National Lottery Awards for All Wales

Awards for All Wales is The National Lottery Community Fund’s small grants programme for Wales. It funds community projects of £300 to £20,000 lasting up to two years, and it accepts applications all year round.

Like the England and Scotland programmes, it funds projects, not objects. A website will not be funded on its own, but it can be one of the costs of delivering something your community needs.

• What they fund: New activities, existing ones, and help for your organisation to adapt to new or future challenges. Eligible costs include equipment, staff and training, transport and utilities, volunteer expenses, small land or refurbishment projects, and translation and other costs of delivering your project in Welsh and English.
• Typical grants: £300 to £20,000 for projects lasting up to two years. The most the programme will give one organisation in any 12-month period is £20,000.
• Who can apply: Constituted voluntary and community groups and clubs, registered charities, CIOs, not-for-profit companies, CICs, statutory bodies such as town and community councils, and schools where the project helps the wider community. You need at least two unrelated directors or committee members. The Fund says it is keen to fund smaller organisations and looks at your income when deciding.
• The angle: Projects must bring people together, improve places and spaces that matter to communities, help people reach their potential early, or support people under pressure from the cost of living. Projects that help communities connect with nature also fit. Show how local people shaped the idea, and let the website be the means, never “we need a new website”.
• Worth knowing: Apply at least 12 weeks before you need the money. You can only hold one Awards for All Wales grant at a time, and the Fund doesn’t accept applications written by consultants or private businesses. It can take applications as a video, in Easy Read or in British Sign Language if you need support to apply.

Could it pay for a charity website?

Probably No if your proposal is:

“We want a new website to help us raise more money.”

Activities that raise money are excluded, and a website on its own isn’t a community project.

Possibly Yes if your proposal is:

“We’re starting a bilingual support group for carers in three valleys, with online booking and an information hub in Welsh and English so people can find us and join.”

Here the website is part of delivering the project, and the cost of making it bilingual is exactly the kind of cost the programme lists.

How to apply

1. Check you are eligible and that you don’t already have an Awards for All Wales grant or an application waiting for a decision.
2. Talk to the people the project is for and show how their views shaped it.
3. Read the full list of application questions on the Fund’s website, then apply online. You can save the form and come back to it.
4. Expect a decision within 12 weeks. If you are successful, the Fund aims to pay within 14 days.

Questions charities ask

Similar funds

See the other funds open to Welsh charities, or compare Awards for All England and Awards for All Scotland. Or browse the full Funding Finder.