Aims/priorities: 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.
The funding is to:
- build relationships in and across communities to help reduce loneliness and build connections between people and communities
- bring together organisations who are working on social connections to celebrate their work, share learning and best practice, and form/bring together peer networks.
This is to help make:
- people and communities feel more connected
- individuals feel supported and less lonely or isolated
- people more aware of services available that help them to connect with others and get involved
- organisations learn from each other.
Who can apply: Small charities and community groups in England with an annual income of £50,000 or less. Organisations can still apply, even if they already have existing grants with The National Lottery Community Fund. But you cannot apply for costs which have been funded by other means, including Government or National Lottery funding. If duplicate funding does occur, we’ll take action to recover these funds.
Grant amount: Between £300 and £2,500.
Application process: Applications are made online via the funders website.
Deadline: Tuesday 26 January 2021.
Contact information: Tel 028 9568 0143, Email general.enquiries@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk
Website address: tnlcommunityfund.org.uk