The Big Lottery Fund is finalising plans to provide funding of more than £260m to match a similar amount from Europe for a programme to tackle poverty and social inclusion.
The combined fund, worth more than £520m, would be managed by BIG and is due to open for charities to bid for funding next year.
Dawn Austwick, chief executive of BIG, announced details of the matched funding at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ (NCVO) annual Evolve conference this morning.
It comes after months of discussions between the NCVO, UK government departments and BIG about how to increase the sector’s involvement in European funding.
Priorities for the new seven-year, 2014-2020 round of the European Structural and Investment Fund growth programme have been determined locally by England’s local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), which are local bodies made up of representatives from businesses and the voluntary sector.
The ESIF funding package is due to be approved by the European Commission by the end of the year.
Austwick told delegates that BIG would make more than £260m of funding available with a “similar” figure from ESIF for projects in England that address poverty and social inclusion, such as improving skills, employability and education opportunities in disadvantaged communities.
A BIG spokeswoman told Civil Society News that details of the precise figures were being finalised, but the amount from ESIF would be around £260m.
Austwick said in her keynote address that before the main funding is available next year, the BLF would make £620,000 of funding available over the summer to bring together voluntary organisations in LEP areas, so they can start developing their bids.
The NCVO said only a very small proportion of the last round of European Social Fund money went to charities.
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the NCVO, said: “This is very important news for the voluntary sector. Previously, work funded by European social inclusion funding has been nationally designed, and delivered through large organisations.
“We made very clear that we believe the best way for the funding to make a difference is to use it to support the work of expert charities. This is why we called for the money earmarked for social inclusion to be available to the voluntary sector. Voluntary organisations will now be shaping and running the projects they think are necessary to help people in disadvantaged communities.”
Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, said: “In the past, our social entrepreneurs have struggled to access funding from the EU. We are determined to change that. Over the last year, Cabinet Office, NCVO and Big Lottery have worked very hard to engage the LEPs and create this exciting opportunity. Now we have to get the detail right – so that this money works as hard as possible on behalf of the most excluded and disadvantaged in communities across the country.”
