Funding: Lottery Pumps Healthy £165 Million into Wellbeing

The Fund’s new Lottery good cause programme has a three-pronged focus, which aims to improve mental wellbeing, make people more physically active, and encourage children, parents and the wider community to eat more healthily.

The Fund plans to maximise the impact of the £165 million by encouraging organisations to work across the programme’s three strands and work in partnership to deliver regional and national portfolios of projects in England dedicated to making communities healthier.

Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund Stephen Dunmore said: “This is an exciting and innovative programme that ensures those applying for funding develop a strategy that promotes mental health, physical activity and healthy eating that meets identified local needs.”

The programme aims to promote and encourage partnership working within the health sector and across other sectors to increase participation and innovation. Grants will range from £1 million upwards and be made for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years.

Changing attitudes and the stigma associated with mental health will be tackled along with developing preventative approaches to common mental health problems, including stress, depression and anxiety disorders.

The funding will improve the ability of communities to organise and run projects that provide opportunities for people to become more active and will encourage those with the most sedentary lifestyles to increase their activity levels in daily life.  

By providing healthy choices to everyone the healthy eating strand will enable greater access to wholesome foods and increase knowledge of healthy foods to encourage improved eating habits.

More information and application packs are available from the Big Lottery Fund web site or on: 08454 10 20 30.