The Big Lottery Fund has awarded £150m to a new community grantmaking foundation to help individuals transform their local neighbourhoods.  

The Power to Change was set up in 2015 to champion projects like the saving of local libraries, leisure centres, shops or pubs, as well as larger initiatives like the regeneration of a neighbourhood or high street.

The independent foundation will provide funding to both new and existing community businesses. In its first six months, it will offer grants of at least £50,000 to be used for asset purchases and working capital.

The foundation is one of a range of Big Lottery Fund initiatives to support voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises. Other programmes funded by the Big Lottery Fund, include Big Potential and Big Assist.
 
Nat Sloane, chair of Big Lottery Fund England said: “As a funder, we believe people should be in the lead in improving their lives and communities. We want our grantmaking to support the skills, assets and energy of local people and the potential in their ideas.

“Our £150m endowment will be used by the trust to support existing and new community businesses to positively benefit local areas. This could range from saving a local library, pub or shop from closure to setting up a housing regeneration enterprise that provides local people with training and jobs. In addition, the Power to Change will produce learning that the wider community business sector can gain from.”

The foundation is backed by Trinity Mirror and the National Lottery. Its chief executive is Vidhya Alakeson and it is chaired by Richard Handover, the former chair and chief executive of WHSmith.

As part of the Power to Change support package, recipients will have access to a peer support network and online learning, run by a consortium led by Locality, UnLtd and Plunkett Foundation.

Richard Handover, chair of the Power to Change, said the foundation will “enable many more community-led businesses to transform local places and bring sustainable social and economic benefits to local people”.

“We believe we can use this £150m as a cornerstone to leverage £1.5bn of additional resources to support community businesses, and leave a permanent legacy,” he said.
 
A full range of the Power to Change funding programmes and support activities will be rolled out later in the year.