National Lottery – Awards For All Environment

They offer funding from £300 to £20,000 and can support your project for up to two years.

You can apply for funding to:

• start a new activity or continue an existing one
• help your organisation adapt to new challenges
• run one-off events that have a clear environmental benefit

They can fund projects that will do at least one of these things:

• help people connect with and care for nature in their area
• make a positive difference to the environment

What they fund to help nature and the environment

Climate change and the loss of nature are two of the biggest challenges we face.

Scientists say climate change is the greatest threat to people around the world. At the same time, the UK has lost much of its wildlife, and the condition of nature is declining.

We need a healthy planet to live well, stay safe, and build strong communities.

These are global problems – but local action makes a difference. That’s why they support community projects that protect nature and help the environment.

They fund projects that meet one or both of these aims:

• help people connect with and care for nature in their area
• make a positive difference to the environment

They want to fund projects that help people engage with good-quality, accessible nature close to home.

Under this aim, they will fund projects that:

• make a positive difference to local green spaces
• help connect local people to nature

Make a positive difference to local green spaces

You could do this by:

• creating community gardens or shared spaces for growing food or plants
• rewilding or restoring neglected green areas
• running volunteer sessions to care for green spaces
• improving parks or playgrounds to support nature and wildlife

Help connect local people to nature

You could do this by:

• running forest schools or outdoor learning activities to help people engage with nature and improve their wellbeing
• organising activities in nature for people who do not usually access green spaces
• creating or improving community allotment plots with wildlife-friendly features
• offering volunteering in horticulture or community farming and providing outdoor therapy that supports both people and the environment

Projects and activities they’ve funded for this aim:

• Nature-based spaces for learning and play: A community group set up bee hives to support pollination, boost biodiversity, and teach people about nature and food production. They also developed a forest school space with a small shelter and fencing to create a safe, welcoming area for bushcraft and nature play
• Extending a community green space: One organisation transformed a disused area by expanding a shared green space. This created more room for people to enjoy and connect with nature
• Running outdoor activities: Another group delivered regular activities like park and canal walks, gardening, and community picnics

They want to fund projects that help care for the environment and respond to climate challenges.

Under this aim, they will fund projects that:

• deliver sustainable activities
• help people reduce carbon or save energy

Deliver sustainable activities

This includes:

• running repair or reuse sessions – such as fixing bikes or furniture
• setting up a food growing projects
• redistributing food from supermarkets or shops that would otherwise go to waste
• using nature-based solutions to local climate risks – like planting trees to reduce heat in urban areas or using plants to help prevent flooding

Help people reduce carbon or save energy

This includes:

• installing solar panels or other energy-saving features in well-used community buildings
• offering advice sessions or interactive workshops to help people make small, positive changes
• raising awareness about climate change, food choices, local growing, cooking or saving energy

Projects and activities they’ve funded for this aim

These examples show the kinds of work they support to help improve the environment.

• Bringing local gardens back into use: A group asked people who didn’t use their gardens to offer them for growing food. They then brought everyone together for a community feast using what they’d grown.
• Opening an environmental hub with community composting: An organisation opened a new environmental education hub for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Volunteers also set up and ran a composting site to help reduce waste in the area.

You can apply if your organisation is a:

• constituted voluntary or community organisation
• constituted group or club
• registered charity
• charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)
• not-for-profit company
• community interest company (CIC)
• school if the project helps the local community, not just the school
• statutory body (including local authorities, town, parish and community councils)
• community benefit society

Requirements for board or committee members

You must have at least 2 board or committee members who are not related.

Related means:

• related by marriage or civil partnership
• they are in a long-term relationship or living together
• members of the same family

Schools and organisations working with a school

Projects must involve and benefit the community outside of the school.

They do not fund:

• activities that mainly benefit teachers, pupils, or parents
• improvements to school facilities or equipment (including outdoor spaces)
• curriculum-based activities or things the school should already be doing – like teaching reading during school hours
• staff training or bringing in external charities or groups to support learning
• activities that happen during school hours (projects during lunch, before or after school may be considered)
• school trips, after-school clubs, or alternative learning environments.

If you’re not sure if your project is eligible, contact them before you apply.

Political activity and campaigning

They fund some political activities, but only if they:

• are not party-political
• support your organisation’s cause and benefit the public.

They will not fund projects where political activities are the main purpose.

Sports, arts, or heritage projects

They fund projects that strengthen communities and create positive change.

Projects based on sports, arts, or heritage are eligible if they do more than provide the activity.

For example, an online dance group for young people that also reduces loneliness or supports mental health.

They cannot accept applications from:

• individuals or sole traders
• organisations based outside the UK
• for-profit companies (including Companies Limited by Shares)
• organisations that have a current National Lottery Awards for All England grant that is not finished
• organisations waiting for a decision on another application to the same programme
• organisations applying to more than one of our programmes for the same project.

Applications from private businesses or consultants

We do not accept applications written for you by private businesses or consultants.

Examples of what they will not fund:

• Outdoor classroom and sensory garden in a school: A school planned to create an outdoor classroom and sensory garden. The space would mainly benefit pupils, with very limited access for the wider community.
• Garden makeover by college students: College students improved a garden as part of a course at an alternative education provider. The project supported learning but did not benefit the wider community.
• One-off community festival: This one-off festival included a commitment to sustainability. But it had no environmental activities and did not align with the programme’s aims.

If your project involves animals, they can only fund the parts that benefit people and communities. They don’t fund activities or costs that only involve animals.

• Solar panels for a sports club: A project to install solar panels on a sports venue that was not a well-used community space. It mainly benefited people involved in sporting activities, rather than the wider community.
• International skills challenge for young people: A project involving an international competition where young people explored sustainability through game design. It did not show clear local benefit or impact for the wider community.
• In-school environmental education: A project that delivered classroom-based environmental learning as part of the curriculum. It repeated content already taught in schools and did not go beyond standard lessons.

Submit your application at least 16 weeks before you need the funding. They are receiving more applications than usual, so it may take longer to respond. Please wait for approval before starting your project or spending money.