Communities are at the heart of everything we do here at The National Lottery Community Fund in Wales. Since the start of 2022 we have awarded over £41 million to 592 community projects across the length and breadth of Wales.

We reach communities by working at a local level our Funding Officers are located across Wales. Funding Officers are often based in the communities they serve, which enables them to develop their understanding and knowledge of the area they cover. If the Funding Officer is not based in the area they will arrange regular visits with local organizations and community groups.

Supporting communities facing issues from the Cost of Living crisis

We know that many charities and community organisations across Wales continue to face increasing challenges as a result of the Cost of Living crisis. 

 We have adapted our funding offer to meet this challenge. Groups can apply for up to £100,000 through our People and Place Programme. Projects can last up to two years, details of what you can apply for and what to do to apply are available from this link here.

Understanding our Local Context   

We know that people and communities thrive when they have a say on the decisions that affect their lives.  Our officers work closely with communities and we organise surveys, public focus groups, round table conversations and meetings to help us understand the picture across Wales. We are building on our current priorities of homelessness, mental health, and young people, and have identified five areas where we think our funding can make a difference and we intend to explore our response to these in more depth over the next year: 

• Poverty, financial resilience, and the cost of living 
• Communities: capacity, cohesion, and safe spaces 
• Mental health and loneliness and isolation 
• Children: issues, challenges, and needs 
• Wellbeing and prevention.  

As part of our commitment to putting communities first we’re currently looking at how we give out our UK wide grants – and using the findings of the Wales Portfolio Review we conducted last year, to shape the UK wide conversation.  Find our more at  https://puttingcommunitiesfirst.org.uk/

Our current funding 

We continue to support communities and the voluntary sector in Wales through our flagship funding programmes which are always open, National Lottery Awards for All (grants up to £10,000) and People and Places (grant up to £500,000) These give communities the flexibility to fund the things that matter most to them. You can find more information about our grants on our website here:  https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/wales