£12 million National Lottery Cash Injection to Support Communities to Come Together

The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK, has awarded a vital £12 million cash injection to support communities to come together across the UK.

Communities from Glasgow to Kent will benefit from the first nine projects to be awarded through The UK Fund – one of the funder’s bold commitments as part of its new strategy, It starts with community, to tackle some of the big social issues facing UK communities.

The announcement comes as The National Lottery Community Fund launches a new report, revealing findings from its latest Community Research Index [1], which show how important it is to people to feel part of their community and having the opportunity to improve their community for the future.

The survey of over 8,000 UK adults is designed to find out people’s priorities and aspirations for their local community. The findings show:

• Seven in ten (72%) say it’s important to them to feel part of their local community
• People who feel part of their community say the benefits of this include: having an opportunity to meet people (45%), improving their wellbeing (43%), having a greater sense of pride (40%), and having a positive impact on their local area (36%)
• Half (51%) say having activities that bring people together is in their top five local community priorities
  Nearly two-thirds are willing to work with others to improve their local community (64%), and think that people in their area can make a real change by getting involved (63%)
• But only around half feel they have the opportunity (52%) or ability to play a role (46%).

The UK Fund, launched last year, prioritises these community ambitions, supporting organisations that bring people with different life experiences together, form connections that create healthier lives, and provide opportunities for people to play a part in shaping their community’s future.