The second round of the Local Connections Fund will offer grants of between £300 and £2,500 to support community projects that focus on:
- Activities that physically bring people together in a safe and secure way.
- Remote activities (when this is the best or only way for people to build connections) – for example, remote activities may benefit people who are geographically isolated, people with illnesses or
- disabilities, or those who are not quite ready to meet people in face-to-face settings.
- Helping individuals to get out of the ‘lockdown mentality’ and meet people in their communities again.
- Helping organisations who work to reduce loneliness restart their activities – for example, cleaning and refreshing meeting spaces or refreshing materials, and ensuring equipment is ready to be used.
The National Lottery Community Fund is providing £2 million for the second round. The Government provided £2 million for the first round which supported more than 850 groups who were working to keep people connected remotely during lockdown.
Applications will be accepted from groups with an income of less than £50,000. Groups that received a grant from the first round may not apply to the second round.
Commenting on the new round, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, Blondel Cluff CBE, said:
“Loneliness affects people of all ages and from all walks of life and we know that, because of the pandemic, many people are experiencing isolation for the very first time. The first round of Local Connections funding demonstrated the huge impact that small grants can have when tackling loneliness at a local level, empowering organisations to make a change in their communities.”
The Local Connections Fund opens for applications on 28 June 2021.