From today, grassroots charities and community groups tackling loneliness can apply for a share of £2 million of National Lottery funding to support their work. The funding is made available through the second round of the Local Connections Fund, a joint £4 million funding programme from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund.
The first round of Local Connections funding, a £2 million investment from DCMS which opened in January, reached more than 850 community groups across England. The second round of funding will be used to fund hundreds of microgrants between £300 – £2,500.
Any community groups and charities that received a Local Connections Fund grant during the first round of funding will not be eligible to apply for funding during the second round of applications.
The second phase of funding will support:
- Activities that physically bring people together in a safe and secure way
- Remote activities (when this is the best or only way for people to build connections) – for example, remote activities may benefit people who are geographically isolated, people with illnesses or disabilities, or those who are not quite ready to meet people in face-to-face settings
- Helping individuals to get out of the ‘lockdown mentality’ and meet people in their communities again
- Helping organisations who work to reduce loneliness restart their activities – for example, cleaning and refreshing meeting spaces or refreshing materials, and ensuring equipment is ready to be used.
You can get all of the details here.
