This year the National Lottery is celebrating its 25th birthday and the difference it has made to heritage, the lives of people and communities throughout the UK, over the past quarter of a century. Thanks to National Lottery players, over £30 million goes to good causes each week.
The annual Thanks To You campaign is the perfect opportunity for you to be involved in the birthday celebrations and to say thank you to the National Lottery players who have made so many projects possible. It’s also a chance for you to highlight the difference you have made in your local community.
The principle of the campaign is simple: anyone who visits a participating National Lottery-funded venue or project between 23 November & 1 December 2019 and shows a National Lottery ticket gets free entry, or another special offer.
Some fantastic organisations and projects have already registered across the good causes family, including Westonbirt the National Arboretum, The Fitzwilliam Museum, The Old Vic, National Holocaust Centre and Museum, Pleasance Theatre, Black Country Living Museum, National Justice Museum, University Museum of Zoology, Derby Arena, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, V&A Dundee, Worcester Cathedral, the National Trust for Scotland, RSPB, Bath Comedy Festival, The D-Day Story, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and many, many more.
If you haven’t already done so (and thank you if you have!) please register your interest in being a part of the campaign on the Lottery Good Causes website.
If your organisation has not taken part in Thanks To You before, and/or you are not sure what your special offer might look like, the Lottery can help. Their dedicated project manager, Stacey Reed, is on hand to work with grantees to make sure your offer reaches new audiences and benefits from the national promotional profile of the 25th birthday celebrations.
There are many ways for everyone to get involved. In previous years, some of the special offers have included:
• free entry to venues for all or part of the Thanks To You period
• an expert talk or a guest panel
• guided facility or venue tours
• setting aside tickets to an event coming up in the future
• a membership discount
• hard hat / in-construction / behind the scenes tours
• a day, weekend, or week of activities
• workshops or lessons
• a special view of a collection or archive not usually open to the public
• an in-store or restaurant offer
• the chance to sit in on a rehearsal or training session
• something totally different to your usual programme of activity – maybe a group walk or fete
Need more inspiration?
Julie from Fairhaven Lake, Lancashire, has written a blog about how taking part in the Thanks To You campaign made a big difference to a small project.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Thanks To You project manager, Stacey Reed, on Stacey.Reed@lotterygoodcauses.org.uk or 020 7211 3928 if you have any questions.
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