12 April 1999

Major Lottery reform means multi-million pound boost for community groups - New national Awards for All scheme will help more people join in Millennium celebrations

A new scheme to help small community groups across all regions of England get National Lottery money was launched today by Culture Secretary Chris Smith.

The Awards for All scheme, which has been piloted in the East Midlands over the last five months, brings together for the first time the Lottery distributors - the Arts Council of England, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Millennium Commission, the National Lottery Charities Board and Sport England.

In the first year of its operation (April 1999-April 2000) Millennium Festival Awards for All will concentrate on funding small scale arts, charities, sports and heritage activities contributing to the nationwide Millennium Festival, making £35 million available to help with community celebrations of the coming of the year 2000.

Millennium Festival Awards for All is open for business with immediate effect and is available for any not-for-profit group, with priority being given to organisations with an income of less than £15,000 a year. In contrast with other well-known Lottery grant programmes, the new scheme will provide awards ranging from £500 to £5,000. Applicants will not be required to raise other ‘matching’ funds in order to qualify for help and will be usually told if they have been successful within 12 weeks of applying.

Announcing the new England-wide scheme Culture Secretary Chris Smith said:

"The introduction of an England-wide Awards for All scheme shows that the Government’s reform of the Lottery, aimed at ensuring that it provides something for everyone, is now taking effect. People across the country play the Lottery, and everyone should have the opportunity to call on it for help, wherever they are, and however large or small the organisation or community group they belong to.

"In its first year of operation the new scheme will play a major part in ensuring that people across the country will be able to take part in the Millennium Festival, marking the significance of the year 2000 in their own communities.

"From today tens of thousands of voluntary groups and organisations across England will be able to get help for projects as diverse as improving local parks and organising children’s trips to the seaside - making a real difference to many people’s lives."

Carol Townend, Project Manager, Millennium Festival Awards for All, said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for local groups throughout the country to get Lottery money to fund projects and activities which will help them mark the Millennium."

Media enquiries: Robert Blow 0171-747 5227