National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) has announced that it will be investing £50 million in community leadership over the next five years, working with up to 12 partner organisations to build strong support systems for community leaders.
The aim is to:
- Change the way community leaders are supported to succeed in England
- Develop and build strong support systems that meet community leaders' needs
- Ensure community leaders have what they need to develop, to feel supported, reach their full potential and to thrive in their communities.
The new funding is intended to support a range of approaches and models. The selected partners will work with community leaders to co-design what support works best for them.
Depending on their proposals, organisations could receive between £1 million and £5 million to do this work over the next five years.
Webinars will be held on 18 June (15:00 to 15:45) and 30 June (10:00 to 10:45). Registration is required and can be done via the NLCF website.
Full details about the new programme will be provided when they become available.
Applications open on 8 July 2026.