Big Lottery Fund

What is the Big Lottery Fund?

BIG is one of the four major Lottery distributors – the others are Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund and Sport England

BIG is responsible for distributing almost half of the money that the National Lottery raises for good causes

Our mission is to bring real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need

BIG is an ‘outcomes’ funder – we want to fund projects that can make measurable changes for the better in the lives of people and communities experiencing disadvantage

BIG wants to fund projects whose main aim will help to achieve at least one or more of BIG’s strategic outcomes:

• people having better chances in life with better access to training and development to improve their life skills

• stronger communities with more active citizens working together to tackle their problems

• improved rural and urban environments which communities are better able to access and enjoy

• healthier and more active people and communities

BIG’s strategic outcomes

Should we apply to the Big LotteryFund?

Ask yourselves:

Is the main aim of your project to address and remedy a social problem and will the project help to achieve at least one of the Big Lottery Fund outcomes?

If yes:

Consider applying

Who can apply to Awards for All?:

You can apply if you are a:

• voluntary and community organisation

• school

• parish or town council

• health body

You can apply if..You have:

• at least 3 unrelated people on your governing body

• a UK bank account in the name of your organisation with at least two unrelated signatories

You can:

• send BIG an application at least three months before your project is planned to start

• complete your project within one year of when BIG confirms your award

You are:

• looking for funding to undertake new activities or extend your facilities

How much you can apply for?:

• Between £300 and £10,000

• Only one application at a time

• One organisation cannot receive more than £10,000 of Awards for All grants in any one year period

• No match funding required within grant limit

What Awards for All can pay for:

Examples of what a grant could pay for:

• equipment hire or purchase

• information technology equipment

• building and refurbishment work where total cost of work < £25,000

• sessional workers

• updating equipment and premises for health and safety reasons

• training

• volunteer expenses

• transport costs

• venue hire

Application process:

You can apply at any time during the year

You can apply online or by post

Decisions made within 3 months

If unsuccessful, feedback is given and you can apply again

Reaching

Communities

Who can apply:

• Voluntary and community organisations

• Statutory bodies (schools, councils, health)

• Social enterprises

Reaching Communities can fund existing as well as new projects – existing projects will need to provide an evaluation of their work

Reaching Communities

Maximum grant:

– £500,000 revenue towards a maximum project cost of

£750,000

– £50,000 capital towards a maximum capital project cost of

£200,000

Projects seeking more than £300,000 must be examples of

excellent practice

Minimum grant: £10,000

A project can be funded for a minimum of 1 year and a

maximum of 5 years

No requirement for match funding within grant maxima

Reaching Communities

Reaching Communities- Community Buildings strand

Grant size: £100,000 to £500,000

Maximum project size: £750,000

Up to £15,000 revenue available for promotion

Open to the voluntary and community sector and parish/town councils

Only certain areas eligible to apply chosen on deprivation and rurality

Detailed information and building postcode checker is available on BIG website

13 eligible areas in Chelmsford and Maldon

Reaching Communities- what can be funded

Revenue• Salaries of project workers

• Recruitment, training costs and staff expenses (travel, phones, stationery etc.)

• Rent, heating, lighting, maintenance and insurance

• Monitoring and evaluation of project

Capital• Building and engineering works required for delivery of project

• Plant and equipment necessary for running the project

• Purchase of land, buildings, equipment or fixtures

• Transport necessary for delivering the project

Reaching Communities – standard application process

You can apply at any time

Stage 1 – Submit an outline proposal form (OPF)

- Response within 4 weeks

- Responses: ‘Maybe’ or ‘unlikely’ or ‘outside funding policy’

- If ‘maybe’, you will be invited to submit a full application

If unsuccessful, feedback is given and you can submit an OPF again

Stage 2 – Submit a full application within 4 months

- If seeking less than £40k a year, decision within 2 months

- If seeking more than £40k a year or involving land or buildings, decision within 4 months

What makes for a good application to the Big Lottery Fund?

Remember BIG’s mission is:

to bring real improvements to communitiesand the lives of people most in need

We need your applications to explain to us:

- why the people and communities you want to help are in need

- how your project will change people’s lives for the better

- how your project will involve its beneficiaries

- how you will make sure your project is open to all

- how your project helps to achieve at least one of BIG’s four strategic outcomes

-Tell us about the needs the people who will use your project have

- Explain how you know that they have these need and what you have learned from discussing your plans with them

- Show how your project or activities will meet the need you have identified

Don’t assume that we will automatically see that there is a need.

It is up to you to convince us.

Explaining the need

Evidencing the needCommunity consultation through meetings and surveys (KEY)

Waiting lists and attendance records

Identifying gaps in facilities, activities or services – talking to other agencies

Research

Statistical research (but keep it local)

Looking at local, regional or national strategies

Evaluation of previous work

Use a variety of sources to confirm the need – don’t just rely on one

If you can’t consult, explain why you can’t

Explain how your project will change people’s lives for the better

Think about what difference will the project make for the beneficiaries?

Use ‘change’ words like: increased, improved, reduced...

Don’t just tell us what you are going to do, tell us how what you are going to do is going to change peoples lives

Examples:

Older people will report decreased feelings of isolation through attending a weekly club

Villagers will report improved wellbeing through taking part in activities in the new village hall extension

Explaining how you will involve your beneficiaries in the project

How were your beneficiaries involved in designing the project?

What roles will your beneficiaries have in the delivery of the project?

Think about customer feedback, participation in decision-making, volunteering etc

If barriers exist to participation, explain what they are.

Explaining how will you make sure that as wide a range of people as possible can benefit?

How many people will your project reach and in what ways will people benefit?

How will you ensure that people from different backgrounds know about your project and how to benefit from it?

If you know of groups who are less likely to take part, how do you know this is the case and how will you tackle it?

If you plan to promote or publicise your project, how will you do this?

Which of our BIG outcomes will your project meet?

Which of the four BIG outcomes will your project help achieve?

Will the main aim of your project help to:

- give people a better chance in life and/or

- create a stronger community and/or

- improve the local environment or access to it and/or

- make people in your community healthier

Only pick outcomes you can justify

Remember to relate outcomes to identified need.

Further information and advice

Websites: www.awardsforall.org.uk

www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Phone: BIG Advice Line 0845 4 10 20 30

Text phone: 0845 6 02 16 59

Edward Hickman: 01223 449032

ed.hickman@biglotteryfund.org.uk

Other Lottery distributors:

Arts Council England: www.artscouncil.org.uk

Heritage Lottery Fund: www.hlf.org.uk

Sport England: www.sportengland.org