Big Lottery Fund: UK good causes line up to win regional vote and £7.8m share-out

Big Lottery Fund: UK good causes line up to win regional vote and £7.8m share-out

Big Lottery Fund: UK good causes line up to win regional vote and £7.8m share-out

Tension is building among 144 local community groups across the UK who have just learned today that they are to compete in their regions for the public vote to win a share of BIG Lottery Fund good cause cash.

The groups will all be competing head-to-head in November for awards of up to £80,000 in the regional People’s Millions TV contest soon to be showcased on regional ITV.

The 144 regional groups named today can win the awards for projects benefiting their local community.

This is the third year that the BIG Lottery Fund has mounted the regional contests with ITV. Across the week of 26th to 30th November, the 144 good causes will present their bid for the awards on their ITV regional network with the winners will be decided by the public in a phone vote.

2007 marks the third year of the regional People’s Millions contest on regional news programmes across 18 ITV regions*. Each night two projects battle it out and at the end of the week, 90 projects in total will have shared the £7.8m. The best runner-up in each region that chalks up the next best number of phone votes will be the fifth winner announced on Friday, November 30.

Over the last two years the programme has handed out £7.2m to 139 good causes UK-wide and 350,000 people have voted for their favourite project.

Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said: “In this third year of People’s Millions we’re offering more money than was awarded in 2005 and 2006 put together. I’m convinced this year’s awards will capture the hearts of even more UK viewers. I urge them to pick up the phone and vote for the projects they believe will make a long-lasting impact on their local communities.”

Michael Grade, Executive Chairman of ITV, said: “One of ITV’s greatest strengths is our ability as a broadcaster to connect with local people about community issues. This year our ground-breaking regional news programmes will again ask the public to decide which local community project most deserves Lottery support and with the biggest regional awards to date up for grabs, the People’s Millions is sure to have a lasting impact.”

Telephone voting numbers – as with previous years, ITV and the Big Lottery Fund will use a low cost non-premium rate telephone number. ITV and BIG do not make a profit from the voting telephone numbers.

The week following the regional Peoples’ Millions TV contest, the BIG Lottery Fund and ITV1 plan to screen on consecutive nights the People’s £50 million Lottery Giveaway in which four projects of national importance will compete for the public vote to win a huge £50 million pound award from the Fund.

A FULL LIST of all competing projects in their regions is available at the BIG LOTTERY FUND Press Office: on 0207 211 1888.

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of Hours contact: 07867 500 572
ITV Press Contact: Grant Cunningham on 07764 210 742
Full details of Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

ITV broadcast regions in the regional People’s Millions:

ITV Anglia (East)
ITV Anglia (West)
ITV Border
ITV Central (East)
ITV Central (West)
ITV Granada
ITV London
ITV Meridian (South)
ITV Meridian (South East)
ITV Thames Valley
ITV Tyne Tees ITV Wales
ITV West
ITV West Country
ITV Yorkshire
stv Central
stv North
UTV

  • 90 awards are up for grabs – 4 plus one bonus award in each of 18 ITV regions.

Notes to Editors contd/

  • Since the launch of People’s Millions in 2005, the aim of the contest has been to fund projects that improve the quality of life of local communities through transforming the local environment. This year projects that provide opportunities or facilities for enjoying the local environment have also been added to the funding criteria.
  • The Big Lottery Fund rolls out close to £2 million in Lottery good cause money every 24 hours, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
  • Telephone voting numbers – As with previous years, ITV and the Big Lottery Fund will use a low cost non-premium rate telephone number. ITV and Big do not make a profit from the voting telephone numbers.
  • The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004.
  • On 1 December 2006 the Big Lottery Fund was officially established by Parliament and at the same time assumed the residual responsibilities of the dissolved National Lottery Charities Board (Community Fund) the New Opportunities Fund, and the Millennium Commission. The Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money.