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As the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) roles out a further £11.5 million to good causes today from its flagship Reaching Communities programme, it is also announcing a match-making new partnership with ‘The Big Give’ to help charities raise more funds.

Grant recipients from BIG’s Reaching Communities programme in England will have the opportunity to appear on theBigGive.org.uk as part of a new initiative. Potential donors will be able to see verification that the charity has successfully completed BIG’s thorough grant application process.

The website helps donors quickly and anonymously find charities working in their areas of interest. Users can view professionally presented information on the aims and impact of thousands of projects, and view Charity Commission accounts at the click of a button.

The Big Lottery Fund logo will be displayed on the pages of charities that have received a grant from BIG’s Reaching Communities programme in the last 12 months or have been awarded a grant that is still active. The logo is not a quality mark but is useful for donors carrying out further due diligence into a charity.

Sanjay Dighe, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund’s England Committee, welcomes the partnership: “This is great news for the organisations we support as it will be a huge lift in helping them find funding from other sources to further their work. After successfully being through our rigorous application checks it makes sense for us to help organisations to use this credibility via a posting on ‘The Big Give’ website, showing potential donors that they’ve received our backing.”

Jon Brooks, Managing Director, The Big Give, added: “This partnership opens up a valuable source of information for donors, making it easier to find great charities that match their goals."

Today also sees BIG announcing 42 grants from its Reaching Communities programme to support organisations across England to build stronger communities and help those most in need.

Amongst the grants are five projects sharing close to £1.9 million to provide a range of services to help break the cycle of homelessness. These projects will offer services including training, educational courses, support in finding employment and accommodation, and help to tackle mental health issues and drug and alcohol misuse.

Offering a lifeline for homeless people in Manchester and Salford, The Booth Centre, Changing Lives project receives close to £496,000. Based at Manchester Cathedral, the centre will run a scheme to provide new skills and accredited qualifications courses for people sleeping rough and those with a history of homelessness who are dealing with alcohol, drug, and mental and physical health problems.

Amanda Croome, Centre Co-ordinator, said: “We are delighted to be receiving this funding from the Big Lottery Fund. It will enable us to improve our service and provide education, creative and healthy activities for homeless people, to help them gain qualifications, provide opportunities to volunteer and then get them into jobs.”

In Sheffield, The Cathedral Archer Project (CAP) receives £388,842 to provide opportunities for homeless adults to move away from homelessness and take the first steps towards building a more sustainable future. Based in the heart of the city within a day centre attached to Sheffield Cathedral, the project provides volunteering opportunities, occupational, leisure and educational activities.

Tim Renshaw, the CAP’s Chief Executive, said: “Being awarded a Reaching Communities grant from the Big Lottery Fund will have a great impact on the homeless clients we support. The grant will develop new work within the project to help clients take the first steps to a more stable lifestyle by delivering activities for them to learn new skills and gain accreditation.”

Birmingham’s Trident Reach the People Charity secures £357,927 to provide in-depth support to homeless adults over 25 to help them learn life skills and find independent accommodation so they can reintegrate into the wider community. As well as addressing issues of low self esteem and low educational attainment, the project will help people learn to manage finances, teach them how to dress for interviews, and help them with their presentation skills.

St John Ambulance Sussex receives £272,183 to continue and expand its health outreach service to homeless and vulnerably housed people in Brighton. Drop-in clinics will be provided offering nursing services covering wound care, treatment for skin disorders, drug and alcohol advice, monitoring of conditions such as diabetes, podiatry and signposting to mental health and other services. The drop-in clinics will take place from a mobile treatment centre at different locations across Brighton and at a local hostel and night shelter.

And The Westminster Drug Project Limited has received a grant of £375,230 for its Giving Something Back project, which aims to help substance misusers, including homeless people in Enfield, Barnet, Westminster and Wandsworth, to integrate back into their communities.

For a full list of today’s Reaching Communities grant recipients please click here 
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Further Information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone:  0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• Under Reaching Communities, the Big Lottery Fund awards grants between £10,000 and £500,000 to projects that offer people better life chances, build stronger communities, develop improved rural and urban environments and improve health and well being.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £25 billion has now been raised and more than 330,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.