News ? Big Lottery: fresh funds

A £2.3bn range of new funding programmes running until 2009 has been announced by the Big Lottery Fund to support community, voluntary and regeneration projects. However, the funding body, which distributes more than half of all Lottery funding, has been forced to factor in a shortfall of £68m over the same period due to an anticipated loss of revenues to the Olympic Lottery.
The new programmes, which largely replace those inherited by the Big Lottery Fund when it was formed from the merger of the New Opportunities Fund and the Community Fund, are based on the principles of ?creating opportunity, promoting wellbeing and promoting community safety and cohesion?. As with the previous programmes, funding will be divided into demand-led and strategic programmes. The demand-led programmes, which will be launched in December, will continue the format established by the Community Fund in responding to individual applications. Strategic programmes include a range of funding streams designed to tackle areas of perceived need, ranging from park facilities to adult numeracy. There is also a commitment that between 60% and 70% of funding from 2006 to 2009 will go to voluntary and community organisations.

Implicit in the distributor?s announcement is a commitment to support projects linked to the London Olympics. ?We will want to work jointly with the other England and UK Lottery distributors, the Olympic Delivery Authority and others to explore how our new programmes can contribute to the regeneration, community engagement and cultural activities which the Olympic Project will promote.? In addition to money targeted at Olympic projects, the Big Lottery Fund?s financial planning includes a forecast reduction of £68m in resources, between now and 2009, as a result of the new Olympic Lottery game.

People?s Millions, the scheme which was launched this summer in conjunction with an ITV show of the same name, will continue to make £50,000 grants to projects voted by the public. It will also make one large grant of between £25m and £50m to a major national or regional project which will be determined by a televised public vote. Other strategic schemes include a £155m fund to support voluntary and community sector infrastructure, a £60m international grants programme, and an extension of the young people?s fund.