The halfway point

Big Local is a National Lottery Community Fund-funded programme which commits £1m each to 150 neighbourhoods across England. The £217m originally provided by The National Lottery Community Fund to support this programme is the largest single-purpose Lottery-funded endowment ever made, and the biggest ever investment by a non-state funder in placebased, resident-led change.

In terms of scale, time horizon and ethos, nothing like Big Local has ever existed. Designed from the outset to be radically different from other funding programmes, at the heart of Big Local is a vision of empowered, resilient, dynamic, asset-rich communities making their own decisions on what is best for their area.

This publication marks several milestones. In 2019, the National Lottery celebrates its 25th birthday – 25 years of giving to good causes across the UK. In Big Local, the 150 areas have now crossed the halfway point in their 10–15-year spending plans, with many lessons learned along the way. It is a perfect moment to share some of the valuable knowledge gained from these brilliant communities.