Vote for your National Lottery Project of the Year!

1. Pollinating the Peak

Populations of bumblebees have crashed in Britain in the last 80 years due to habitat loss, climate change and pesticides. But one ambitious natural heritage project based in Derbyshire is working hard to revive their numbers by raising awareness of the links between the countryside, food and bumblebees through education and community action.

2. The Box on the Box

In 2020 The Box live streamed films from their archives direct to some of the most isolated people in Plymouth. Combining archive film with commentary and reminiscence prompts, the project was viewed over 3,000 times by people living in care homes, residential settings and others living with memory loss.

3. Samsons Academy

Samson’s Academy is not just a gym. They are a charity, a community support network, and an infrastructural organisation based in Bedford. They aim to break the cycle of young people who are not in education, employment or training by teaching them the disciplines of boxing and martial arts.

4. Borrow Don’t Buy

This project aims to help their members reduce clutter, save money and ultimately reduce their carbon footprint while strengthening the community by simply borrowing not buying. This innovative 'library of things' based in Plymouth lends out anything from power drills to electric bikes and even encourages members to fix their own technical products by supporting repairing sessions.

5. The Sunday Boys

This choir for low voiced LGBTQ+ people has been keeping the community in Manchester connected over the last 5 years but more importantly, it offered a lifeline to many in the community- who have been at higher risk of social isolation and poor mental health- during the pandemic.

6. Green Valley Conservation and Heritage Project

Only three years ago Cynon Valley Organic Adventures site, home to the Green Valley Conservation and Heritage project, was a derelict wasteland. Today, it has been reformed into a community garden, helping the people of this former Welsh mining village improve their employability skills and wellbeing through gardening and connecting with nature.

7. North Wales Crusaders Wheelchair Rugby League & Disability Sports Club

North Wales Crusaders Wheelchair Rugby League & Disability Sports Club was founded in April 2013 to make rugby league accessible to everyone in North Wales and the surrounding areas. Since then, the club has produced 16 international players and continued to grow during the pandemic, as well as providing a vital social outlet.

8. Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival

The Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival was founded in 2006 not only as a celebration of queer film making but to raise the quality of work in this field. Fifteen years on, the festival is globally recognised and has been a springboard for new talent. It has also opened up LGBT+ themes to more audiences and established Cardiff as a hot destination on the film festival map, supported by BFI as a main festival sponsor.

9. Watersavers

Wastesavers is a social enterprise and charity based in South East Wales, with a focus on environmental, social and economic sustainability. It was set up as an environmental project in 1985 and today runs recycling services for 75,000 residents in Newport and also has a number of charity projects. During the pandemic, they have been providing second-hand IT devices and donations of furniture to people in crisis.

10. First Steps – The Stroke Association NI

First Steps is an emotional support and counselling service, run by the Stroke Association NI, for stroke survivors and carers to help them overcome mental health challenges during the pandemic.

11. Beyond Skin

Beyond Skin is an inter-cultural arts charity which uses music/arts to overcome issues of race and sectarianism and build peace in countries affected by conflict. The group launched an unprecedented collaboration between young artists from Northern Ireland, (which included musicians from the Traditional Arts Partnership) and members of the Afghan Women’s Orchestra in Kabul which saw them collaborate over 6 months to create two music videos and jointly participate in virtual events and festivals.

12. Reimagine, Remake, Replay

Reimagine, Remake, Replay is a youth project which seeks to engage young people with museums in new and meaningful ways using creative media and the latest digital technologies.

13. Bready Cricket Club

Bready Cricket Club in Co. Tyrone has been a key part of the village community for more than 80 years, providing grassroots sports coaching and competition to boys and girls, as well as senior players of both sexes. When the pandemic halted play, Bready Cricket Club helped served up Sunday lunches and activities to support the community that sustains it.

14. Talk Now

Talk Now is a Scottish charity providing counselling and support services for male and female survivors of abuse trauma, including childhood sexual abuse and domestic abuse.

15. Turn the Tables

Turn The Tables is a social enterprise whose mission is to use DJing to change the lives of people affected by homelessness, including asylum seekers & refugees and at risk youth. Making DJing accessible to everyone through life changing experiences, from the first workshop to the main stage.

16. Mackintosh at the Willow

One of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s most iconic buildings has been rescued and restored to its original glory, to become a ‘living museum’ and social enterprise. Mackintosh at the Willow has welcomed 500,000 visitors since it opened in June 2018, and has also created employment, training and volunteering opportunities for the community.

17. Free Wheel North

Free Wheel North is a Glasgow-based cycling development charity working towards creating a fairer, healthier society by enabling people of all ages and abilities to cycle as part of their everyday lives. The project offers accessible cycling for all, allowing disabled people the same chance to enjoy the fresh air and exercise.