Local Connections Fund

15th July 2021

This is the second round of the Local Connections Fund, a £4 million investment designed to help small charities and community groups working to reduce loneliness by building community connections across England.

The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, is investing £2 million into this second round of funding. This will be used to fund hundreds of ‘microgrants’ between £300 and £2,500, so small, local organisations (with an annual income of £50,000 or less) can bring people and communities together.

By a ‘community’, we mean people:

living in the same area - like a city, town or street
who share characteristics - like beliefs, values, interests or faith
who can be grouped together in some other way.
Two rounds of funding
The Local Connections Fund has been split into two equal rounds of funding. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) provided the first £2 million, which was distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund and completed at the end of March 2021.

The second round of funding is provided by The National Lottery Community Fund.

If you received funding in Round 1, you will not be eligible for funding in Round 2.

What the funding's for
The funding is aimed at bringing people together in safe and secure ways, making people aware of what services are available to reduce loneliness and to build lasting connections.

People understand what’s needed in their communities better than anyone. We know that groups within various communities will have different needs and will need different levels of support. We want to hear directly from organisations about who in their community needs additional assistance.

Who can apply
Organisations can still apply, even if they already have existing grants with The National Lottery Community Fund. You cannot apply for costs which have been funded by other means, including Government or National Lottery funding. If duplicate funding does occur, we’ll take action to recover these funds.

Area
England
Suitable for
Small (with an income below £50,000), constituted, local charities and community groups working to tackle loneliness by helping people feel more connected within their communities.
Funding size
£300 to £2,500
Total available
£2 million in Round 2 - successful applicants must have completed their project and spent their grant by 30 November 2021
Application deadline
Applications open - 28 June 2021 at 10am

Applications close - 6 August 2021 at 5pm