New £4 Million Fund to Tackle Loneliness

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund have announced a new fund to reduce loneliness by helping people feel more connected.

The new £4 million Local Connections Fund which is made up of £2 million from the Government and £2 million from The National Lottery Community Fund will provide grants of between £300 and £2,500 to small charities and community groups in England.

The funding will help to bring people together in safe and secure ways – including by covering the costs of technologies and equipment that will help people feel more connected within their communities. Funding can also be used to help strengthen organisations and their services through, for example, training and development.

To be eligible, charities and community groups will have to have an income of £50,000 or less.

The Local Connections Fund will be split into two rounds of funding – each with its own application window. The first application window will open on the 5th January 2021 and close on 26 January 2021. The second applications window will open in the summer.

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