NK Community Lottery Grant Fund now open

Applications are being welcomed to a grant fund which distributes funds raised through the North Kesteven Community Lottery.

Community and voluntary groups, charities, and social enterprises with financial resources below £20,000 can apply for grants of up to £500 to support activities that benefit local residents across the district.

The funding is designed to support smaller, volunteer‑led, non‑profit organisations deliver projects within North Kesteven.

This programme is funded by the proceeds from the North Kesteven Lottery, through which 60p from every £1 bought goes towards good causes. This is either 50p to a nominated good cause and 10p into a general good cause fund, or 60p directly into the general fund if no specific cause is chosen.

It is this general good cause fund that is now available for redistribution to eligible projects. Since the grant was launched, £26,350.09 has been allocated to 56 local good causes and projects for community benefit through this fund.

North Kesteven District Council is inviting community groups across the area to apply for funding to support health and wellbeing, reduce isolation, strengthen community connectivity, deliver community activities, and support children and young people. The deadline is noon on Monday, June 1.

Councillor Sally Tarry, who has Executive Board overview of community initiatives, said that the entire ethos of the NK Community Lottery was to connect communities to the good causes operating locally and to make it easier for them to access small funding opportunities.

“Small regular sources of funding can be the difference between a community group surviving and flourishing,” she said.

“With this fund meeting both running costs, overheads and general expenses as well as specific expenditure linked to any projects, we know that it makes an enormous difference to the vibrancy and variety of community life within North Kesteven.

“When the 1,000 or so tickets for the NK Lottery are bought each week, players are not only doing so in the hope of winning up to £25,000 for themselves, but also in the knowledge that most of their £1 ticket purchase will directly benefit good causes locally.

“Being able to re-distribute some of that money in grants of up to £500 each is a wonderful way of ensuring maximum benefit across the broad sweep of community organisations, operating in support of community cohesion and the District’s ongoing wellbeing.”

For full details, how to apply and the support available to applicants, visit the NK Lottery Grant Scheme webpage on the NKDC website.

And for information about the Community Lottery go to the NK Lottery website.