- 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 ten projects set to benefit in Tayside and Fife. 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 whole of Scotland in order to create a nationwide legacy. More than 90 per cent of today’s awards are for groups based outside of Glasgow and 28 per cent of those who have been successful have never applied to us before.
“Today’s grants throughout Tayside and Fife will allow children of all ages, to take part in everything from hockey, football and rugby, through to dancing and keep fit. These projects are all very different but share a common aim; helping people to become healthy and fitter, 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, added: “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 Kirkland High School and Community College in Methil. The school receives £541 to start up a Mother and Daughter fitness club.
Welcoming the £541 award, Margaret Hair, Active Schools Co-ordinator, said: This Lottery money has allowed us to offer a unique opportunity to our girls in the school and their mothers in the form of a mother and daughters’ club. The club runs twice a week after school with the activities changing every four weeks. Not only does this venture encourage the girls and their mothers to adopt a healthy lifestyle by keeping active, it also gives them quality time together and a chance to socialise and make new friends.”
Gowriehill Primary School in Dundee will use its grant of £1,000 to better equip its current after-school sports groups with new equipment, and strips to wear in competitions.
Barbara Smith, Deputy Head, Gowriehill Primary School, said, “This is the first time we have ever applied for Lottery money and so our staff and pupils are very excited. Children of all ages at Gowriehill will benefit from this money. We have identified four focus areas where the money will be spent; Scottish country dance, gymnastics, football and rugby. We will now be able to provide strips which will foster team spirit and further enhance our pupils’ sense of pride in their school. The sports equipment will help improve current resources and also enable us to start a gymnastic class.”
Dunfermline Carnegie Hockey Club will now be able to promote and provide opportunities to play hockey to seven local primary schools. Welcoming the £900 grant, Gordon Johnston, Club Captain, said: “This award is fantastic as it will enable the club to make links with seven primary schools in Dunfermline. We can now give over 200 local P6 and P7 children the chance to enjoy hockey during the school day. This money will mean that those children get the chance to take part in team sports and those that are interested can get the chance to eventually take part in club sessions, which are held in the evenings, where we can give them the chance to develop even further."
Other groups receiving funding today in Tayside and Fife are:
Hillside Primary School, Award - £1,000
This school in Dundee will use its grant to pay for play equipment, 12 sets of basketball strips, 12 sets of track suits and athletics equipment.
St Paul's RC Primary School, Award - £1000
This school in Glenrothes will use the grant to buy junior basketball stands, training bibs, fitness mats, tennis tournament sets, throw down lines, a primary school fitness pack, a school starter pack and plastic cones.
Queen Anne High School, Award - £816
This school in Dunfermline will use its grant to fund coaching costs for dance and hockey.
Turning Point Scotland, Award - £725
This group provides social care support to vulnerable and disadvantaged people. The grant will fund travel costs, horse riding and meals for a project in Kirriemuir.
Arbroath Academy, Award - £743
This school project focuses on netball, mainly for girls. The grant will be used to purchase netball stands, balls, reversible bibs, netball team shirts and skirts.
Letham Community Sports Club, Award - £801
This group in Perth will launch a soccer school for children aged 5-7 years old. The grant will be used to pay for soccer balls, marker cones, inflatable goals, the hire of facilities and promotional flyers.
Perthshire Rugby Football Club, Award - £879
This club promotes and encourages participation in rugby in the Perth region. The grant will be used to purchase skipping ropes, balance discs, medicine balls, powerbags, viper belts, speed power resistors, ram reaction balls and bibs.
For full details of all 2014 Communities grants announced today 
click here
- 831KB (830KB .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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