The Big Lottery announced a new funding scheme for overseas communities today. This is aimed at Voluntary and community organisations who are working in partnership with NGOs overseas

The programme will offer funding of between £50,000 and £500,000 for up to 5 years for projects that "improve access to primary education, health care and natural resources, build sustainable livelihoods and support disadvantaged people to exercise their basic human rights". The programme will run from 2010-2015. Until the end of 2012 £25 million will be available with the budget from 2012-2015 to be decided later.

The Department for Culture Media and Sports (DCMS) are currently carrying out a consultation into the proportion of money going to each of the lottery distributors.

Their proposal is to reduce the proportion of money going to the Big Lottery from 50% to 40% and increase the proportion going to arts, heritage and sports from 18% each to 20% each. This would be spread over two years.

They are interested in:

• What impact would the changes have on member organisations’ ability to deliver previously identified priorities or projects?
• In your view will the change have any adverse or positive impact on particular groups, taking into account race, gender, disability, age, faith/belief, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic equality? How could impacts be avoided or mitigated. Please provide evidence if possible.
• I will arrange for an initial draft Impact Assessment to be placed on the DCMS website (link below) and would be grateful for any evidence to inform that.
• Do you have any other observations?

Several lottery programmes have recently announced that they either have closed the programme to new applicants or that they have introduced deadlines.

Details are:

Four thousand applications were received in the run up to the close of the old Awards for All programme at the end of March.

Big-thinking

The BIG Lottery commissioned some research into the public’s perceptions of their work over the summer. The findings of this research have been instrumental in leading to the current consultation which will influence their strategic framework from 2009 onwards.