[WiLT] Lottery fund opens £58m grants programme

[WiL Admin]

Lottery fund opens £58m grants programme
Awards for All to offer grants of between £300 and £10,000

The Big Lottery Fund's new-look Awards for All lottery programme opens
today in England, Wales and Scotland, offering grants totalling more
than £58m.

Awards of between £300 and £10,000 are available for grass-roots
social and environmental projects that benefit local communities in
England. Grants of between £500 and £5,000 are available in Wales.

Voluntary and community groups, schools and health organisations,
parish and town councils can apply.

"A simpler application process and a maximum turnaround time of six
weeks for a decision are among the changes to the programme, which
will make it much easier for applicants to successfully apply for
small pots of funding that can have such a big impact on local
communities and lives," said Sir Clive Booth, chair of the Big Lottery
Fund.

A total of £45.2m is available in England and £2.4m is available in
Wales.

Applications must be submitted at least three months before a project
starts and the project must be complete a year after the date of the
letter confirming the grant.

Scotland's new £10.5m Awards for All scheme is jointly administered by
the Big Lottery Fund, the Scottish Arts Council and Sportscotland and
offers grants of between £500 and £10,000.

An Awards for All scheme worth £3.5m will open in Northern Ireland
later this month.

By John Plummer, Third Sector Online, 1 April 2009

http://ecm.hbpl.co.uk/re?l=ew0jq9I450l1k5I14