December 16, 2015
BIG’s new big idea
The recent scare story from the Treasury that plans were afoot to chop BIG Lottery’s funding by something approaching 40% sent a cold chill through the sector. That the Chancellor decided against it in his recent budget statement was no great comfort. It only served as a reminder, if one was needed, just how vulnerable this crucial source of funding is. And it came at a time when the BIG Lottery in Scotland was just dotting i’s and crossing t’s on its new 2015-20 programme – People in the Lead. Now, that’s got a familiar ring.
This booklet explains the key features of our grant-making approach in Scotland, and the new funding being introduced from November 2015.
Our mission is to help communities and people most in need and we believe that by being people-led, strengths-based and connected, the activity we fund can help us achieve this mission and address inequality in Scotland.
Over the next five years we will be changing our funding approach as we strive to be a well-connected funder that cares about the places we work. We want to respond quickly and flexibly to opportunities to fund activity that makes a big difference to people and communities across Scotland.
We also want the language we use to reflect a more people-led and strengths-based approach. So for example, in our materials we’re asking about ‘people taking part in activity’ rather than ‘project beneficiaries’, and about the strengths people have rather than their needs.
Read full text here