People’s Projects 2019 Lets You Have A Say On National Lottery Funding
Last Updated: Wednesday 23rd September 2020, 16:10
A total of 95 community organisations across the UK have been shortlisted for the 2019 People’s Projects vote. The polls will remain open until noon on Monday 15th April and the winning projects are set to receive a share of up to £3 million of National Lottery Funding.
What is the People’s Projects?
The People’s Projects is an annual campaign which allows you to vote for how you would like National Lottery money to be spent in your region. It has been held every year since 2005 as a partnership between the National Lottery Community Fund, the National Lottery and TV channels ITV and STV.
It has awarded around £42 million to 960 good causes across the country since it was launched, and another £3 million is set to be raised this year. Five projects in each of the country’s 19 regions have been selected, and the three organisations which receive the most votes will each be given up to £50,000. There will be a discretionary award of up to £5,000 for the runners-up.
A range of different causes have been shortlisted throughout the UK. In London, for example, the causes you can vote for a brain injury charity, a dementia concern group, the London Horseplay Centre, a project called Ageless Teenagers which provides regular social activity for people of all backgrounds, and the Women in Action group linked to the Faith Regen Foundation.
You can only vote for one project per region, but you are allowed to vote in more than one area. The results will be announced later in the month and the winning organisations will be able to push on with their good work as soon as the funding comes in.
Supporting Good Causes
The National Lottery raises money for good causes from the sale of every ticket for any of its games, including Lotto, EuroMillions, Thunderball and the new Set For Life. The Good Causes Fund receives 28p from every £1, and this money is then divided into four categories - health, education, environment and charitable causes; sports; arts; and heritage.
Over £39 billion has been given to good causes since the National Lottery was introduced in 1994, which works out at around £30 million a week. There have been over 535,000 individual projects supported across the UK, including local community schemes and grander campaigns such as the funding of Olympic and Paralympic ambitions.
As well as knowing that you are raising vital cash for charities with every ticket you buy, you also have the opportunity to win some giant lottery prizes this week. The EuroMillions jackpot is up to £50 million following four straight rollovers, while Lotto stands at £8.9 million and you can also win big on Set For Life or Thunderball.