Local Trust founded the cross sectoral Community Wealth Alliance (CWFA) in 2019 to advocate for the establishment of a Community Wealth Fund. The campaign aim was to secure funding for doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods, that have the highest levels of deprivation and weakest social infrastructure, from the Dormant Assets Scheme.
In 2025, the government confirmed that the Community Wealth Fund will be targeted at the doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods most in need of investment in civic capacity building. The announcement signifies a huge achievement for the Alliance, with £175m secured for disadvantaged communities over the next four years.
The National Lottery Community Fund will be taking forward the next steps of delivering the CWF on behalf of the government.
For information and future updates on the Community Wealth Fund, please contact communitywealthfund@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.
What is a Community Wealth Fund?
The Community Wealth Fund (CWF) is an investment targeting doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods that have traditionally missed out on funding. It enables sustainable, community led change, with local residents supporting the projects identified as vital for improving their areas.
The Community Wealth Fund Alliance (CWFA) advocated for the CWF to be established based on four key principles:
Distribution according to these principles would shift the dial in these areas, building community confidence and capacity and supporting the development of services and facilities that meet the needs and aspirations of residents.
The CWFA advocated for allocating dormant assets to support the fund. Dormant assets are financial assets which are dormant or orphaned because their owner cannot be found – recently, this was expanded to include a broader range of assets beyond bank and building society accounts, such as bonds, stocks, shares and insurance policies. In 2023, the CWFA celebrated a campaign goal when the government committed to creating community wealth funds as the fourth beneficiary of the dormant assets scheme.
