The National Lottery Community Fund has committed to distributing £3bn to charities in England by 2030, including £275m invested in community-led change initiatives.

The grantmaker’s announcement comes after it announced plans in May to reach more than 80 per cent of local communities, in what it described as its “largest expansion in 30 years”. 

The funder has today announced three partnership programmes and a commitment to distributing £3bn by 2030, including an investment of £275m to support the “building blocks of community-led change”.

This includes £100m invested into a 10-year Community Power Fund, which will fully launch in 2026 following a development stage. 

The grantmaker is seeking between 10 and 15 partners to help shape the programme during this development stage, saying that it is keen to work with both small grassroots organisations and larger strategic ones. 

The NLCF said it was particularly interested in working with organisations that work with marginalised or excluded communities.

During the one-year development stage, £1.2m funding will be available, with grants of between £50,000 and £80,000 available for each partner organisation.

Successful applicants will deliver activities in and with communities to increase their agency and control, and will also work with the grantmaker to shape the fund’s future.

The grantmaker’s £275m investment in community-led change will include a new £50m community leaders programme, which will support informal community leaders who are making a difference in their local area.

It also includes a new You Decide funding stream, which will be allocated at least 5 per cent of the grantmaker’s £500m in yearly funding for England. 

The NLCF said it was looking for up to five expert partner organisations, which have experience in running or designing a grant fund, to help deliver this, with £2m allocated for the fund’s one-year development phase.

The £2m will be distributed between the partners, with at least £1.6m of this being designated as onward granting for communities.

Successful applicants will work with communities to decide how to distribute funding to good causes, while the grantmaker will learn from the partners’ approaches.

The NLCF has committed £150m up to 2030 for a Grant Holder Support fund, which will also have a one-year development period. The grantmaker is seeking a partner organisation to lead this development stage, which will be offered £200,000 in funding from spring 2025 to spring 2026.

The lead partner will support about eight to 10 other partners, with a £1.9m funding pot available for participating civil society organisations.

Expressions of interest for partnership applications to the Community Power Fund, You Decide fund and Grant Holder Support fund open on 8 January.

The grantmaker also announced that it will make at least £135m a year available through its National Lottery Awards for All funding programme up to 2030 – a fund which provides grants up to two years worth between £300 and £20,000 for eligible voluntary and community organisations.

John Mothersole, England chair at the NLCF, said: “We’re rooted in communities and that’s key to our strategy. Last year, we listened far and wide to understand what the key issues are in areas, and the potential for positive change. 

“Now, across our funding in England we’ll partner for bigger, long-term impact, as we recognise that not all communities start from the same place. We’ll give them more of a say in where our support goes, to build from their strengths and go where their aspirations take them.”