£260m from Big Lottery Fund to leverage European funding for projects across England that tackle poverty and promote social inclusion
Subject to approval from the European Commission later this year, Big Lottery Fund is planning to put up to £260m of Lottery funds against a similar figure from the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014–2020 in order to support communities and people most in need across England.
BIG are offering funding for projects delivering against the ‘Promoting Social Inclusion and Combating Poverty’ part of ESF, as this aligns well with their own mission and priorities. The funding will be delivered in Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas according to local priorities, which have been set by the LEPs, and could support projects ranging from improving employability for the most disadvantaged, helping those with multiple and complex needs, or improving financial literacy. LEP area partnerships have made decisions about how much of their ESF allocation to devote to this strand of work, meaning that the amount of main funding available will vary widely across different areas.
Ahead of the main funding becoming available from 2015, Big Lottery Fund will offer Lottery development funding in each of the LEP areas. See more here…