National Lottery asks communities to have their say on funding, as they announce the latest grants in Northern Ireland

Communities across Northern Ireland are benefitting from more than £5.8 million announced today by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Projects being supported include schemes to help young people make better choices, activities to reduce isolation among older people and plans to help people facing challenges in their community. See full details of all 134 projects receiving National Lottery grants.

Children from Coleraine enjoying activities organised through Focus on Family. They group have received a £9,994 National Lottery grant to help the community produce videos about their local area, taking ownership of how it's perceived and improving community spirit

The Northern Ireland Youth Forum has been awarded a £499,107 grant to support and empower young people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or vulnerably housed. Over three years the project will run activities, a drop-in centre and training which will support young people to make positive life choices, improve their connections and equip them with skills for their future.

Chris Quinn, Director, Northern Ireland Youth Forum, said: “Youth homelessness rose by around 500% since the start of the pandemic, so this project is needed more than ever. We are so grateful for this National Lottery grant which will help us empower young people with lived experience of homelessness to support those in similar situations, helping them make connections.”

Greenisland Football Club also received a £193,619 grant to develop their Cuppa Club for older people in the area. The three-year project will reduce isolation and improve the lives of older people and support them to access local services.

Aaron Anderson, Outreach Community Coordinator, Greenisland Football Club, explained: “Our club is very grateful for the grant from The National Lottery Community Fund. With this funding we’re able to provide 60 older people with one hot meal every week of the year, and we’ll deliver the meal to their house if they can’t attend.

“We know the local older people love coming to club, to share a meal and have a good chat, and then they have the opportunity to take part in a range of activities we organise for them, reducing social isolation, improving mental health and providing opportunities to learn new skills.”

This latest round of funding comes as The National Lottery Community Fund reviews how it awards grants in Northern Ireland. Communities are facing fresh challenges and opportunities, and they want to involve all communities in conversations about funding to understand what these are and how they can support communities better. 

Paul Sweeney, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Northern Ireland Chair, said: “Congratulations to all those awarded grants today, it is inspiring to see the wide range of activity that organisations are carrying out to help local people.

“We are currently thinking about what our grant making will look like between now and 2030 and we want to ensure communities across Northern Ireland help shape the future of how we invest money. We intend to do this by listening, learning and responding to ideas and suggestions.

“Please get in touch and tell us your views. We really want to hear from everyone, not just those who have benefitted from National Lottery funding in the past.”

To give your views on what is important in your community to help shape the future of National Lottery funding, email YourViewsNI@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk  or telephone 028 9055 1455 . 

Learn more about other ways of giving feedback in our blog: https://bigblognorthernireland...

Thanks to National Lottery players more than £30 million a week is raised for good with the majority being awarded as small grants, supporting what matters to local people.

Date published: 15 June, 2022
Region: Northern Ireland

Notes to Editors

About The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we support people and communities to thrive.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.

Our funding has a positive impact and makes a difference to people’s lives. We support projects focussed on things that matter, including economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach NET Zero by 2050.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes. National Lottery funding has been used to support over 635,000 projects - 255 projects per postcode area.

National Lottery Awards for All Northern Ireland

A quick way to apply for smaller amounts of funding between £300 and £20,000.

People and Communities

A larger amount of funding (between £20,001 and £500,000) for projects working with your community – whether that’s a community living in the same area, or people with similar interests or life experiences.

Empowering Young People

A larger amount of funding (between £20,001 and £500,000) for projects that work with young people (between the ages of 8 and 25) to face and overcome challenges.