Solidarity Fund: questions and slides from our webinar

  1. Funding
  2. Solidarity Fund: questions and slides from our webinar

On 11 June 2025 the National Lottery Community Fund launched the Solidarity Fund in England. We've shared information about what the fund is, who can apply and what we’re looking to fund:

Webinar slides and recording

You can:

The rest of this page provides answers to the common questions asked during the webinar sessions.

Questions and answers from the webinars by topic

We have not included answers to each of the more than 200 questions that were asked across the webinar series. If you have a question which is not covered on our website, in the blogs, or the webinar recording you can contact the Solidarity Fund team directly at SolidarityFund@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.

Budget and timescales

Can you clarify the budget you have available? The number of awards you plan to make? And how the funding will be paid?

We have £25 million to award to organisations by March 2026, after that we expect to award around £50 million per year until 2030 (April to March) through the Solidarity Fund. The £25 million we have available this year will be awarded across two decision panels, the first in December 2025 and the second in March 2026. Our decision panel will continue to meet on a quarterly basis to award funding in future years.

We expect to fund around 10 organisations by March 2026.

We're offering funding of between £1million to £5 million, to be spent between 5 and 10 years. This means an organisation could apply for £1 million to be spent over 10 years (£100,000 each year), £5 million to be spent over 5 years (£1 million each year), or anything in-between.

The total amount awarded to an organisation will be paid out in instalments across the lifetime of the grant. We'll discuss the payment schedule with successful organisations after funding is confirmed.

Can you clarify the timeline for the Solidarity Fund? What’s the deadline by which we need to apply by? What date do we need to apply by for our application to be considered for funding by a specific date?

Organisations do not need to rush and submit an application before a deadline or to receive funding from us in this financial year. We will be awarding funding until 2030.

On average it takes around 8 months to progress through the two-stage application process and receive a funding decision. It can take:

Up to 3 months to get your decision at the first stage, from when you submit your application. If you are successful at the first stage, we'll invite you to the second stage.

At the second stage it can take up to 5 months to send us extra information and get your funding decision.

If you are invited to the second stage, we will discuss timings for your application and give an indication of when we expect to have a funding decision by.

How will the funding be distributed across England?

The Solidarity Fund will award funding to those organisations whose plans most closely align with what we're seeking to achieve. We haven’t set any targets or limits on the distribution of funding across England, location or geographical reach of organisations we want to partner with.

Eligibility

Can I apply to the Solidarity Fund whilst also applying for, or being in receipt of, funding from another TNLCF funding programme?

Applying for or being in receipt of funding from another of our funding programmes doesn't automatically exclude an organisation from applying to the Solidarity Fund. But we cannot accept applications from organisations who are currently applying to another of our funds, or in receipt of funding for the same project, during the same period.

What costs can we apply for?

You can find out more about what we can and cannot fund by visiting the 'what can you spend the money on' tab on our webpage.

The Solidarity Fund will fund organisations that are working on making a lasting change to the root causes of inequality.

Delivering services is not the main purpose of this funding. The Solidarity Fund can provide funding to cover, or contribute towards, the core costs of running an organisation to achieve lasting change.

Organisations can apply to the Solidarity Fund for minor capital costs, but these should not be a significant amount of the funding requested.

Does the size or income of my organisation matter? Are there any upper or lower limits on income?

We've not set any lower or upper limits on the size or income of organisations that can apply. But we'll check that organisations have the ability to manage larger, long-term funding.

This doesn't mean we'll only fund larger or longer-established organisations, but we'll consider how realistic it is that an organisation can deliver the big and lasting changes we're looking for.

The Solidarity Fund will continue to evolve and there will be more opportunities for organisations to apply for development funding in the future. So there will be chance to apply in the future even if this funding is not right for your organisation at the moment.

Can a group of organisations apply as a partnership?

You can apply as a partnership of organisations. But we’ll only fund partnerships that already have experience of doing this type of work together.

We don’t have a pre-determined view of the "perfect" partnership, the organisations it includes or its size.

If you’re applying as a partnership we’ll need you to tell us who it involves, how your partnership is structured, about its work and impact to date, and how partners will be involved in delivering the aims of your Solidarity Fund funded work.

It will be necessary for you to identify a lead partner to apply for and manage your grant. Additionally, a partnership agreement will be required as part of our grant set-up process, and before we can start making payments to you.

Can an organisation apply on behalf of individuals with lived experience, where some of the funding will be used to set up a new organisation run by the individuals?

Organisations cannot apply to the Solidarity Fund on behalf of another organisation or group of individuals.

The Solidarity Fund will have more funding available in the future and some of this will be to help less experienced organisations develop their work. So there will be other chances to apply even if this funding is not right for you at the moment.

We're a regional/locally based organisation. Can we apply or does our work need to be national?

Regional/locally based organisations are eligible to apply to the Solidarity Fund.

We haven’t set any limits around the size, income or geographical reach of organisations. We'll not only fund larger or long-established organisations, like national charities. But we'll check that your organisation has the ability to manage larger, long-term funding like this and consider how likely it is that your organisation could help make the kind of big and long-lasting changes we're looking for.

We're not based in England, can we apply? Can we apply for work across the UK or is this funding just for work in England?

You can apply if your organisation serves communities in England and is a:

  • constituted voluntary or community organisation
  • registered charity
  • charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)
  • not-for-profit company limited by guarantee
  • community interest company (CIC)
  • community benefit society (registered with the Financial Conduct Authority)
  • co-operative society (registered with the Financial Conduct Authority).

You can find more information about organisational eligibility on the 'who can and cannot apply' tab on our webpage

Can you fund campaigning work?

We can fund some political activity and campaigning, but only if:

  • the activity is not party political. This means that it must be about policy, practice, or legislation rather than opposing or supporting a political party.
  • the activity is meant to help the cause of your organisation and benefit the public or society.

We will not fund projects where political activity is the main purpose. But we can fund projects that are mainly about campaigning.

Can we apply for funding that we'll re-distribute. For example to local grassroots organisations through a local funding pot?

No. Funds awarded through the Solidarity Fund can’t be re-distributed as grants, we refer to this as onward grant-making.

Can we apply for work that takes place in schools or justice system?

Yes. However, Lottery funding can’t be used to pay for something that’s a statutory responsibility i.e. we can't fund activities that replace government funding.

Will you prioritise new or existing work?

We're unlikely to fund organisations who cannot show how their existing work has helped make changes to the root causes of poverty, disadvantage or discrimination, and who do not have a plan to build on their existing knowledge, relationships, or community learning to further their work.

New organisations or partnerships should consider whether they are able to show how their existing work has had an impact to date. Partnerships will also need to tell us about the experience that have of doing this type of work together.

There will be further chance to apply for development funding in the future. That funding may be more suitable for organisations or partnerships who are earlier in their journey.

How will the Solidarity Fund measure poverty and disadvantage? What's your attitude towards "hidden" poverty and disadvantage?

We are taking a holistic view of poverty and disadvantage, using data and our local insight. If you are working to support hidden poverty and disadvantage, please tell us about this in your application.

How will the Solidarity Fund determine whether an organisation has the capacity to manage a grant of £1 to £5 million over 5 to 10 years?

During the assessment process we will consider the applicant’s experience of managing grants and the financial policies and procedures they have in place. We will consider a range of factors to determine organisational capability to manage a grant of this size. If you are a newly formed organisation or do not have experience but individuals within your organisation do you should make this clear.

Support before and after applying

Our Solidarity Fund team are available to help with specific questions or queries about the programme eligibility and criteria.

If you are interested in applying to the Solidarity Fund you should check the resources available in 'where you can find out more'.

If after reading everything we've shared and having watched the webinar recording you have specific questions you'd like our team to answer you can email them at SolidarityFund@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.

Is there a template application form?

You can see a full list of questions from the Solidarity Fund application form.

There are two stages to the Solidarity Fund application process.

If you would like to apply to the Solidarity Fund you should

  • read all of our guidance materials
  • send us an application form by using the 'apply online' on the Solidarity Fund webpage.

Those organisations who are invited to the second stage will be asked to provide more information about their organisation and planned work. We don't ask for this information in a template or application form, but we will provide some guidance around what we need to know and how much detail is required. Guidance will be sent to organisations when they are invited to the second stage.

What support is available to help us write an application form?

If you are interested in applying to the Solidarity Fund you should check the resources available in 'where you can find out more'. Alongside the guidance in the application form, these provide detailed guidance about what we're looking to fund and what to include in your answers.

We've also got a Solidarity Fund team available to answer any specific queries which are sent to us at SolidarityFund@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.

If you need help, or have communication needs you can also:

  • email us at SolidarityFund@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk
  • call us on 0345 4 10 20 30
  • contact us using text relay on 18001 plus 0345 4 10 20 30
  • contact us in BSL using SignVideo.

How can we make our application stand out?

We expect to fund around 10 organisations in the first year.

We've shared a lot of information about what we're looking to fund so that organisations can consider whether or not they should spend their time and resources developing an application to us.

If you are unsure whether the Solidarity Fund is right for your organisation you should check the resources available in 'where you can find out more'.

There will be other chances to apply even if this funding is not right for you at the moment.

How will the Solidarity Fund ensure the application process makes best use of applicants time and resources?

We've designed an application process with 2 stages. At the first stage we ask organisations to complete an application form with four key questions which will enable us to identify which organisations to invite to the second stage. Organisations who are invited to the second stage will be asked to provide further information and more detail.

We want organisations to have a good understanding of what we're looking to fund, so they can make an informed decision as to whether or not they should apply. We've shared a lot of information about the Solidarity Fund on our webpage, in a series of blogs and in our webinars.

We've also been open about our expectation to fund around 10 organisations before March 2026. And that there will be more opportunities to apply for development funding in the future.

What support will be available for unsuccessful applicants to the Solidarity fund? And, can we reapply if we are unsuccessful?

If your application to the Solidarity Fund is unsuccessful at the first stage we will tell you why we cannot take your application any further.

If your application is unsuccessful after having been invited to the second stage of our application process we will discuss your proposal and the outcome with you in more detail by offering a feedback call.

If your application is unsuccessful you may be able to re-apply to the Solidarity Fund.

If our application to the Solidarity Fund is unsuccessful, can our proposal be considered for a Reaching Communities grant?

Yes. But Solidarity Fund and Reaching Communities are different programmes, with different criteria, aims and application forms.

If you are unsure whether to apply to the Solidarity Fund or Reaching Communities we'd encourage you to take a look at the criteria for both and consider which programme your work most closely aligns to.

Find out more on the Reaching Communities webpage.

Organisations who would like an unsuccessful Solidarity Fund application to be considered by Reaching Communities should ensure their work aligns to the Reaching Communities programme before submitting an application.

How will the Solidarity Fund work with the funded organisations?

We're looking to fund organisations that bring people together to make big and lasting changes to the root causes of poverty, disadvantage or discrimination. We want to work alongside the organisations we fund to build on their knowledge, relationships and community learning.

In phase two, the Solidarity Fund will invest in our More Than a Funder approach. Strengthening our approach to networking, convening, learning and influencing across the Solidarity Fund programme.

How will the Solidarity Fund connect the organisations who’ve attended these webinars or applied for funding?

Our More Than a Funder approach will ensure that networking, collaboration and shared learning takes place within the Solidarity Fund.

Our funding team and decision panel will also look for opportunities to connect organisations where we identify opportunities for joint working or shared learning.

Other questions

What's the difference between Solidarity Fund, Community Power fund and UK Fund? And how is Solidarity Fund connected to your 'Partner with us' approach?

The Community Power Fund aims to support communities of place to influence and change: places they live, services they use, and decisions that affect their lives. By communities of place we mean people living in the same place, whether at a neighbourhood or larger level. The programme is a 12-month development programme, running from Spring 2025 to Spring 2026, awarding grants of between £50,000 to £80,000 that will help the Fund learn and develop the 10 year Community Power Fund.

The UK Fund offers larger amounts of funding to existing projects to scale up impact and expand their work. UK Fund projects must benefit communities across the UK, by running activities in more than one UK country, collaborating between countries, or sharing learning from work with people doing similar things in other countries. Solidarity Fund works across England.

'Partner with us' is our broader offer where we will partner with others where we see potential to deliver significant change in a system or area of work that aligns with our missions and priority outcomes. These are supporting communities to come together; helping children and young people to thrive; be healthier; and be environmentally sustainable. We expect to enter into 6 to 12 new partnerships a year and we expect to award £1 million to £20 million to each partnership for 1 to 5 years. £75 million is available in financial year 2025 to 2026 for our partnerships. Solidarity Fund is separate from this and has its own budget.

Can you give any detail about how you see Phase 2 developing?

We've launched the Solidarity Fund and expect to fund around 10 organisations by March 2026. In our webinars we referred to this as phase one.

The Solidarity Fund will continue to evolve as our budget increases, we learn about what's needed and where the Solidarity Fund can have most impact.

Phase two of the Solidarity Fund is still in development, but it will include a development funding offer and More Than a Funder work.

Questions about geography

Where there's multiple applications for the same place or community of interest, will you convene those applicants together to see if there's a coalition to bring things together and be more joined up and connected?

You talk about "across geographies" does this mean that only large organisations who work across a different number of geographical locations will be eligible

No. We seek to work with organisations, and their partners, that bring different communities together to tackle inequality. See our answers to the following questions for more detail:

Have you previously or would you consider co-investing with other regional or local funds?

Yes, we're keen to work in partnership with other funders and would welcome a conversation if there are opportunities for us to work together.

You can contact us at SolidarityFund@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.

If there is a change of Government in a few years’ time, is this fund likely to remain (alongside other key interests such as environment or climate)?

We have committed to our missions as part of our Strategy, It Starts With Community, to 2030. The Solidarity Fund is part of our England portfolio to 2030.

Is this a place based fund?

Solidarity Fund can support work in a specific place, if there is potential for wider systemic change.

Can you provide examples of the type of work you're seeking to fund?

Our webpage has a section on 'the work we'll fund'. That should give a flavour of the type of work and organisations we're seeking to fund. We also discussed this in the Solidarity Fund webinar.

Does our application need to align to the Funds missions framework? Does the work need to address more than one mission?

Section 2 of the Solidarity Fund application form asks applicants to select from a list of categories to describe their project. The categories link to our missions, more than 1 can be selected.

Organisations who are invited to stage 2 will be asked to provide further details about the difference their work will make and how it aligns to our missions framework.

10 years is a long time to predict activities and we are operating in a very dynamic environment influenced massively by political, economic, social, and technological changes. What do you mean by outline plan?

We understand that 10 years is a very long time, and we know the organisations we fund will need to be flexible to a constantly changing external environment.

At the outset we ask you to share your vision and overarching plans with us so we can understand the big and lasting changes you want to achieve, how you plan to do that and what the long-term impact of your work will be.

If you are invited to the second stage we'll ask you to provide more detail about what you plan to do. We'll ask for a more detailed plan for the first year or so, and less for future years.

Glossary and definitions

‘Core grants’

Core grants means ongoing grant funding to support your organisation to achieve the agreed aims, rather than specific project funding.

‘Tackling the root causes’

We mean working to tackle the underlying systemic elements which combine to cause inequality, rather than the symptoms of inequality.

‘Cohort’

By cohort we mean group of funded partners.

‘Accountability and lived experience’

See our blog on accountability and lived experience.

‘Strengthening solidarity’

See our strengthening solidarity.

‘Changing systems’

See our blog on changing systems.

‘Building knowledge’

See our blog on building knowledge.

‘Organising for change’

See our blog on organising for change.

‘Community’

Community: a group of people connected through a shared identity, which might come from a shared interest or experience. For example living in the same place or coming from a similar background.

‘Disadvantage’

We are taking an intersectional view across poverty, disadvantage and discrimination where we consider a range of factors affecting a community.

We are looking at inequality stemming from any combination of poverty, discrimination experienced as a result of sharing protected characteristics or other circumstance, and disadvantage because of your circumstance. It is up to applicants to show us how their work will support people experiencing disadvantage through systemic change.

Where you can find out more

If you are interested in applying to the Solidarity Fund we encourage you to: