Big Lottery - Reaching Communities Programme
04/04/2006Reaching Communities is an exciting England wide programme that will provide funding to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need.
Communities are at the heart of Reaching Communities. We want to fund projects that respond to needs identified by communities, and actively involve them. These include geographic communities and also communities with shared interests, such as people with poor mental health.
We want to fund projects that help those most in need including those people or groups who are hard to reach. We will give support to those projects we think best meet their communities’ needs.
The three-year programme, launched on 7 December 2005, will make up to £100 million available in 2006-07, with future budgets being set annually.
Reaching Communities will give grants of more than £10,000 and up to £500,000, including a maximum of £50,000 for capital grants. We have set a maximum overall project size of £750,000 and £200,000 for the total capital element within a project. We will fund projects for up to five years.
We want to bring about the following changes as a result of our funding through this programme.
- people having better chances in life, including being able to get better access to training and development to improve their life skills.
- strong communities, with more active citizens, working together to tackle their problems .
- improved rural and urban environments, which communities are better able to access and enjoy
- healthier and more active people and communities.
You can apply to Reaching Communities if you are:
- a registered charity
- a voluntary or community group
- a statutory body, (including schools)
- a charitable or not-for-profit company
- a social enterprise – a business that is chiefly run for social objectives, whose profits are reinvested in the business rather than going to shareholders and owners.
If you have any queries about this programme, please contact the BIG Advice Line on 0845 4 10 20 30 where you can also obtain a Reaching Communities pack and guidance notes.
