A cash injection of almost 1.5 million for community groups across the West Midlands was announced today by Blondel Cluff CBE, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.
The good news was revealed by the Chair during a two-day tour of the region, where she met with local leaders from public, voluntary and community sector organisations to discuss the lasting legacy of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (the Games). The event will not only be a key moment for the West Midlands, but for the UK as a whole, forming part of #Celebrate2022, a year of celebration and national pride including Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee and Unboxed 2022.
The Chair also visited existing National Lottery funded projects to see the huge impact The National Lottery Community Fund is having on local communities. This included the West Midlands Combined Authority's (WMCA) Commonwealth Games Jobs and Skills Academy, where the Chair learnt how more than 800 disadvantaged young people across the region will be supported to access volunteering and employment opportunities generated by the Games. Thanks to more than 810,000 of National Lottery funding, this will help them to acquire new skills and secure jobs, having a positive long-term impact on their lives and the local economy.
Another group the Chair met with was KIKIT Pathways to Recovery - a social enterprise based in Sparkbrook. Over the past three years, with more than 500,000 of National Lottery funding, it has helped to address radicalisation, extremism and gang violence amongst young people, as well as provided support for vulnerable people during the pandemic with multilingual mentoring and advice webinars.
At Bringing Hope in Handsworth, the Chair heard how almost 700,000, awarded by The National Lottery Community Fund over the past eight years, has helped ex-prisoners and their families. The charity supports those involved with serious violence and crime, and their loved ones, to address the root issues of social exclusion and crime, whilst working with employers to improve job prospects, which helps boost aspirations and attainment, thereby reducing re-offending rates.
Now thanks to a further 1.5 million invested in the region today, this will make a life-changing difference to grassroots groups and their local communities. Projects to receive a share of the funding pot include mental health support for vulnerable women in Wolverhampton, building repairs to a village hall in Herefordshire, and a health and wellbeing programme for ethnic minority communities in Birmingham. This is in addition to an astonishing 315 million, which has been distributed across the West Midlands by The National Lottery Community Fund in the past five years* through over 6,600 grants to level up life chances across the region.
Blondel Cluff CBE, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said: It has been a pleasure visiting our funded organisations today and to learn about the difference they have made to people's lives. After seeing their incredible work, I am delighted to announce this new funding, that will support even more community projects across the West Midlands, ahead of a momentous and celebratory year.
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will have a lasting impact on the region. Thanks to National Lottery players across the UK, the legacy of our funding will be the upskilling, volunteering and employment opportunities created, that will support communities to prosper and thrive and build back stronger after the pandemic.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and Chair of the WMCA, added: National Lottery funding has made a great difference to people's lives across the West Midlands, and this is exemplified by the Commonwealth Games Jobs and Skills Academy which is helping people find jobs and volunteer opportunities for next year's Games as part of my 100,000 jobs plan.
I know Blondel, as Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, will have been blown away by the Academy on her visit to the West Midlands, and I want to place on record my thanks to her and her team for continuing to support a wide range of projects and groups across our region.
The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players, who raise more than 30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. During the pandemic, in 2020 alone, it distributed almost 1 billion to charities and community organisations across the UK.
To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
* Figures refer to April 2016 - March 2021
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 focused 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.