Image: 10th East Belfast Scouts received a grant to provide a new Scout Hall as part of the £12 million awards announcement in April.
£12 million bonanza for voluntary groups
The last year of the millennium is proving a record one for the National Lottery
Charities Board in Northern Ireland.
Not only have we made our biggest ever single grant - £1 million to the Children's
Hospice - but we made it our single biggest allocation of grants, with awards
totalling more than £ 12 million to a wide range of voluntary organisations.
The £12,209,960 is bringing benefits to 97 diverse organisations and was awarded
under the themes of Community involvement and Poverty and disadvantage.
Noel Stewart, Chairman of the National Lottery Charities Board in Northern
Ireland took the opportunity to thank 'those who work tirelessly and with enormous
enthusiasm and imagination in support of the communities they serve.'
He went on: 'The grants will fuel exciting new developments for each of the
recipients and allow them to undertake important work which would not otherwise
have been possible.'
Ann McLaughlin, Director of the Northern Ireland, also praised the province's
army of voluntary workers.
She said: 'These funds make a real difference to people's lives. We do recognise,
however, that grants alone, however generous, do not bring about positive change.
For that we are indebted to the commitment, determination and vision of individuals
and groups. We congratulate them for their efforts and look forward to seeing
the fruits of their future endeavours.'
The combined total of grants awarded to groups in Northern Ireland now stands
at an impressive £49,389,312. The Board will be continuing to award Community
involvement and Poverty and disadvantage grants throughout the year and application
lines are always open. Call 0845 7919191 for an application form.