10 April 2000

Doomsday exercise one of 68 Charities Board awards

The money may be modest but the project has echoes of an epic social exercise as the Millennium Committee in Trefdraeth, Pembrokeshire sets out to record its community to create a modern day equivalent of the Doomsday Book with a £617 grant. An all-Wales rally and conference for pensioners will also go ahead in the Summer with the help of a £2,000 grant to the National Old Age Pensioners Association Wales. Many exciting community projects feature in the latest National Lottery Charities Board Small grants awards which total £196,747 to 68 groups across Wales.

Grangetown Residents Association in Cardiff will use its £4,753 to produce a community newsletter; Llanuwchlyn in Gwynedd will take part in a twinning festival with £2,300 awarded to Wes Wes - Wa; and Hendy in the Swansea area will benefit from a community needs survey with a £5,000 grant awarded to the Hendy Community Leisure Forum.

Elisabeth Watkins, Chairman of the Charities Board in Wales said, "It is good to see small communities working together to create something special during Millennium year. Besides memorable events, many of the basic necessities within communities are also met by the Small grants which range from £500 to £5,000. Take for example Flintshire where the main recipients are playgroups seeking new equipment, a village seeking to bring computers to the community and a welfare committee for the elderly planning an outing to improve the quality of its members lives. We feel that, on the whole, grass-roots community groups understand the benefits of the Charities Board Small grants scheme. However we are not getting through to some areas where the number of applications are low. So, for further information on community project funding please contact the Charities Board in Newtown."

Groups seeking application forms for Charities Board grants or further information should call 0845 727 3273.

Notes to Editors

1. For media enquiries or group contact numbers please call Hanna or Brian on 01248 679003.
2. 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.
3. The Charities Board’s two main grant programmes: Community involvement and Poverty and disadvantage as well as Small grants are awarded by the Wales Committee. Board Members in Wales are Elisabeth Watkins (Chairman), Tom Jones and Jeff Carroll. Co-opted Members to the Board are Margaret Dennis, Aled Siôn and Dr Glyn Williams.
4. 4. 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.
5. Since October 1995, the National Lottery Charities Board, under the main grants, has awarded nearly £84 million to 923 groups in Wales. Over £4 million has been awarded to 1,602 groups under the Small grants scheme. This brings the total distributed in Wales, over five years, to nearly £88m million.
6. 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.

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 is therefore not for the Charities Board use.)