What community means as we begin 2026
06 January 2026
This past year has shown, more clearly than ever, the enduring strength of community. We often hear that our society is divided, but what I see every day tells a different, more nuanced story. In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, people continue to come together across difference, rebuilding trust, supporting one another and strengthening the quiet connective tissue of trust and belonging that binds people, communities and society. Whether rooted in place or shared identity, this work is vital to our national life.
Across the UK I have seen this first-hand this year.
In Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, I met volunteers in their retirement building a bunkhouse and outdoor activities centre for young people. Their work, alongside Youth Borders, the Eildon West Youth Hub and the Borders Additional Needs Group, shows how rural communities draw on relationships and trust to hold themselves together when services are stretched. It is community enterprise at its most human, practical, relational and rooted.
2025 was the largest year of grant making in our history. Through both National Lottery funding and the Dormant Assets Scheme, we backed thousands of organisations improving lives in every part of the UK. As we marked 30 years of the National Lottery and entered our 31st, we are hopeful for a vibrant and growing Lottery, because as good cause funding grows, so too does the opportunity to support communities in the years ahead. We strengthened our foundations in digital, equity, evidence and impact, and partnered with governments and communities to support the places where need is greatest.
It was also a year in which social technology, and particularly AI, came to the fore. In February, at the Bishopsgate Conference, I met with hundreds of charities and leaders working on AI for public good. We spoke honestly about the opportunities and the challenges, and the importance of getting this right so that technology works for people and communities, not the other way around. AI is not just a technological shift; it is a social one, and how it is shaped now will matter for years to come. Over the last year, we have shaped our own AI principles, published guidance to help applicants use AI safely and effectively, and begun developing the next phase of our funding offer. This is only the beginning of the practical work required, and we will continue learning alongside the sector.
Equity has been another defining thread of the year. At the Black Health Inequalities Summit, I heard powerful testimony from community leaders about the barriers and injustices they face, and the resilience and solutions rooted within communities. It underlined why our Solidarity Fund matters, backing Black-led organisations with the resources and trust needed to drive long-term change. It was a lesson in what equity and allyship require, listening deeply and backing community expertise.
Young people, too, have shaped our thinking this year. Through the Serious Change Partnership, brought together with the support of Idris Elba, His Majesty the King and the Prime Minister, we have committed to work with funders and partners, trusting young people, taking prevention seriously, and strengthening our collective action to tackle the harm caused by serious violence. Young people need agency and power, not just services done to them.
This came through powerfully in the National Youth Strategy, a new long-term government strategy launched in England, with young people’s participation at its centre, from design through to holding institutions to account in the years ahead. It also resonates with our UK-wide Communities for Children work, where local partners and communities are coming together around children and families, addressing challenges early and building stronger systems of support over time. As a public institution, reflecting on the power we hold, and how we share it, has never been more important. Our work, including Mind Our Future in Wales and the appointment of young people to our Board and committees, has reinforced for me the scale of change that is both possible and needed.
As we enter 2026, we do so with conviction in our strategy, It Starts With Community. It remains a practical, hopeful and clear-sighted response to the challenges facing the country: tackling inequality, supporting young people, strengthening connections and enabling communities to shape the decisions that affect them. This year I’ll make sure that we continue on that path: being bold, taking risks to improve our impact, learning and adapting as we go. We will deliver this through our Corporate Plan, with greater focus and pace.
Our impact work will deepen this year, with a significant moment in the spring and further steps to come as we build a richer, shared understanding of what communities need and what works. These insights will strengthen our understanding of what's happening across the UK, shape our future funding approach, and – crucially – highlight what we still need to learn and how we need to learn together. We want to share those insights and support conversations across the sector and civil society, building the voice of the communities we work with.
We will deliver new, long-term programmes such as the Community Wealth Fund, strengthen how we support and learn alongside grantholders, and grow partnerships with those committed to a healthier, more flourishing society.
We also know it has been a challenging year for many in civil society. Demand has risen, resources are stretched and confidence is fragile. To those charities and community organisations, I want you to know that we are here for you. We will continue to be a flexible, listening funder, adapting our approach, simplifying where we can and working with you to understand what is changing around communities.
Finally, sometimes the strongest reminders of who we are come from moments of reflection.
At the VE Day 80th anniversary this year, perhaps the last with the remaining few, I met a Jamaican veteran, nearly 100 years old, who spoke quietly about service, sacrifice and legacy. Awards for All had supported intergenerational projects marking the day. It reminded me that memory and democratic inheritance live on through community activity, not just ceremony.
Above all, we begin 2026 with a renewed belief in community. Every project we support, every conversation we have, and every partnership we build tells the same story: communities are not broken; they remain one of the greatest sources of resilience and renewal we have.
In 2026 I encourage you to apply for grants, seek our support to do so, and keep sharing with us what we're missing and where we need to go deeper and learn with and from you. We've had an amazing response to our callout for participants in our new Community Learning Panel, working together to design services that help our communities learn, connect and develop. I'm really looking forward to seeing this work come together in the coming months.
Thank you to all our grantholders, partners, colleagues and community leaders for your commitment and your extraordinary work over the past year. I look forward to what we will achieve together in 2026.
David Knott
Chief Executive
The National Lottery Community Fund