National Lottery Community Fund Grants 2026 Guide

Grantsights builds grant tools for US funders only at the moment, so every link below sends you to the Fund itself or to other UK sources. If you want to hear when UK coverage arrives, join the UK waiting list.

All 23 Open National Lottery Community Fund Programmes on October 29, 2026

The programme finder listed 23 programmes as open on October 29, 2026. Your project's location decides which ones you can use. Amounts and decision times below are the Fund's own figures, as shown on each programme page that day.

Grantsights checked each finder listing against the programme's own page, and two listings need a caveat. The Community Power Fund shows as "open" in the finder, but its own page says it opens for applications at 12pm on Wednesday November 25, 2026 and closes at 12pm on Wednesday January 20, 2027, with up to 16 awards expected. Green Careers Cardiff is listed from £300 to £1.8 million, but its page splits that into development funding of £300 to £25,000 and project funding of £100,000 to £1.8 million, and you can't get project funding without development funding first.

What 17,472 National Lottery Community Fund Grants Show

Grantsights analysis of the Fund's 360Giving data covers 17,472 grants made from July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, worth £1,066.4 million, to 16,518 different organisations under 41 programme names. Most grants are small, but most of the money goes out in big ones: 2,322 grants over £20,000 accounted for £814.5 million, or 76% of the total.

Source: the Fund's own 360Giving files for July 2025 to June 2026 and July to September 2026 (Open Government Licence v3.0), taken from the 360Giving Data Registry on October 29, 2026. Award dates July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. Nation comes from the local authority code in each recipient's location, so a UK-wide grant counts where the recipient is based.

Northern Ireland's lower median for bigger grants comes from one programme. Sustainable Community Buildings made 111 grants with a median of £48,098 in the period, and it wasn't on the open list on October 29, 2026. Strip it out and Northern Ireland's main open route for bigger money, Strengthening Communities, had a median of £448,691.

Here's how the main programmes for grants over £20,000 looked in the data:

People and Places shows two clusters: 54 grants at £150,000 or less, which matches the medium grant ceiling, and 48 above it. In Scotland, 72 of 168 Community Action grants were £100,000 or less, which fits the page's warning that groups without long-term funding are unlikely to get more than £100,000.

Some 2026 examples from the Fund's published records: Viewpark Conservation Group in North Lanarkshire got £166,044 from Community Action on September 30, 2026 for a 36-month project. Rhymney Valley Foodbank in Caerphilly got £454,598 from People and Places on September 24, 2026. Orchardville Society in Belfast got £426,738 from Strengthening Communities in June 2026.

Limits of this data. It shows grants made, not applications refused, so it can't give you success rates. A few programmes on the open list, including the Scottish Land Fund, Young Start and Dormant Assets for All, didn't appear under those names in these two files, so this page has no award figures for them.

Reaching Communities England: The Main Route Above £20,000

Reaching Communities England (opens in a new tab) made 1,136 grants worth £419.4 million in the 15 months of data, more than any programme except Awards for All. According to the National Lottery Community Fund, you can apply for £20,001 or more for projects lasting up to 5 years, most projects get under £500,000, and you should get in touch before asking for more than £500,000. In exceptional cases it can award over £1 million, for larger organisations.

What sizes actually get funded. Grantsights analysis of the 1,136 grants:

The typical grant runs for 36 months; 157 ran for 60 months. Medians by regional team ranged from £259,609 (North East and Cumbria, 100 grants) to £360,000 (London and South East, 439 grants). Midlands had 218 grants, North West 142, Yorkshire and Humber 124 and South West 110.

The average: two figures that don't match. The Reaching Communities page says the average grant in 2025 was £319,000 over 3 years. Grantsights analysis of the 462 Reaching Communities grants dated in calendar 2025 found a mean of £377,081 and a median of £320,000. Two very large pooled or partnership grants pull the mean up: Collaboration Circle received £21,573,918 in July 2025 for "Propel: Pooled Funds", and 10GM Ltd received £16.5 million in February 2026. Leave out the grants over £1 million and the 2025 mean falls to £329,646. The Fund's figure may be calculated on a different basis; the median is the better guide for a normal application.

Real examples near the middle. A case in point: Cambridge and District Citizens Advice Bureau received £323,700 in July 2026 for a 36-month community advice outreach service. St Petrock's in Exeter received £309,412 in August 2026 for support for people experiencing homelessness. Ryedale Community Transport CIO in North Yorkshire received £325,000 in August 2026 for a project of about 5 years.

Who gets it. Not-for-profit companies received 334 grants, CIOs 300, charities that are also companies 228, CICs 165 and unincorporated charities 90. Only 3 went to unregistered voluntary groups. You can apply as an unincorporated group, but the Fund's page warns that trustees of unincorporated groups can be personally responsible for debts and suggests thinking about incorporating first.

How the two stages work. Stage one is an outline: what you want to do, which of the four missions it supports, who benefits, how people shape it, and why your organisation should lead it. The Fund says stage one takes up to 3 months and stage two up to 6 months, around 40 weeks in total. At stage two it asks for a detailed budget, your accounts, governance and policies, and how you'll reduce your environmental impact. If stage one fails, the Fund shares feedback.

Money it covers. Activity costs, staff and volunteers, organisational development, core running costs including core salaries, rent and utilities, and land and building work. It won't pay for retrospective costs, loan repayments, topping up reserves, work replacing government funding, or projects whose main purpose is political activity. For land or buildings over £20,000 you must own the site or hold a lease lasting at least 5 years after the work finishes.

Larger Grants in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Outside England the Fund's bigger programmes are smaller in size, quicker and more hands-on. Every main Scottish and Welsh programme asks you to contact the Fund first.

Scotland. Community Action (opens in a new tab) offers £20,001 to £250,000 for up to 5 years for community-led projects that bring people together, and your project must meet at least 2 of its 4 outcomes. Fairer Life Chances (opens in a new tab) offers £20,001 to £500,000 for children, young people and families or for better health, and the Fund expects most grants to be £250,000 or less. On both, an organisation that hasn't had long-term funding of 2 years or more is unlikely to get more than £100,000. You start by emailing advicescotland@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk or calling 0300 123 7110; the Fund says it'll connect you with a funding officer within 10 working days and then send the form if you're eligible. Decisions take around 12 weeks. For land and building purchases, the Scottish Land Fund (opens in a new tab) offers £5,000 to £1 million, backed by the Scottish Government and delivered with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, whose adviser works with you before you apply.

Wales. People and Places (opens in a new tab) has two levels. Medium grants of £20,001 to £150,000 use one stage and usually take around 15 weeks; you can also ask for up to £50,000 to plan a capital project up to RIBA stage 4. Large grants of £150,001 to £700,000 use 2 stages and take at least 40 weeks. A capital project should already be at RIBA stage 4 or higher. The Wales team says it'll connect you with a funding officer within 5 working days. Supporting Great Ideas (opens in a new tab) offers £20,001 to £500,000 for projects that test new ways of tackling problems; it made just 7 grants in the data, with a median of £467,209, so treat it as a narrow door.

Northern Ireland. Strengthening Communities (opens in a new tab) offers £20,001 to £500,000, but only organisations with an average income under £500,000 over the last 2 years can ask for less than £200,000. You must have been operating for at least 2 years. You submit an idea form first and the Fund says it'll reply within 30 working days. If invited, you have 30 days to start the full form and 60 days to submit it, then a funding officer visits, and you get a decision about 4 months after submitting. Only 10 of its 42 grants in the data were under £200,000.

UK-Wide and Very Large Programmes

Three open programmes give £500,000 or more. They're built for established organisations with strong evidence, and they move slowly.

• The UK Fund (opens in a new tab): £500,000 to £5 million for 2 to 10 years, aiming to fund around 20 projects a year. It won't fund brand-new projects or services; you need to show proven impact and readiness to scale, and benefit communities across the UK. The Fund calls it highly competitive and says it only invites applications to stage two if they strongly fit. It made 26 grants worth £74.5 million in the data.
• The Solidarity Fund (opens in a new tab): £1 million to £5 million over 5 to 10 years, England only, for work on the root causes of poverty, disadvantage and discrimination. Applications must strongly meet all 5 criteria. It made 14 grants worth £65.0 million, with a median of £4,991,318.
• Climate Action Fund: Food Systems (opens in a new tab): at least £2.5 million over 3 years, with most grants of £3 million to £5 million running 5 to 7 years, and up to 10 projects in the first year. You must work in a partnership.

Who Can Apply, and Who Can't

According to the National Lottery Community Fund's Reaching Communities who-can-apply page (opens in a new tab), 9 types of organisation can apply in England: constituted voluntary or community organisations, registered charities, CIOs, not-for-profit companies limited by guarantee, CICs, schools, public bodies including town and parish councils, and community benefit or co-operative societies registered with the FCA. CICs, non-charity companies limited by guarantee and both society types need an asset lock; the Regulator of Community Interest Companies' guidance for funders (opens in a new tab) explains how a CIC's asset lock works.

The rules repeated across almost every programme:

• At least 2 unrelated board or committee members. The Fund counts people as related if they're married or civil partners, in a long-term relationship, living at the same address, or related by blood or through a partner.
• 2 named contacts with separate email addresses who live in the UK, one of them a senior person legally responsible for the grant.
• Your latest accounts, or 12-month projections if you're under 15 months old.
• No applications from individuals, sole traders, organisations based outside the UK, or companies that can pay profits to shareholders.
• One application per project at a time across all the Fund's programmes.

If your organisation is a charity, the Charity Commission register (opens in a new tab) holds the legal name and income figures the Fund will check against. A mismatch between the name on your bank account and your registered name is a common mistake that delays payment.

What the National Lottery Community Fund Doesn't Tell You

The programme pages are clear about rules. Here's what the award data and the small print add.

Bigger grants mean a 9-month wait in England. Reaching Communities, The UK Fund and The Solidarity Fund all describe two-stage processes of around 9 months. If you need money for a project starting next spring, Reaching Communities is already too slow. Scotland's main programmes, at around 12 weeks, are much quicker.

Asking for the ceiling is unusual above £20,000. Unlike Awards for All, where most winners ask for close to £20,000, only 4.6% of Reaching Communities grants went over £500,000, and 1% over £1 million. A first big request well above £500,000 without a conversation with your regional team first is a red flag, and the Fund's page asks you to get in touch first.

Track record matters. In Scotland the cap of about £100,000 for groups without 2 years of long-term funding is written on the page. Northern Ireland's Strengthening Communities needs 2 years of operation. The UK Fund needs proven impact. A brand-new group usually does better starting with Awards for All.

Holding a small grant doesn't block a big one. 253 of the 1,132 Reaching Communities recipients in the data also had an Awards for All grant in the same 15 months. The rule is one application per project, not one grant per organisation.

Not all of it is Lottery money. Dormant Assets for All in Northern Ireland and Young Start in Scotland come from the Dormant Assets Scheme (opens in a new tab), and the Scottish Land Fund is Scottish Government money. Dormant Assets for All won't fund service delivery at all, only work that strengthens your organisation, and only for groups with a registered office in Northern Ireland.

"Open" doesn't always mean you can apply today. The Community Power Fund was listed as open on October 29, 2026 but doesn't accept applications until November 25, 2026. Strengthening Organisations in Scotland is open only to current Fund grant holders, and Egin grants in Wales only to groups that had Egin mentoring.

Common Mistakes That Sink Applications

These come straight from the rules on the Fund's own pages, and each one stops an otherwise good application.

• Two applications for one project. Applying to Reaching Communities and Awards for All for the same work at the same time isn't allowed. Wait for one decision first.
• Spending before the decision. Retrospective costs can't be funded on Reaching Communities, and the Scottish pages say you start only after signing the funding agreement and an induction call.
• Under-prepared building projects. People and Places capital bids should be at RIBA stage 4 or higher, and land or building work needs ownership or a lease of at least 5 years.
• Projects designed for people, not with them. Fairer Life Chances asks for projects designed with the people they're for; Community Action wants your community leading the idea, planning and decisions. Applications that can't show this tend to fall at the first stage.
• Replacing statutory services. Reaching Communities won't fund activities that replace government funding.

When the National Lottery Community Fund Is the Wrong Fit

The Fund is broad, but some projects belong with other funders:

• Heritage projects: the National Lottery Heritage Fund guide covers grants from £10,000 to £10 million.
• Small charities wanting long-term core money in England and Wales: see the Lloyds Bank Foundation guide.
• Groups who want another lottery funder: the People's Postcode Lottery trusts guide covers their grant programmes.
• Scottish charities: our guide to funding for charities in Scotland lists other options.
• CICs: many trusts fund charities only, so read grants for community interest companies.
• Wider searches: start with our charity grants UK overview or community grants UK guide.

Sources Checked

All pages were read, and all files downloaded, on October 29, 2026:

• National Lottery Community Fund, funding programmes finder (opens in a new tab), pages 1 to 5
• National Lottery Community Fund, Reaching Communities England: overview (opens in a new tab), who can apply (opens in a new tab), who cannot apply (opens in a new tab), what you can spend the money on (opens in a new tab), how to apply (opens in a new tab)
• National Lottery Community Fund programme pages for Community Action, Fairer Life Chances, Young Start, Strengthening Organisations, the Scottish Land Fund, People and Places, Supporting Great Ideas, Sustainable Steps Wales, Strengthening Communities, Dormant Assets for All, Small Eco Awards, The UK Fund, The Solidarity Fund, the Community Power Fund and Climate Action Fund: Food Systems, including the how-to-apply pages for Fairer Life Chances (opens in a new tab), Strengthening Communities (opens in a new tab) and The UK Fund (opens in a new tab)
• 360Giving Data Registry: National Lottery Community Fund files "Grants awarded July 2025 to June 2026" and "Grants awarded July to Sept 2026" (Open Government Licence v3.0)
• GOV.UK, The Dormant Assets Scheme (opens in a new tab)
• GOV.UK, Community interest companies: information for funding organisations (opens in a new tab)
• Charity Commission for England and Wales, register of charities data download (opens in a new tab)