COP26: New community climate action fund - Together for Our Planet – opens today thanks to National Lottery players

A new £2.5million National Lottery-funded programme to support communities across the UK take action on climate change, opens for applications today [1 September 2021], ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow this November.

Building on interest and excitement for COP26, the ‘Together for Our Planet’ funding programme is being launched by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. It is offering grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 to support local community projects, covering areas such as food, transport, energy, waste and consumption and the natural environment. It aims to create a legacy of ongoing climate action in hundreds of communities, beyond COP26, supporting the UK to reduce its emissions on its part to Net Zero by 2050.

The new programme opens as The National Lottery Community Fund launches a new online ‘Climate Hub’ – a dedicated space to find latest funding news, insights, learnings and stories on climate change and the environment.

Nick Gardner, Head of Climate Action at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “COP26 looks set to be a pivotal point in the global response to the climate emergency. Our new funding programme, Together for Our Planet, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, hopes to harness the interest and excitement around this event and support community organisations across the UK to take ongoing action on climate change.

“With this programme we are keen to reach those who are not sure how to take climate action or haven’t before, helping ensure that climate action moves further into the mainstream, and is accessible and relevant to all communities.”

Together for Our Planet is looking to fund proposals for community-led climate action projects, with applications needing to meet at least two of the following five criteria:

It supports the development of longer-term climate action within communities (that is, taking place after the COP26).
It encourages communities to plan for the climate emergency - to consider what climate action could mean to them and why it matters.
It celebrates the importance of community-led climate action and encourages more people to get involved.
It builds resilience in communities that are hardest hit by climate change.
It provides jobs, skills or training opportunities for communities which support climate action.

In addition, Together for Our Planet will prioritise applications from people and communities hit hardest by climate change; people and communities who are starting to think about taking climate action; groups who have not received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund before or those who do not currently have a National Lottery grant; and smaller organisations with an annual turnover of under £100,000.

It will be open for applications until 5pm on 18 November 2021 and expects to make approximately 400 to 500 awards.

This exciting new funding programme is part of The National Lottery Community Fund’s Environment Strategy. Since 2016, we have awarded £397 million through more than 6,000 grants which involve environmental action, including action on waste and consumption, energy, transport, food and the natural environment.

Thanks to National Lottery players last year we awarded over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK and supported over 14,000 projects to turn their great ideas into reality and make a difference in their communities. To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk

*Based on 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

Date published: 1 September, 2021
Region: UK-wide

Notes to Editors

About us

We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. National Lottery players raise £36 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes which has supported over 635,000 projects, benefiting millions of people - that’s 255 projects per postcode area.

We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

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About COP26

The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021.The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The UK is committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire climate action ahead of COP26.

https://ukcop26.org/

Together for Our Planet

We’re offering funding from £1,000 to £10,000 to support communities across the UK to take action on climate change. The UK Government is using Together for Our Planet to engage people with COP26 and inspire positive climate action.