19 October 1999

Charities Board issues Annual Report

The National Lottery Charities Board has issued its Annual Report for 1998/9 which reveals that across the UK the Charities Board under all grant programmes awarded 6,428 grants worth £284 million. This brings the total amount awarded to charities and voluntary organisations in the UK to more than £1.3 billion. Wales has continued to receive above-average funding due to weighting for disadvantage.

Tom Jones, Chair of the Board in Wales said: "Issuing the Annual Report is always an opportunity to reflect on what we’ve got right and what we still need to achieve. Ultimately we are a grant distributor and our success tends to be measured in numbers, for example over £15m of large and small grants were awarded to 503 groups in Wales during 1998/9. However the numbers are defined by the amount of funding available and we are painfully aware that some worthwhile projects are rejected in a given year due to insufficient funds. So the real measure of what the Charities Board achieves in a year is the effort we put in to ensuring that the limited funding available is distributed fairly, to effectively managed projects, providing the maximum benefit to the disadvantaged or local communities."

Highlights for the year include:

• after the third major consultation with the voluntary sector, issuing the Strategic Plan which highlights the Charities Board’s approach to targeting areas and issues that could benefit more from funding
• arising from the Strategic Plan, a promise by the Wales Committee to set aside up to £9 million over a period of three years towards community transport schemes the strengthening of representation in Wales with the appointment of
• three new co-opted members
• the introduction of feedback letters outlining the reasons when it is not possible to award a grant
• the launch of a dedicated research programme giving a £25 million boost to medical and social research organisations in the UK
• passing the milestone of £50 million of main grant funding in Wales with a grant awarded to the support group After Adoption Wales in December 1998.

Diana Brittan, Chair of the National Lottery Charities Board UK said: "These are notable achievements and confirm that the Charities Board is distributing lottery funds in a way which should make a lasting improvement to the quality of life of those at greatest disadvantage."

The overall work of the Charities Board is objectively reviewed in the independent National Lottery Year Book 1999, published by the Directory of Social Change, which comments: "[The Charities Board] is generally regarded as accessible, well organised, locally based and unexpectedly flexible in dealing with problems that arise with the projects it funds."

Notes to Editors

2. For media enquiries please call Hanna or Myrddin on 01286 675221.
3. The National Lottery Charities Board is an independent body set up by Parliament to distribute funds to support charitable, benevolent and philanthropic organisations. There are 17 Board members, including the Chair. Decisions on grants are made by the members in grant-making committees for Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole.
4. The Charities Board’s two main grant programmes: Community involvement and Poverty and disadvantage as well as Small grants are assessed by the Wales Committee. Board Members in Wales are Tom Jones (Chair), Elisabeth Watkins and Jeff Carroll. Co-opted Members to the Board are Margaret Dennis, Aled Siôn and Dr Glyn Williams.
5. The Charities Board distributes 4.7 pence of every pound raised by the National Lottery.
6. The Board’s main aim is to give grants to help meet the needs of those at greatest disadvantage in society and to improve the quality of life in the community.
7. Since October 1995, the National Lottery Charities Board, under the main grants, has awarded over £74 million to 857 groups in Wales. Over £3 million has been awarded to 1334 groups under the Small grants scheme. This brings the total distributed in Wales, over five years, to over £77 million.
8. Full lists of Charities Board’s grants are published on the internet at www.nlcb.org.uk and full lists of all Lottery distributors grants are listed at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk.
9. Publications by the Directory of Social Change, including the National Lottery Yearbook 1999, are available by calling 0171 2095151.

Note to Designers

1. The National Lottery Charities Board logo is the circular logo that appears on this press release. (The "crossed finger" logo is a trade mark for the National Lottery as promoted by Camelot and is therefore not for the Charities Board use.)