- Area:
- Scotland
- Programme:
- 2014 Communities
- Release date:
- 30 3 2009
The Big Lottery Fund today announced the first round of funding from its 2014 Communities programme with 34 projects set to benefit in Glasgow and the west of Scotland. The programme is the first in Scotland to make funding available for community groups and organisations to build a legacy from the 2014 Commonwealth Games up and down the country.
Across Scotland 78 grassroots projects are to benefit from the first set of awards that aim to support and stimulate grassroots involvement in sport and physical activity. The 2014 Communities programme from the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors is proving to be a success and attracting new groups to apply for Lottery funding with 28 per cent identified as first time applicants.
Through the programme the Big Lottery Fund hopes to encourage more people to take part and volunteer through sport or physical activity as well as using sport as a way to bring together people from different generations.
Announcing the first awards totalling £70,116, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Alison Magee, said: “Through 2014 Communities we are investing money across the country so as to create a nationwide legacy for the whole of Scotland. More than 40 per cent of today’s awards are for groups based in Glasgow and the west while 28 per cent of those who have been successful across the country have never applied to us before.
“Today’s grants in Glasgow and the west of Scotland will allow people, young and old, to take part in everything from cricket and curling through to dancing and gymnastics. These projects are all very different but share a common aim; helping people become fit and healthy, learn new skills and play an active role in their community.”
The Scottish Government’s Sports Minister, Shona Robison, MSP, said: It’s extremely encouraging to see the range of activities being strengthened across Scotland's communities through these grants. These awards will encourage more people to lead healthier, active lives and really get involved in their communities, the heart of our own legacy aspirations.“
She continued: “These grants will also help get hugely worthwhile grass roots projects off the ground across Scotland. We want to see more people involved in their communities and these projects will help to achieve that.
“Our ambition is to create a lasting legacy from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow which will help people live longer, healthier lives, in strong, supportive communities, valuing and protecting the built and natural environment, with new and better skills development, employment and volunteering opportunities for generations to come.”
Jon Doig, Chief Executive, Commonwealth Games Scotland, said: “One of the main reasons for bringing the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow in 2014 is to encourage more people to take part in sport and it is great to see the impact that the BIG Lottery’s 2014 communities funding strand is having from the outset. Just like our team members who represent the length and breadth of Scotland, applications are coming in from right across the country.”
Amongst today’s winning groups is the Community Coaching Initiative in the south of Glasgow, which provides all year round cricket coaching for young people. The group receives £960 to deliver indoor coaching sessions.
Welcoming the £960 award, Keith Young, Junior Convenor, Community Coaching Initiative, said: "This is the first time we have applied for Lottery funding and I am delighted that the 2014 Communities programme gave us the opportunity to do so. The award means that we are able to deliver a number of indoor cricket coaching sessions in preparation for the summertime when the sport really comes alive. What's more cricket is a wonderful sport for bringing young people, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds, together to have fun and work as part of a team.”
SEAL (South East Area Lifestyle) works in the Govan area of Glasgow to promote healthy living. The group will use its £1,000 grant to try to inspire young women aged between 10 and 16 living in deprived areas to take up healthier lifestyles.
Nicola McGill from SEAL, said: “We’ve done projects for the over 16s before but we knew there was a need for a new approach for younger girls. This money will allow us to provide dance classes for up to 25 people a week for ten weeks. It’s to let people know that exercise can be fun. We’ll also be doing classes on body image. Without this grant we couldn’t do the work. The kids don’t have the money to come and the parents don’t either. If this project’s a success we’ll be looking to make it permanent.”
In Kirkintilloch the community group Get Mobile encourages older, less able and partially disabled people in to discover, or in some cases rediscover the joys of cycling. Welcoming the £1,000 award George Glaister from Get Mobile, said: "We're trying help disabled, less mobile and older people to get out and about in their towns and in the countryside. This grant will fund an electric trike which will be used to take people on canal side trips near Kirkintilloch. When you use a mobility scooter it's because you have to but when it's a trike it lets people feel more normal. It's a tandem machine so the people using it will always feel safe. Hopefully one day we'll have a small fleet and better able to let people from local groups to get out into the country.”
The Four Connections youth group provides activities for 250 children and young people from the rural community of Netherthird, Cumnock. Thanks to a grant of £984 the group will be able to take some of its young people for ski lessons at the Newmilns Ski Slope.
Margaret Campbell, Chair, Four Connections, said: “We are based in a small mining village where there is not much for young people to do. When we asked the older children what new activities they would like to take part in they chose skiing. Many of them have never been able to enjoy this activity before and they were delighted that we can now make it happen for them.”
Girls in Kilwinning aiming to make their mark in the footballing world are set to benefit from a grant of £1,000. KSC Girls will use the grant to purchase new football strips and to fund transport costs for games. Claire Hodge, Secretary, KSC Girls, said: “Football is often classed as a male sport but we are testiment to the fact that girls also have a natural flair for the game. We have girls of all ages in our club and this grant means we can get more and more girls taking part.”
For full details of all 2014 Communities grants announced today 
click here
- 831KB (380KB .xls).
Further Information
For further information on 2014 Communities contact:
Landa Rolland on: 0141 242 1415 or 07880 737 157
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Notes to Editors
- 2014 Communities is a new micro grants programme, offering local sports clubs, voluntary and community organisations, community councils and schools grants of £300 to £1,000 to support and stimulate grass roots involvement in sport and physical activity. In year one of the programme, the Big Lottery Fund has £0.5 million to award in grants. 2014 Communities will continue to operate up to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, but what we focus our funding on and how we deliver our funding may change based on learning leading up to 2014.
- 2014 Communities is about building a legacy of well-being before and beyond the Commonwealth Games. The programme aims to encourage more people to take part or volunteer in sport or physical activity as well as encourage greater community cohesion in the run up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £22 billion has now been raised and more than 300,500 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
SCOTLAND
The Scotland Committee, led by Chair, Alison Magee, has been making Big Lottery Fund decisions on Scottish projects since March 2007. As well as taking devolved decisions on Lottery spending, the Committee has and will continue to play a strategic role in the future direction of BIG in Scotland.
The Big Lottery Fund is investing in Scotland’s communities through it’s Investing in Communities portfolio as well as the small grants schemes Awards for All and 2014 Communities.
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