The funding pot for the Community Wealth Fund has doubled to £175m after the National Lottery announced it had matched £87.5m invested from the government’s Dormant Assets Scheme.
Through the Community Wealth Fund, disadvantaged communities will be selected to receive individual funding pots, with residents empowered to determine how best to spend them to improve the area and the lives of local people.
The government previously announced plans to spend £87.5m of dormant assets funding on the programme, but the National Lottery Community Fund has announced that the National Lottery has matched this – bringing the total pot to £175m.
The funding programme will be allocated to “doubly-disadvantaged” communities in England, meaning those with the highest levels of deprivation and the lowest levels of social infrastructure.
The fund will allocate between £1m and £2.5m over 10 years to each beneficiary community to invest directly in spaces and activities that underpin happy, healthy communities.
Residents will be in charge of how to spend the funding, which will be provided to boost the social infrastructure of the area – where local people meet, build relationships and take part in everyday activities.
The programme will build the skills and capacity of local communities to make decisions about the future, the NLCF said.
David Knott, chief executive of the NLCF, said: “No one knows more than local people about what their community needs – and I know not every community has had the same starting point.
“That’s why I’m proud we’re working with DCMS and MHCLG to launch the Community Wealth Fund – a £175m commitment to put power where it belongs: in the hands of communities themselves.
“This is about more than funding. It’s about creating the social infrastructure where it’s most needed and backing local people to shape their own future.”
Stephanie Peacock, the minister for civil society, said: “The Community Wealth Fund will provide resources needed to help people shape their own futures, break down barriers to opportunity and build safer communities for everyone.
“Launching the fund marks a significant milestone for the Dormant Assets Scheme, which continues to unlock unclaimed money for public good, delivering on our plan for change.”
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the local growth minister, said: “Putting money into the hands of local people and letting them call the shots will help communities transform their areas for the better.
“That is exactly what the Community Wealth Fund is all about – from funding more after-school clubs to helping make safer streets.”