Big Lottery Fund - it's officially Big.

(From Government News Network (Was Hermes-Government Press Releases))

] BIG LOTTERY FUND 06-12-01 1 December 2006 Big Lottery Fund - it's officially Big

The largest of the National Lottery funders of good causes, the Big Lottery Fund, marks its official birthday today with the parliamentary sign-off of its establishment.

Since its inception [June 2004], the Fund has been developing its new programmes and rolling out grants benefiting communities across the UK. BIG has given an undertaking that 60-70 per cent of its GBP2.3 billion good causes budget between 2006 and 2009 will go to voluntary and community organisations.

Welcoming the Big Lottery Fund's official 'birthday' its Chairman, Sir Clive Booth, said: "The Fund is looking forward to continuing to make the best possible use of Lottery funding to improve lives and help build better communities. Most people live within a few miles of a lottery-funded project and the public rightly has a sense of ownership of the National Lottery and holds strong views about the good causes.

"That is why we have been in the forefront of public involvement in Lottery funding with our People's Millions TV voting contest which this year attracted close to 350,000 votes for local community projects."

He added: "The Fund is building on the GBP6 billion legacy of its predecessor bodies. Some GBP850 million has been used to provide new and improved sporting facilities and equipment to create wider opportunities for young people and communities to enjoy sport. And we made it possible for 39,000 Second World War veterans, war widows and carers to journey to the battlefields where they saw action or where their loved ones fell. We are proud of these achievements and remain dedicated to building on this success."