not as a last resort when other systems fail, but as a foundation for a healthier, fairer and more hopeful future. When communities thrive, we all do.
David Knott - Chief Executive Office of The National Lottery Community Fund
Watch our impact video
Learn more about the communities we work with in our impact video.
The impact in numbers
From 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, we allocated:
£790.9 million in funding
over 13,000 grants
Grants that ended in 2024 to 2025:
directly supported nearly 7 million people
involved more than 125,000 volunteers, contributing over 1 million working days
involved almost 34,000 partner organisations, with 92% of funded organisations saying that working in partnership increased their impact
Who we support
We fund projects in every constituency in the UK. But we prioritise the communities who need it most. Over half of our funding (51%) went to communities experiencing the greatest poverty and disadvantage.
Increasing support for grassroots organisations
Our National Lottery Awards for All funding prioritises supporting smaller, grassroots organisations. It helps bring people together, build strong relationships and improve communities.
In 2023, we doubled the amount and length of Awards for All funding. Organisations can now apply for up to £20,000 for over 2 years. Before, it was up to £10,000 over one year.
Longer and larger funding helped the organisations we funded to:
work more effectively
improve their project delivery
support more people
Getting funding is giving us the stability as an organisation. We can give people that confidence that the organisation will be there to support people for longer.
Grant holder - England
Our 4 community-led missions
Our missions guide how we fund and support communities. 90% of grants that ended in 2024 and 2025 supported at least one of our 4 community-led missions.
These grants supported communities to:
come together (81%)
live healthier lives (51%)
help children and young people thrive (38%)
be environmentally sustainable (14%)
Outcomes grants achieved
Each mission has a set of outcomes we want to see in communities.
Across our grants, outcomes supported include:
improved people’s wellbeing, physical or mental health (79%)
improved connections and relationships (72%)
delivered activities or events, online or in person (60%)
gave people a sense of safety, belonging or trust (53%)
provided or improved places for people to come together (53%)
enabled people to make a positive difference in their community (42%)
Communities come together
Learn how our funding helped people connect, reduce loneliness and create welcoming spaces.
Communities help children and young people thrive
Find out how our funding supported babies, children and young people.
Communities are healthier
Find out how funded projects supported physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Communities are environmentally sustainable
Learn about how our funding supported projects that protect nature, reduce environmental harm and respond to climate change.