We were delighted to be able to bring eight projects into the Scottish Parliament on the 6^th March 2024 for a reception in the Garden Lobby kindly sponsored by Bill Kidd MSP. 

The Garden Lobby was busy with MSPs and stakeholders keen to speak to the projects about the difference National Lottery funding has made in their communities and I would like to thank MSPs for engaging so positively with them. A booklet with some information on each of the projects was circulated to all MSPs after the event and I hope you found it insightful. 

 Shirley Anne Sommerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice spoke at the start of the reception. We were pleased to hear from her that The National Lottery Community Fund’s role in tackling  inequality, supporting communities to build from their strengths, and inspiring environmental action  aligns well with Government principes. 

Kate Still, the National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair highlighted the scale, reach and diversity of the projects we fund across Scotland, saying the projects in the room were wonderful examples of this in action. She shared the news  we had awarded over £51 million of National Lottery funding to 2,033 project in Scotland over the last year.  

She talked about our role supporting Scotland’s third sector to develop and be there for communities facing greatest inequality. She reiterated that equality, diversity and inclusion lie at the heart of our grant making.  And she announced that we will be launching new funding programmes in November 2024 that will respond to the needs of Scotland’s communities. 

The formal part of the evening concluded with an original song performed by Adam Hunter, a  musician, songwriter and music-therapist who is on the creative well-being team at Centrestage. The group received National Lottery funding to provide community based arts activities to reduce isolation and loneliness, create friendships and build transferable life skills.  

What a wonderful voice he has.