The National Lottery is a major source of funding for voluntary and community organisations. Generally, the main advantage of lottery funding is that they can provide relatively large amounts of money, but some of their funds require you to match their grant with money from another source.
Funding is distributed through twelve lottery distribution
bodies who independently decide which projects have successfully
applied for a grant. The relevant distribution bodies in Wales
are:
BIG Lottery Fund (BLF) - the BLF is a fund for
community transformation, from smaller groups at a local level
through to big capital projects, intended to regenerate and
revitalise communities
Arts
Council for Wales - is responsible for funding and developing
the arts in Wales. It distributes funding to arts organisations and
individuals for clearly defined arts-related projects.
BFI - is the
government backed strategic agency for film in the UK. Its main aim
is to stimulate a competitive, successful and vibrant UK film
industry and culture, and to promote the widest possible enjoyment
and understanding of cinema throughout the nations and regions of
the UK.
Sports
Wales - is the national organisation responsible for developing
and promoting sport and recreation. It operates a number of funding
schemes that aim to increase participation and improve performance
in Welsh sport.
Heritage Lottery
Fund - gives grants to protect and open up the nation's
heritage. It will fund large capital costs of museums, historic
buildings, land and collections, and has also introduced a range of
smaller and medium-sized grant schemes, including Your Heritage and
the Local Heritage Initiative