The National Lottery Community Fund (NCLF) has handed out £600,000 to 14 charity and voluntary sector groups to improve their digital capabilities.

The money will help the charity infrastructure bodies to “become more flexible, resilient and responsive to the changing environment, whilst also renewing their relevance and be better able to support communities”, according to the NLCF.

Among those to receive funding is Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE). It has received £50,000 to digitally connect rural communities in England.

Meanwhile, Brighton-based Friends, Families and Travellers has received £49,530 for a UK wide project to called Gypsy, Roma and Travellers Together.

Sarah Mann, Friends, Families and Travellers director said: “During COVID-19, we have seen grassroots, community-led and frontline organisations take the lead in work to ensure Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people have the support they need during the pandemic.

“Over the next year, we want to build on our learning, strengthen our work with others and work together to ensure the needs of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people are understood and acted upon as the country goes into recovery mode following the pandemic.”

Thanks to #NationalLottery players 14 UK #vcs organisations will receive a share of £600k to increase their digital capacity.

This will enable groups to have a greater impact in communities, while supporting our sector to thrive in the digital age.

More. https://t.co/P7eEzZQ5x6 pic.twitter.com/ShCmCivz4j

— The National Lottery Community Fund (@TNLComFund) March 10, 2021

Another to receive funding is Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East (VONNE). It will use its £50,000 funding for work to understand and interpret data to better advocate for charities and community groups.

“This National Lottery funding is allowing us to develop and embed improvements in our use of data and – crucially – share our experiences and learning with the North East VCSE sector,” said VONNE chief executive Carol Botten.

“Data was always an area we wanted to focus on but never had the time or capacity to give it the attention it deserves. This funding enables us to do just that and will make a huge difference to our long-term sustainability, and the service we can offer to our members.

“We represent over 1,200 member charities, voluntary organisations and community groups from across the region, from very small volunteer groups, up to multi-million-pound charities and everything in between.

“Through improving our understanding and use of data we will be strengthening our offering to the VCSE sector and can share our learnings to benefit all members.”

Shape London’s Unlimited Programme, which helps disabled artists to reach new audiences, has been handed £45,000 to develop its structure, policies and practices.

Shape’s chief executive David Hevey said that the funding “is not only enabling us to continue breaking barriers to creative excellence but to innovate and collaborate in bigger and more exciting ways than ever before”.

He added: “At a time of such precarity and disruption for marginalised creatives, we extend our sincerest gratitude to The National Lottery Community Fund for investing in the inclusive future we are excited to be building.”

Elsewhere, Northern Ireland based youth work charity The Bytes Project has been awarded £47,414 to expand its digital capacity and infrastructure.

We're excited to share that we have been awarded £47,414 of funding from @TNLComFund, in order to help expand our digital capacity and building digital infrastructure for the future 📱

Thank you to @TNLComFund & @TNLComFundNI for your support!https://t.co/TQhNsdqutD pic.twitter.com/xn4MH9aRPB

— The Bytes Project (@bytesproject) March 11, 2021

NCLF deputy director for funding strategy Cassie Robinson added: “We understand that for grassroots, community-led and frontline organisations across the UK to be adaptive and resilient there’s a need for a diverse and effective support system, which includes infrastructure organisations, and this is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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