Big Lottery Launches New Community Scheme (UK)

The Big Lottery Fund's Millennium Now programme will offer five grants to charities in UK addressing its project areas.

Five project areas have been identified through Channel 4's Big Decision, in which people from across the UK fed back where they wanted £10 million of Lottery funding to go; combined with the results of an Ipsos Mori poll of 2,000 people from across the nation. One grant recipient will be selected from each project area.

The areas are:
•    Helping disadvantaged families to be healthy and live well.
•    Helping different generation to share their skills with each other.
•    Getting communities volunteering to address environmental issues.
•    Bringing communities together to tackle local issues.
•    Helping disadvantaged young people to learn new career-based skills.

The five grant recipients will be filmed by Channel 4 for a new five-part series to air in late 2012. Applicants must consent to be filmed throughout the development of their project as this is a key requirement of the programme.

Grants of £1.5 million and £2 million are available for projects lasting for up to two years. Five grants will be made, one from each project type category.

The deadline for applications is 2pm on 13 December 2011.