- Area:
- UK-wide
- Programme:
- The Peoples Millions
- Release date:
- 13 3 2013
People are being asked to consider how a £50,000 Lottery windfall could make a difference to the lives of people in their communities as The People’s Millions TV funding competition launches for 2013.
Anything from youth and environmental projects to schemes that improve employment prospects or help people in need are in with a chance of bagging the Big Lottery Fund cash, provided that entrants can convince their community through a broadcast on ITV regional news that their idea is worthy of the prize.
The Peoples Millions is an annual TV competition run by Big Lottery Fund and ITV which awards Lottery funding to community projects that will improve the lives of local people. This year there are four awards of up to £50,000 on offer in each of the 19 ITV regional news areas across the UK.
The competition opens today (13 March 2013) for entries from voluntary and community groups; local authorities; schools; statutory health bodies and branches of organisations or partnerships.
In October, a shortlist of the best ideas will be chosen. Those behind the shortlisted projects then have around a month to get their communities supporting their proposals before they are showcased on regional news in November. Whoever gets the most support through a telephone vote will win the funding to put their plans into action.
Entry packs are available at www.peoplesmillions.org.uk and the deadline for completed entries is 12 noon on Monday 13 May 2013.
Big Lottery Fund Chair, Peter Ainsworth said: “The People’s Millions is a fantastic way to make a difference in your area, whether it’s tackling a local problem or issue, or responding to a need for a service or support in a particular part of your community. The public will vote on who gets the money, so the ideas need to capture people’s imaginations and persuade them to vote. It’s a huge amount of fun and a great chance to put your community on the map and mobilise support for something you care about. I would encourage everyone passionate about where they live to think about how to spend £50,000 and send us their ideas as soon as possible!”
Adam Crozier, ITV Chief Executive said: “ITV is delighted that The People's Millions is returning, giving groups and communities the opportunity to improve the lives of local people. This year, with almost £4million up for grabs, we look forward to seeing some exciting projects evolve from a distant dream into reality.”
This year The People’s Millions is offering a total of £3.8 million to 76 projects across the UK. The competition has awarded over £27.8 million Lottery cash to 523 projects since it was launched in 2005.
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888 Out of Hours contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigLotteryFund #BIGlf
Follow People's Millions on Twitter using: #pplsmillions
The People’s Millions 2013 Diary Dates
• 12noon 13 May 2013: Application deadline
• Late October 2013: Shortlist announcement
• 25-28 November 2013: Voting week
Notes to Editors
• The People’s Millions is a Big Lottery Fund initiative in partnership with ITV
• Through The People’s Millions BIG will be making 76 awards of up to £50,000 to new projects that will improve local places or the lives of people in the community.
• The People’s Millions that has given the public the chance to vote on which local projects should receive lottery good-cause funding since its launch in 2005.
• New and existing voluntary or community organisations, schools, local authorities and health bodies are all eligible to apply.
• Telephone voting numbers – as with previous years, ITV and the Big Lottery Fund will use a low cost telephone number. ITV and BIG do not make a profit from the voting telephone numbers.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of 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 its inception in June 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.
• 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 £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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