Since it started in 1994, the National Lottery has raised billions of pounds for good causes and funded thousands of projects and organisations across the UK, including the Olympic team, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the Angel of the North.
The good causes fall into five main categories:
Charities
Heritage
Health, education & environment
Sports
Arts
For more information on other lottery-funded projects, look at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s record of lottery awards.
One of the simplest and most straightforward ways of applying for lottery funding is through the Awards for All scheme. This is a funding programme set up to help small groups in local communities with grants of between £500 and £5,000.
To apply for an Awards for All grant you'll need to fill out a simple application form. The whole process from application to con organizationation of the grant usually takes about three months.
For other applications, you will need to contact one of the bodies responsible for distributing lottery funds to the five good causes. Your choice will depend on the type of project you are involved with.
Big Lottery Fund The Big Lottery Fund is in charge of handing out half of the money from the National Lottery made available to good causes. This is probably the most useful fund for community groups. It supports charities and other organisations whose work is beneficial to the community and funds health, education and environment projects across the UK. One of its aims is to fund community transformation; from small local grants to large-scale regeneration projects.
Heritage Lottery Fund The aim of the Heritage Lottery Fund is to safeguard and enhance the heritage of the UK. This includes supporting oral history projects and protecting archives, as well as historic buildings and museums.
Lottery grants for sports and arts projects are awarded by a number of different bodies, each with a specific remit.
If you want to apply for funding through the National Lottery, it can be a long and drawn out process, so prepare yourself for the long haul. You'll need to have good and well-thought out reasons why you should be given money for your project. Think about your aims, what you hope to achieve and what it will mean to other people if your scheme succeeds.
Applications can be unsuccessful for a wide range of reasons including some outside your control, such as lack of available funds. However, there are a number of common reasons for failed applications that you can control and which you need to avoid.
Apply to the right organisation Most funding bodies have strict eligibility criteria, and will only fund certain types of project. Make sure before you make an application that your group or project is eligible for funding.
Many funding bodies will be happy to discuss an outline idea and its suitability for funding over the telephone or respond to an outline plan. The most pro-active provide a mechanism for uncertain applicants to raise an outline idea or use a two-stage process to save everyone potential wasted time.
Make it clear A common comment on unsuccessful lottery bids is that they are not clear enough about exactly what the applicant wants to do. Provide basic, clear explanations of why you want the money and what you are hoping to achieve with it.
A second problem for applications is in the use of language. Try and write your application in simple, clear language, as if you were speaking to someone. Avoid jargon and shorthand.
Incomplete applications If your application is incomplete, you may fail at the first hurdle. It is very rare for a funding body go back to the applicant if information is missing. They will probably not have the time to chase it up and will see it as a negative indication of your organisation's abilities.
The guidance that funding bodies send out gives a clear indication of what information you need to submit with your bid. Some bodies ask for multiple copies of certain documents to save them the time and expense of photocopying.
Information often requested by funding bodies includes accounts, bank details, project/program plans, constitution and budgets. If they ask for it then you must submit it.
Needs must Many applications fail because their bids show no evidence that money is needed on a project. If you have evidence that there is a need or demand for what you want to do then include that information. Base this on facts, such as evidence of use. Do not assume just because you and the committee think it is necessary, everyone else will feel the same. Questions of need normally require wider justification or consultation.
Planning You need to demonstrate that you have thought through your project and all related issues in detail and that you have a good system for managing the money you hope to obtain. Show how the project responds to the needs that you have highlighted.
Budgeting Another common reason why bids fail is that proposed budgets are often too high, too low or too vague. It is important to base your budget on quotes or comparable projects and to be able to justify the costs in discussion with the funding body.
Poor track record If you have had a project which has failed in the past, this may count against you when bidding for funds. Always ensure, if you are successful with raising funding, that you carry out the project as promised and deliver results and information back to the funding body. This will protect your reputation and increase the chances of further funding.
Farida Anderson is Chief Executive of Partners of Prisoners and Families Support Group, a Manchester-based charity which helps people with partners in jail. She has experience of applying for lottery grants and offers the following advice:
Express why your project is so important to you in your application
Ensure that you have the capacity to manage any funds received
Believe in what you want and sell the concept in your own words. Funding organisations don't always have the passion for what you want
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