National Lottery Bids: How they work!

What is a national lottery bid?

National lottery bids, or national lottery tenders, are grants given by the National Lottery to organisations in the UK in order to provide aid to their communities.

Often, the National Lottery will fund a community’s necessity for:

• Equipment
• Training
• Transport
• Events
• Volunteering
• Utilities

Depending on the size of the grant, will determine how a bid is written. For example, applying for funding of less than £10,000 holds different requirements than funding of more than £10,000, which is usually more complex.

This is why it is vital to make sure your bid writer has the experience and expertise to write for both large and small grants. At Hudson, our writers are experts at writing winning bids which meet the funding needs of the buyer.

With over 60 years of experience and over £300m value of funding and grants secured in 2020, you can be certain that we know what we’re doing!

Do you need to be a registered charity?

No, various organisations in many sectors (including the third sector) can apply for lottery funding. This includes:

• Voluntary/community organisation
• Charity
• Club/Group
• School
• Non-profit
• Council
• Parish
• Social Enterprise

Simply put, you must be a registered group/organisation to apply for lottery funding.

Who do they NOT accept applications from?

The National Lottery does not accept applications for funding from individuals. So, this means that the following are usually denied:

• Sole traders
• Non-UK organisations
• Individuals
• Organisations applying on other’s behalf
• Companies limited by shares

However, this depends on their programme. If you fall under any of these categories, you may not be entirely ruled out!

You can locate relevant projects depending on where your project will be delivered!

As the National Lottery only accepts projects in the UK, your project must be delivered in either:

• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

Also, it is important to note that all projects available across the UK are those which align with the government’s objectives. In other words, all projects outside the government’s statutory responsibility.

Grants under £10,000

The National Lottery offer funding from £300 to £10,000 to support UK-wide communities.

As of February 2023, the National Lottery is inviting applications for the following programmes:

• National Lottery Awards for All

The National Lottery Awards for All programme is suitable for voluntary/community organisations. This programme is offering funding between £300 and £10,000 for up to a year.

You can also only apply for one grant, per country in the UK, at a given time. You must wait for your grant to close before applying for another.

Note: Organisations with a large annual income are less likely to be guaranteed funding.

Grants over £10,000

The National Lottery offers to fund opportunities above £10,000. As of February 2023, the National Lottery are inviting applications for the following programmes:

• Bringing People Together
• Climate Action Fund

These programmes are UK-wide and offer a funding size of over £50,000.

For grants, the National Lottery is looking for projects which:

• Deliver across at least two UK countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) – you can work in a network or partnership
• Are bold and experimental responses to bringing people together using new approaches, or a new combination of approaches
• Can demonstrate clear positive impacts for communities, including those communities most in need of support
• Have a clear focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion
• Can demonstrate they can learn and adapt as they go.

When applying, what do I need to know?

You will be asked to provide contact details. Most importantly, you will be asked to provide the names, contact details and dates of birth of two unrelated people from your organisation.

What is meant by unrelated?

You must not be:

• Married to each other
• Long-term relationship with each other
• Living together
• Related by blood.

 Note: Alongside this, you will also need to provide organisation details, accounting details and bank statements.

Why are schools less likely to get funding?

The National Lottery can/do support applications that involve schools; however, they must have evidence of providing a wider community benefit.

The benefit to students, parents and teachers is not considered as a significant involvement or wider benefit to their community.

Note: Usually, the National Lottery will fund extras to a school’s normal curriculum activities which benefit the wider community.

So, you need to apply for a grant. But don’t know where to start? 

As previously mentioned…at Hudson, we are expert grant writers!

Whatever size grant, we can help you. So, if you’re considering applying for funding opportunities, contact us for a free consultation and support with the tendering process!

Alternatively, have a look at our virtual learning environment, Tender VLE, the first of its kind to provide advice and tips on all things tendering.

Need other help?

Do you only require assistance with PQQs or SQs? We can help!

Submit the relevant information regarding the work you need, and we will provide a quote for the work agreed upon.

We provide support at all levels of the bid writing process, so if you simply need it proofread before you submit it, we can also help with that!

Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can optimise your tendering efforts!

Our two new time-saving tools can improve competitor awareness and success rate when bidding for a contract:

The Ultimate Time Save Package (for those on the go!)

• Five tender breakdowns per month.
• Annual subscription to two sector-specific portals.
• Dedicated account manager.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package

• All of the above.
• Seven tender breakdowns per month.
• Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager (minimum five years experience). Our Global Bid Director will manage the bid strategy.

Our other divisions:

Vocal

Wanting to impress a buyer? Our creative content agency Vocal is always on hand to help!

Our Vocal team are never afraid to be heard – we’re a loud bunch!

From micro-businesses to large organisations, we provide ways to make your business stand out from the crowd. We can transform your bid into a professionally designed tender document!

Vocal specialises in:

• Copywriting
• Marketing
• Branding
• Websites
• Design
• Illustration

Alpha

Our online virtual learning environment for Education, Enterprise and Home Learners is currently being used to power our platforms – Tender VLE and Procure VLE (Coming soon).

We believe in learning at your own pace, wherever you are!

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

• How to win a tender
• What is a Bid Writer?
• The tendering process
• Writing winning bids
• 7 tips for tendering for contracts
• Tips for bid management
• Bid writing services
• The types of tendering procedures
• Writing bids
• Bid Writing Consultants
• Submitting a tender response