The People‘s Projects Contenders Announced

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The Big Lottery Fund has just announced a shortlist of 95 contenders for The People’s Projects – an annual event which allows members of the public to vote on which local projects across the UK will receive lottery funding. There is £3 million to be shared between the winning projects this year, and voting will be open from 9am on Monday 20 March. Voting will close at midday on Monday 3 April, and the winners will be announced on the evening of Thursday 6 April.

For the purposes of The People’s Projects, the UK is divided into 19 different regions which are based on ITV or STV regional television coverage. Each region has five nominated projects, and residents in those regions can vote on which of the five they would most like lottery funding to support. The three projects which receive the most votes in any given region will be awarded up to £50,000, and the two projects that remain will be offered up to £5,000 each.

Giving members of the public a say on how a not-insignificant sum of lottery funding is allocated in their own regions is something that has made The People’s Projects extremely popular. Around £36 million has been awarded through this annual event since its launch in 2005, and this year’s vote – which will be the 13th of its kind – will increase that sum by another £3 million.

The range of good causes nominated for The People’s Projects 2017 is as diverse as ever, and includes everything from one that gives haircuts to the homeless (Haircuts4Homeless in London) and one that helps older people to stay fit and healthy (Bringing Balance Back in Wales) to one that supports and assists people who are suicidal (Chris’s House in STV West).

The shortlisted projects will be featured on regional evening news broadcast and viewers made aware of how they can vote for their favourite. The eventual winners will also be announced on Thursday 6 April on each ITV region’s 6pm news broadcast, and on Live at Five in STV regions.

We congratulate all of the projects that have been shortlisted for a share of the £3 million in lottery funding, and we wish them all the best of luck in the public vote. We will, of course, bring you news of the winners in due course.