How to apply
We're open to all applications for community projects that meet our criteria. This includes support responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Lottery funding can help you to make a difference in your community. We offer funding from £300 to £10,000 to support what matters to people and communities.
Through our National Lottery Awards for All programme, we’re looking to support projects that are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by:
- supporting organisations to adapt or diversify to respond to new and future challenges
- supporting communities adversely affected by COVID-19
- supporting communities and organisations to become more resilient to help them to respond better to future crises.
Although we are supporting responses to the pandemic, your project does not have to be related to COVID-19 to be funded.
If you are applying for something that is not related to Covid-19, then your project must meet at least one of our usual funding priorities, which are:
- Bring people together and build strong relationships in and across communities
- Improve places and spaces that matter to communities
- Help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest stage.
The Awards for All programme is now accepting applications that celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. These should still meet our standard aims and eligibility criteria. Although not a requirement, the strongest projects will also promote relationships across generations or develop the skills and experience of communities or encourage the care of/action in the natural world as part of the celebrations. Applications can also be accepted for one-off events on the day of the Jubilee which meets these criteria. The strongest applications will demonstrate a lasting impact beyond the event itself and it is likely we will receive more applications than we are able to fund. In order to support your project starting on time applications for funding for Jubilee projects should be received no later than 31 March 2022.
Apply online Continue online application
It takes around 12 weeks to get a decision from us
We need this time to assess your application. If we do decide to fund you, we'll then pay you two weeks later.
If it's difficult or impossible for you to complete an application form
You can contact us if you have any communication support needs. We’re happy to talk about alternative ways for you to tell us about your idea.
What information you need to apply
We ask for the contact details, home addresses and dates of birth of two different people from your organisation. Both contacts need different email addresses.
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. Both need to live in the UK.
These two people can’t be:
- related by blood
- married to each other
- in a long-term relationship with each other
- living together at the same address.
We ask for the legal name of your organisation - and its address. And what type of organisation it is
Make sure these are up to date and match up with any information or identity documents we ask for (when you get to the application part).
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 don’t have yearly accounts because you’re a new organisation (less that 15 months old) that’s okay. We can still look at your application.
We ask for a bank statement from the last 3 months
It should show:
- your organisation's legal name
- address the statements are sent to
- your banks name
- the account number and sort code
- date the statement was issued.
Here’s a handy picture of the kind of bank statement we’re looking for.
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 have a look at the terms and conditions.
If you’re not sure about the sort of things we ask for when you apply contact us to speak to a local Funding Officer
What happens after you apply?
- You send us your application – we'll get back to you with a decision in around 12 weeks. During these 12 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 12 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! And we’ll put the funding in your bank account within 14 days.
- 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 managing your funding
- Share your story – you can tell your local community, share your good news on social media, or get in touch with local newspapers. There’s some information about how to publicise your grant. We’ll make a press announcement and share your story too. You can also download a logo for you to use to show you have National Lottery Awards for All funding.
Already received a grant from National Lottery Awards for All? Find the logo here
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.