- Area:
- Wales
- Programme:
- The Peoples Millions
- Release date:
- 15 4 2008
The pressure is on for communities who want a £50,000 slice of the Big Lottery Fund’s People’s Millions. Groups in Wales have just one month left to put in their bid to enter this year’s TV contest which has £250,000 in good cause cash to award across the country.
The Big Lottery Fund are joining forces with ITV to encourage local organisations to enter the People’s Millions contest before the noon deadline of 15 May 2008. The contest gives local groups the chance to appear on TV and to win a grant of up to £50,000 to improve and enrich their local community.
Previous winners have used their awards on an array of projects, including a project by The Partneriaeth Dolgellau Partnership in North Wales to provide new facilities in the town's park and a project by the Ethnic Youth Support Team in Swansea, South Wales, to upgrade the youth drop-in centre whilst training young people in environmentally sound construction skills.
Big Lottery Fund Director for Wales, Ceri Doyle, said: “With only a month to go now is the time for groups to apply to the People’s Millions. This is the fourth year we have teamed up with ITV to run this contest and we are really keen to hear from groups across Wales who have a wonderful idea for funding. So if you're involved with a project that really helps local people, contact us now and get your completed application in to us by May 15th.”
ITV Wales Tonight News presenter, Andrea Benfield, said: “I’ve recently been able to visit projects which have won grants in previous years here in Wales and it’s great to see the transformation. It really is the sort of money that can make a big difference to people’s lives in your area. Remember there’s a quarter of a million pounds up for grabs in Wales this year and five projects can be winners. So if you’ve got an idea, what are you waiting for? Get your applications in now and you could be on TV and be in with a chance of winning £50,000!”
Across the ITV Wales region, the Big Lottery Fund has five awards of up to £50,000 up for grabs. Projects will go head to head on TV to win the public’s support and share in up to £250,000 of Lottery good cause money.
Organisations have until 15 May 2008 to enter the contest. The finalists will be screened on ITV Wales evening news programme later in the year when viewers will be able to cast their vote for the projects they want to win the Lottery good cause cash.
Application packs for People’s Millions are available by calling the hotline: 08450 10 11 12* or by visiting www.peoplesmillions.org.uk
·Calls cost maximum of 4p per minute from a BT landline. Calls from mobiles and other networks may be higher.
Further information
Big Lottery Fund Press Officer- Oswyn Hughes: 02920 678 207
Out of Hours contact: 07760 171 431
ITV Press Contact: Sally Holmes on 08448 810 202
Full details of Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.
Notes to Editors
90 awards are up for grabs – 4 plus one bonus award in each of 18 ITV regions.
- Since the launch of People’s Millions in 2005, the aim of the contest has been to fund projects that improve the quality of life of local communities through transforming the local environment. This year projects that provide opportunities or facilities for enjoying the local environment have also been added to the funding criteria.
- The Big Lottery Fund rolls out close to £2 million in Lottery good cause money every 24 hours, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
- Telephone voting numbers – As with previous years, ITV and the Big Lottery Fund will use a low cost non-premium rate telephone number. ITV and Big do not make a profit from the voting telephone numbers.
- The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004.
- On 1 December 2006 the Big Lottery Fund was officially established by Parliament and at the same time assumed the residual responsibilities of the dissolved National Lottery Charities Board (Community Fund) the New Opportunities Fund, and the Millennium Commission. The Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money.
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