Skip to main content

Welcome to our new website. You may still see some pages from our old site as we move things over.

Telling local media about your funding

It’s a huge achievement to get National Lottery funding. To raise awareness of your work, we encourage you to share your news with local media.

It also helps you thank National Lottery players for making your work possible.

Finding local media contacts

Local media includes:

  • online or printed newspapers
  • radio stations
  • websites like local blogs or Substack
  • podcasts

To find the best person to contact check their website or call them. You should ask who you should send your information to.

Writing a press release

You'll need to write a press release to share with local media contacts.

You should include:

  • the date your press release can be published or if it's for immediate release
  • a clear headline that mentions your organisation and the funding received
  • the funding amount
  • the funder (The National Lottery Community Fund)
  • what the funded work is
  • where it'll happen
  • why it matters locally
  • who it'll help
  • when you got the funding or when you'll start using it
  • quotes from people like staff, volunteers or the people you support
  • contact information for media enquiries (name, email, phone)

Example press release

This is an example of a press release from a community group that received funding.

Youth Support celebrates £50,000 of National Lottery funding to help disabled children

Youth Support is a local community group in Chelmsford. Today, the group celebrates getting £50,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund. The money will help them run activities for disabled children and give support to the parents.

Annie Body formed the organisation in 2013 to help local families and their children. Today, 12 volunteers run the group.

The group runs 5 sessions each week, helping 50 local children. The children join activities like painting, acting, singing and games. The sessions help children make new friends, gain confidence and learn new skills.

The funding will allow the group to increase to 7 sessions each week, reaching 70 children. The funding will also help the children’s parents through new peer support sessions. These sessions will help parents talk to people with similar experiences and build a support network.

Annie Body, founder of Youth Support, says:

“We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Thanks to National Lottery players we can help more disabled children and their families. This helps them build relationships with others facing similar challenges. It'll also help them create their own supportive circles of friends and peers.”

Some Body, volunteer at Youth Support, says:

“We want to thank National Lottery players for their support. These activities are a life line for disabled children and their parents.”

Notes to editors

National Lottery players raise over £32 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, The National Lottery Community Fund distributes over £600 million a year through over 13,000 grants. The funder plans to invest over £4 billion of funding into communities by 2030. It supports projects across the whole of the UK to turn their truly life-changing ideas into reality.

To find out more visit The National Lottery Community Fund website.

Ends

Contact

Annie Body

  • Phone number: 0800 800 80 80
  • Email: anniebody@anyprovider.co.uk

Pictures are available upon request.

Using press release photos

Using high-quality photos with your press release can help you get more publicity. Photos help get people’s attention and make your content more engaging. You should consider:

  • what the photo shows about your project
  • where the photo was taken
  • who’s in the photo and you must get their consent for the photo in writing

To help the journalist caption the photo:

  • label everyone in the photo with their name and role
  • include the photographer’s name

For example, left to right Joe Bloggs from X project with the Mayor of X town, photographer Jane Smith.

Journalists get lots of press releases emailed to them each day. If you have not had a response, give them a call to bring attention to your news.

Taking your press release photos

You can use a smartphone to take high-quality photos. We recommend that you take your photos in a landscape format (horizontal). Landscape photos usually work better for online and printed publications.

If you plan to use a professional photographer make sure you contact them early. They can get booked up quickly.

Sending a press release

Before you send your press release to someone make sure you:

  • include the story and area in the email subject line. For example 'Wolverhampton Community Centre receives National Lottery Funding'
  • use your press release as the content for your email. Do not attach it to the email
  • include your contact details
  • attach a high-quality photo

Tell us about your success stories

You can tell us about your media coverage by email: pressoffice@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.