# What is the National Lottery Community Fund? **National Lottery Community Fund**: The National Lottery Community Fund is the public body that distributes National Lottery money for good causes to community projects across the UK. Its programmes range from Awards for All (£300 to £20,000, decided in 16 weeks in England) to Reaching Communities England (£20,001 or more). - Also called: TNLCF, Big Lottery Fund, Community Fund, Awards for All - Author: OpenGrant - Updated: 2026-10-26 - Canonical URL: https://opengrant.co.uk/glossary/national-lottery-community-fund The National Lottery Community Fund is the body that distributes National Lottery money for good causes to community projects across the UK. It is the largest single funder of UK charities and community groups by number of grants: on 26 October 2026 its OpenGrant page showed 302,611 grants worth £13.4 billion published to 360Giving, and 17 open schemes. Its 2023 to 2030 strategy says it plans to distribute at least £4 billion by 2030. **Why it matters when applying.** The Fund is where most small charities and community groups should start. National Lottery Awards for All gives £300 to £20,000 for projects lasting up to two years, accepts applications all year as a [rolling programme](https://opengrant.co.uk/glossary/rolling-programme), and decides in 16 weeks in England; it accepts constituted groups, registered charities, CIOs, CICs, statutory bodies and schools whose project benefits the wider community, with at least two unrelated committee members. Reaching Communities England gives £20,001 or more for up to five years with a decision in 40 weeks. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own Awards for All and larger programmes. [How to apply to National Lottery Awards for All England](https://opengrant.co.uk/blog/how-to-apply-to-national-lottery-awards-for-all-england) covers the small-grant route in detail. **What it does not do.** The Fund does not accept applications written by private businesses, consultants or bid writers on an organisation's behalf, which matters to freelance fundraisers. It also funds projects, not organisations as such, though Reaching Communities grants can run for five years. Its programme finder lists every programme by nation, amount and decision time, and [free UK grant finders](https://opengrant.co.uk/blog/free-grant-finders-uk) places it among the other free tools. **Example.** A fictional constituted residents' group with no charity number applies to Awards for All England for £8,000 to run a weekly lunch club, with two unrelated committee members named and a bank account in the group's name. It submits in January for a project starting in June, allowing the 16-week decision. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does the National Lottery Community Fund give? Grants from £300 upwards for community-led projects. National Lottery Awards for All gives £300 to £20,000 in each UK nation for projects lasting up to two years, with a decision in 16 weeks in England and 12 weeks in Wales and Northern Ireland. Reaching Communities England gives £20,001 or more for up to five years with a decision in 40 weeks. OpenGrant listed 17 of its schemes as open on 26 October 2026. ### Who can apply to the National Lottery Community Fund? For Awards for All England: constituted voluntary or community organisations, constituted groups or clubs, registered charities, charitable incorporated organisations, community interest companies, statutory bodies including parish and town councils, and schools where the project mainly benefits the wider community. You need at least two unrelated board or committee members, and applications written by consultants or bid writers are not accepted. ### How much does the National Lottery Community Fund distribute? Its 2023 to 2030 strategy says it plans to distribute at least £4 billion by 2030. Through 360Giving it has published 302,611 grants worth £13.4 billion, fetched by OpenGrant on 26 October 2026, with a typical recent grant of £24,400 across all programmes. ## Read more - [Grants for charities in London: boroughs, City funders and what closes soon](https://opengrant.co.uk/blog/grants-for-charities-in-london) - [Grants in Greater Manchester and the North West: who funds what and what is open](https://opengrant.co.uk/blog/grants-in-greater-manchester-and-the-north-west) - [How to apply to National Lottery Awards for All England: eligibility, amounts and decision time](https://opengrant.co.uk/blog/how-to-apply-to-national-lottery-awards-for-all-england) - [How to build a trusts and foundations pipeline (with a tracker template)](https://opengrant.co.uk/blog/how-to-build-a-trust-fundraising-pipeline) - [Grants for charities and community groups](https://opengrant.co.uk/grants/for/charities) - [Community development and employment grants](https://opengrant.co.uk/grants/theme/community-development) ## Related terms - [Rolling programme](https://opengrant.co.uk/glossary/rolling-programme): A rolling programme is a grant scheme that accepts applications at any time, with no closing date. Decisions are made as applications arrive or at regular trustee meetings, on a published timescale. Garfield Weston Foundation, Trust for London and Awards for All England accept applications all year. - [Community foundation](https://opengrant.co.uk/glossary/community-foundation): A community foundation is a place-based grant-making charity that pools funds from local donors, companies, public bodies and legacies and gives them out as grants, mostly small, to charities and community groups in its area. UK Community Foundations says members gave over £183 million in 2024-25. - [GOV.UK Find a grant](https://opengrant.co.uk/glossary/find-a-grant): GOV.UK Find a grant is the free government service that lets you search government grants, check whether you are eligible and learn how to apply, with saved searches and email alerts. It lists grants from departments and public bodies only, not trusts or lottery programmes; OpenGrant ingests it. - [Match funding](https://opengrant.co.uk/glossary/match-funding): Match funding is the money or in-kind support from other sources that a funder requires, or expects, alongside its own grant, usually stated as a percentage of project cost or a ratio. Some programmes make it compulsory, others recommend it, and a few fund the whole cost where nothing else exists. ## Sources and further reading - [The National Lottery Community Fund: Funding programmes](https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/funding-programmes) - [The National Lottery Community Fund: Awards for All England](https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/funding-programmes/national-lottery-awards-for-all-england) - [The National Lottery Community Fund: Reaching Communities England](https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/funding-programmes/reaching-communities-england) - [GrantNav: The National Lottery Community Fund](https://grantnav.threesixtygiving.org/org/GB-GOR-PB188) Full glossary: https://opengrant.co.uk/glossary.md