Community groups get funding from North Kesteven Lottery Grant Awards

Grants up to the value of £6,738.94 have been awarded this year in partnership with the Lincolnshire Community Foundation.

The deadline for applications was Friday March 31 2023.

The grant awards panel received twenty bids with a value of just under £9,500. Out of the bids received fifteen were approved with the full £6,738.94 budget being allocated.

Funding has been targeted at organisations that deliver positive outcomes, supporting current and ongoing needs of people living in North Kesteven, ensuring their good health and wellbeing is maintained – such as by reducing isolation and promoting cohesion, promoting connectivity, delivering community/cultural activities and events, or youth activities, including uniformed groups.

Karen Rymer, who is the secretary of Metheringham Swimming Pool, one of the good causes supported by the grant, said: "We were delighted to have been awarded a grant from the North Kesteven Lottery Grant Awards which has enabled us to buy a marquee and two heaters.

"We are planning to offer poolside activities particularly aimed at people who might not yet be confident about swimming but who would enjoy the chance to socialise and do gentle exercise on the poolside.

"On an open-air site, we are dependant on good weather before activities can run - with this grant we can guarantee running them even when it’s not warm and sunny!”

She added: "The marquee had its first outing at our Splash-a-thon on June 25 providing shelter from the heat to the children and parents from Metheringham Primary school as they came to do their sponsored swim."

The North Kesteven Lottery Community Fund is made up of the income from lottery ticket sales.

Launched in December 2021, the lottery offers players the opportunity to win up to £25,000 from a £1 ticket. When buying a ticket, players can choose to nominate one of the 69 good causes currently signed up to receive a 50p share of the £1 stake. A further 10p goes into a general good causes fund, or 60p if no specific cause is nominated. It is that general good causes fund that is now available for redistribution to eligible community groups.