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Up to £10 million in National Lottery funding made available to community-driven projects focusing on energy and climate

The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, is making up to £10 million available to community-driven projects across the UK that are focusing on the link between Energy and Climate.

The Climate Action Fund opened from midday yesterday (Thursday 2 March) for applications from across the UK that focus on community-driven energy projects that can deliver both environmental and societal benefits.

Energy use in households across the UK, from heating, hot water and using electric appliances, makes up about 20% of UK carbon emissions. Changing how we use energy in our homes will help to reduce carbon emissions while also delivering financial, health and wellbeing benefits for people and communities. 

The Climate Action Fund is interested in supporting community-driven projects that will help communities make the most of opportunities that arise as we move towards more sustainable energy in the future.

Nick Gardner, Head of Climate Action at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Climate change matters to people and communities, so it matters to us. We are committed to supporting community-led climate action across the UK and, thanks to National Lottery players, can continue to step up our ambition, having allocated almost half of our £100 million commitment to projects through the Climate Action Fund.

“This new funding programme explores how community-driven energy projects can deliver environmental and societal benefits for people and communities across the UK. Communities are well-positioned to play a vital role in our response to the climate emergency, and engaging communities in conversations around energy locally can inspire action at scale and develop long term sustainable behaviours.”

Since 2017, The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded more than £480 million through over 8,000 grants which involve environmental action, including action on waste and consumption, energy, transport, food and the natural environment.

Additionally, we expect to commit over £75 million to support communities on cost-of-living through the next year, factoring in commitments to date and added flexibility in grant making. If your project does not quite fit with the criteria of this funding, there may be other funding programmes within The National Lottery Community Fund for you.

To find out more about our new focus on energy and climate, visit https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/climate-action-fund-energy

Notes to Editors

About The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we support people and communities to prosper and thrive. 

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives. 

Our funding has a positive impact and makes a difference to people’s lives. We support projects focussed on things that matter, including economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach Net Zero by 2050. 

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life. 

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes. National Lottery funding has been used to support over 635,000 projects - 255 projects per postcode area.

Channel website: https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/

Original article link: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/news/press-releases/2023-03-02/national-lottery-funding-available-community-driven-projects

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