The National Lottery Community Fund is offering £20m of grant funding to support projects that connect communities with climate action. 

The funder said it would offer the funding, which comes from its Climate Action Fund, for schemes that aim to “involve more people in climate action and to inspire bold and exciting change”. 

The NLCF said applications were open to partnerships working with communities that could be new to climate action, particularly projects that involve people, places and communities experiencing poverty, discrimination and disadvantage. 

It said it wanted to fund formal partnership projects that reach more people by either linking climate action to the everyday lives and interests of local communities or influencing communities at a regional or national level. 

“We want to reach people who are new to climate action by funding other types of organisations too,” the NLCF said in a statement. “And by using people’s everyday activities as a starting point for climate action.”

The minimum amount organisations can apply for is £500,000 and the NLCF said it expected to fund most projects for between £1m and £1.5m over three to five years. 

The Climate Action Fund, which was launched in 2019, has awarded more than £86m to 118 projects the support people across the UK take climate action in their communities. 

This is the fifth tranche of the scheme, which has supported initiatives including the Sensory Trust’s Collective Climate Repair project, which aims to inspire people including those who are deaf, blind or autistic to improve biodiversity in their communities. 

Nick Gardner, head of climate action at the National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We know that climate change matters to communities, so it matters to us. This new funding aims to bring people together to deliver large-scale, ambitious projects that will inspire even more people to get involved in climate action.

“We’d love to get applications from partnerships with bold, exciting ideas, inspired by people’s everyday interests and lives, helping to create networks across the UK and reaching communities and groups who might be new to climate action.”

The NLCF said it would close the fund for applications in early 2025, with the final date announced nearer the time.

For more information or to apply click here.