Reaching Communities - Big Lottery Fund

Reaching Communities is an England wide programme that will provide funding to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need.

Communities are at the heart of Reaching Communities. The Big Lottery Fund want to fund projects that respond to needs identified by communities, and actively involve them. These include geographic communities and also communities with shared interests, such as people with poor mental health. The Big Lottery Fund wants to fund projects that help those most in need including those people or groups who are hard to reach. They will give support to those projects they think best meet communities’ needs.

The three-year programme, launched on 7 December 2005, will make up to £100 million available in 2006-07, with future budgets being set annually.

Reaching Communities will give grants of more than £10,000 and up to £500,000, including a maximum of £50,000 for capital grants. There is a   maximum overall project size of £750,000 and £200,000 for the total capital element within a project. Projects will be funded for up to five years.

Grants will be awarded for projects that:

• offer people better chances in life, including being able to get better access to training and development to improve their life skills
• build strong communities, with more active citizens, working together to tackle their problems
• develop improved rural and urban environments, which communities are better able to access and enjoy
• create healthier and more active people and communities.

You can apply to Reaching Communities if you are:

• a registered charity
• a voluntary or community group
• a statutory body, (including schools)
• a charitable or not-for-profit company
• a social enterprise – a business that is chiefly run for social objectives, whose profits are reinvested in the business rather than going to shareholders and owners.

Criteria:

The Big Lottery Fund is seeking to help projects that really make a difference to the quality of life of those most in need within the local community. Proposals must, therefore, demonstrate that the project will make this difference in a worthwhile and sustainable way.

Applicants must demonstrate that there is a need for the proposed project, as well as showing how the project provides a solution to that need, and how the community will be involved.

Where relevant, the Big Lottery fund will want to know how a project complements local plans, strategies or initiatives, especially where larger amounts of money are required.

Application:

Applications may be submitted at any time

The Fund is streamlining the application process so that organisations will be able to complete an outline proposal, providing brief information on the project, and will receive initial feedback within 15 working days. After this, they will be asked to submit a full application form or signposted to another Big Lottery Fund programme, which may be more appropriate for their proposals.

More information:

If you have any queries about this programme, please contact the BIG Advice Line on 0845 4 10 20 30 where you can also obtain a Reaching Communities pack and guidance notes.

Alternatively you can download the pack and guidance notes from the Big Lottery Fund website. The PDF version of the outline proposal form is for printing out and filling in by hand. Or you can fill in the RTF version of the form and email it back to opfteam@biglotteryfund.org.uk.

If you have any queries regarding this programme please contact the BIG Advice Line on 0845 4 10 20 30

The BIG Advice Line will be able to answer any questions you want to ask prior to submitting an Outline Proposal form.