The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) has announced that its new Solidarity Fund, which is designed to support organisations that are tackling inequality at its root, rather than just responding to its effects, will open for applications at 10am on 11 June 2025.

The Fund is the NLCF ‘flagship commitment to tackling the root causes of poverty, disadvantage and discrimination’. Building on the NLCF’s seven-year strategy, It Starts With Community, the Fund will dedicate at least 10% of NLCF’s England portfolio, starting with £25 million in the financial year 2025/26, rising to £50 million per year from 2026/27.

The fund will provide long-term core funding for up to ten years to organisations. It is expected that around 10 organisations will be funded in the first year.

Based on consultation with a wide and diverse range of organisations, the Fund has been designed to support five key elements:

• Systemic change means addressing the deep-rooted structures and policies that keep people in poverty or facing discrimination. Support is for organisations that go beyond short-term fixes including on providing services, and focus on shifting power, reshaping decision-making, and creating long-term solutions.
• Lived experience accountability ensures that those most affected by injustice have the power and resources to lead change. Priority will be given to organisations where people with direct experience of the issues being tackled are in leadership positions, shaping solutions and influencing decisions.
• Strengthening solidarity is about connecting issues and bringing people together to challenge inequality. Support is for organisations that recognise the interconnected nature of social injustices and work across different communities and organisations to build alliances for systemic change.
• Building power within communities is essential to lasting change. This means ensuring people have the skills, confidence, and resources to organise, influence decisions, and challenge systems that affect their lives. Support is for organisations that are helping people take collective action and strengthen their ability to shape their own futures.
• Cultivating knowledge is about making learning useful for action. Support is for organisations that generate and share knowledge in ways that grow community power, shift public understanding, and influence systems and decisions. This could include research, storytelling, or other forms of knowledge that help communities organise and advocate for change.

Further details about the new funding programme will be provided on the NLCF website once the fund launches as well as during the following Solidarity Fund webinars (registration is required):

• 5 June (10:00 to 10:45 am)
• 12 June (10:00 to 10:45 am)
• 17 June (11:00 to 11:45 am)
• 24 June (11:00 to 11:45 am)

In his blogs posted on the NLCF website, Ali Torabi, Head of Funding Development, explains more about the key principles of the Solidarity Fund and how it has been shaped by community feedback.