Big Lottery Fund East Midlands 4th Floor
Pearl Assurance House
Friar Lane
Nottingham
NG1 6BT

The Big Lottery Fund gives out half the money raised by the National Lottery for good causes. It is the biggest distributor of funds in the region. Due to the wide range of programmes the Big Lottery Fund supports we advise you to visit their website to find a programme which might support your project.

Reaching Communities is an exciting England wide programme that provides funding to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need. Reaching Communities gives grants of more than £10,000 and up to £500,000, including a maximum of £50,000 for capital grants. Projects can be funded for up to 5 years. An overall maximum project size has been set at £750,000 with a maximum of £200,000 for the total capital element.

Successfull applications will need to show the Big Lottery the following:

• That there is a need for your project

• How your project provides a solution to that need

• How your community will be involved

You can apply whether you are a small local group, or a larger organisation working locally. Examples include:

• Registered charities

• Other voluntary and community groups

• Statutory bodies, including schools

• Charitable and not-for-profit companies

• Social enterprises

The Big Lottery has developed a straightforward process for the Reaching Communities Programme by introducing an outline proposal form. This is easy to fill in, and the Big Lottery will let you know if it is likely that they will consider supporting your project within 10 to 15 days. If so, you will be sent a full application form, and you will have up to 6 months to complete it.