National Lottery Reaching Communities England
Grants available for: Community organisations, charities and not-for-profit companies that serve communities in England
Size of grant available: Funding starts at £20,000 and most applications they fund are for less than £500,000 in total.
Next deadline: No deadlines
Aims of Fund
- support places, people or communities* experiencing poverty, disadvantage or discrimination
and - support people and communities to shape the decisions that affect their lives
Your project must achieve one of their missions supporting communities to:
- Come together, through inclusive places, spaces and activities (either physical or virtual). Especially for communities where people are least able to come together.
- Help children and young people thrive, by developing positive social and emotional skills.
- Be healthier, by addressing health inequalities. And helping prevent poor health.
- Be environmentally sustainable. By engaging with climate issues and having a positive environmental impact. And improving access to quality natural spaces.
We’re more likely to fund work that achieves one or two of these missions really well. For more see their priorities.
*By ‘community’ they mean people living in the same area. Or people with similar interests or life experiences, even if they do not live in the same area.
Who can apply
You can apply if your organisation is a:
- voluntary or community organisation (if you are unincorporated, they would like you to consider incorporating)
- registered charity
- constituted group or club
- not-for-profit company or Community Interest Company
- school
- statutory body
- community benefit or co-operative society
- group of organisations, as long as they are led by an eligible organisation
Your organisation should involve your community in the design, development and delivery of the activities you’re planning.
See their website for more details about who can and cannot apply
How much and what can you apply for
£20,000 or more for projects up to 5 years. If you want to apply for less than £20,000, you can apply to Awards for All.
Projects must be led by the communities they serve. See their website for more details about involving your community.
You can ask for funding for:
- Costs of activities e.g. materials, venue hire, volunteer expenses
- Organisational development e.g. business planning, staff/volunteer training, technology upgrades
- Core running costs e.g. salaries, rent, utilities
- Purchasing, refurbishing or developing land or buildings.
See their website for more details of what they will and will not fund.
How to apply
There are two ways to apply. Either, you can complete the online application form
Or you can send an email or 5-minute video which covers:
- the name of your project
- where it’ll take place
- what you’d like to do, how has demand for your services changed?
- how your work will involve your community
- how your project fits with local activities
- who will benefit from your project
- what difference your project will make
- how much money you need
- what you intend to spend the money on
- how long you need the money for
- what your organisation does and why you’re best placed to deliver your project
See the website for details of which regional office to send your email or video to.
You can see a summary of the application form questions on their website.
Deadlines for application
No deadlines
Watch a BSL video on how to apply
Contact details
Contact details can be found at: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/about/contact-ushttps://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/reaching-communities-england#section-1
Page last updated: 29/07/25 AC