The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland (TNLCFS) has launched two new funding programmes, Community Action and Fairer Life Chances.
These new funds focus on helping communities to tackle poverty, disadvantage, and discrimination; TNLCFS will also ask groups to explain how they will reach and support people facing these challenges.
The funds will award bigger and longer grants and fund organisations of different sizes and levels of experience. They will also support many smaller organisations to apply for multi-year funding for the first time, allowing them to develop over a more sustained period.
Community Action
Awarding grants of £20,001 – £250,000 for up to 5 years, Community Action will support projects that help communities of all shapes and sizes to come together around activities that matter to them, or which help communities to be environmentally sustainable.
In a departure from previous Scotland programmes, TNLCFS is opening up their definition of community to include people who share an identity, interest or experience, as well as people living in the same place (ie. “communities of interest”). They want to fund projects that bring communities together to improve wellbeing and develop positive relationships within those communities, and that encourage connection with other people and/or connection with the environment.
It will support projects that are more open, inclusive and led by the people who will benefit from their activities and services.
Fairer Life Chances
Awarding grants of £20,001 – £500,000 for up to 5 years, Fairer Life Chances will fund projects that support children, young people and families, or that help people to be healthier and have better access to support.
Through this fund, TNLCFS wants to fund vulnerable or excluded communities and, in particular, those that find it hardest to access support.
Further Information
Information on all TNLCFS funds is available on the Scotland page of their website (linked for your convenience), including programme outcomes and priorities for the new funds. These are also available on the funds’ dedicated pages:
A blog explaining what TNLCFS is looking for in a strong funding application is also available on their Scotland blog site.
How to Apply
Organisations wishing to apply should contact TNLCFS for a conversation, either by phone: 0300 123 7110, or email: advicescotland@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk
