How to apply
Apply online Continue online application
If it's difficult or impossible for you to complete an online application form
You can contact us if you have any communication support needs. We’re happy to talk about other ways for you to tell us about your idea. For example, EasyRead or accessible PDF.
Apply at least 16 weeks before you need the funding
We're getting more applications than usual, so it's taking us longer to respond. It's currently taking up to 16 weeks to get a decision from us. Before then you cannot spend any of the money or run the activities you need funding for.
We're sorry for the delay and any issues it causes you.
You can only have one Awards for All England grant at a time
You can only hold one grant, for each different country in the UK, at a time.
If you want to apply for a new grant – you’ll need to wait until your last grant with us is closed. You will not be eligible if you’ve already sent an application for National Lottery Awards for All funding and are waiting for a decision.
If you want to reapply for more money, we can only fund your organisation for a maximum of £20,000 within a 12-month period.
We only have a certain amount of funding to award
We get a lot of applications, and many of them are for really worthwhile projects. This means we have to make some tough decisions around which projects we can fund, when reading all the applications we’ve received. So there are often lots of projects we cannot fund, even the good ones.
What information you need to apply
You can see a full list of questions from the application form.
We ask for the contact details, home addresses and dates of birth of two different people from your organisation. We need a different email address for each person
One person should be someone we can talk to if we have any questions about your project. The other should be a senior member of your organisation, who'll be legally responsible for the funding. Both need to live in the UK.
These two people cannot be related. Related can mean:
- related by marriage
- in a civil partnership with each other
- in a long-term relationship with each other
- related through a long term partner
- living together at the same address
- related by blood.
We ask for the legal name of your organisation. And its address. And what type of organisation it is
Check these details before applying. Also check any registration numbers if you have them – like a charity number or company number. It will slow down your application if these details are not right.
We ask for information about your organisation’s accounts
We want to know the date your accounts wrap up each year and how much income you have.
If you do not have yearly accounts because you’re a new organisation (less than 15 months old), that’s okay. We can still look at your application.
We ask you for information about what sort of project you’d like to do
And how your project will help and involve your community.
We also ask you to read and agree to our terms and conditions
You can read the terms and conditions.
Send us your bank statement
What we need
We ask for one bank statement dated within the last three months. So, we can check the account you want us to pay the grant into.
We'll not be able to assess your application if you do not have a bank account and bank statement that meet our requirements below and you’ll need to reapply once you have these set up. If you’re not sure you should contact us to check if your bank account and statement are suitable.
We need:
- A bank account that meets our needs in our Financial Controls and Financial Governance Guidance
- A bank statement that meets our needs - like in this picture of the kind of bank statement we’re looking for.
Our bank statement needs
The bank statement (or bank welcome letter if the account was opened within the last 3 months) must be:
- uploaded as one single file
- a file of 12MB or less in size
- a PDF, JPEG or PNG file.
It should show:
- the bank logo
- your organisation's legal name
- the address the statements are sent to
- your bank's name
- the account number and sort code
- the date the letter/statement was issued.
If all these details are on one page, just send us that page.
Here’s a picture of the kind of bank statement we’re looking for.
What else we would accept
If you have a new bank account opened within the last three months, we can accept a bank welcome letter instead of a statement. The letter must confirm the date the account was opened and all the account details.
If you’re unable to provide a bank statement, we can accept transaction listings, if they include everything we’d expect to see on a bank statement:
- the bank logo
- your organisation’s legal name
- the address your bank uses for correspondence
- your bank’s name
- the account number and sort code
- date the transactions listing covers.
What happens after you apply
- You send us your application – we'll get back to you with a decision in around 16 weeks. During these 16 weeks, we look at your idea and do our security checks. You can find out more about the checks we do. We might give you a call within those 16 weeks, to talk a little more about your idea or ask for more information.
- If your application is successful – we'll send you an email with the good news. You can start your project as soon as you get this email, if you want to. And we’ll put the funding in your bank account within 14 days (or sooner, if possible)
- You can start spending the funding on your project – you should spend the funding the way you said you would in your application (unless we’ve agreed to something different first). We might check in from time to time – to see how things are going. Find out more about how to manage your funding.
- Share your story – let people know about your grant and the amazing work you're doing in your community. Sharing news about your project with your community can be a great way to keep them involved and engaged. You can find out more about how to promote your project. Your award email will also include details on how to publicise your grant and let people know about how your project is supporting people in your community.
If you’re not sure about the sort of things we ask for when you apply
Contact us to talk about the things we ask for when you apply.
To find out how we use the personal data you give us you can read our Data Protection Statement.
Read our blogs for more guidance and tips on applying
Reduce your environmental footprint
The National Lottery Community Fund cares about our environment and are always striving to manage our environmental impact. We 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 our guidance on reducing your environmental footprint.
British Sign Language (BSL) video - how to apply
Watch BSL interpretation of how to apply to National Lottery Awards for All England (YouTube):