Howzat for National Lottery funding?
2nd January 2014
Thursday January 2, 2014: The National Lottery has released a light-hearted cricket scoreboard image to celebrate its funding to cricket of over £100 million.
The image is released on Day 2 of ‘Just Imagine’, a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the massive impact that £31 billion in project funding has had across the UK since the first National Lottery draw 20 years ago this year.
The scoreboard’s vital statistics include the total National Lottery good cause funding given to cricket-related projects, currently standing at a massive £104 million. If that’s not enough to bowl you over, other figures include the total number of beneficiaries, with 4,566 National Lottery grants having been netted by cricket clubs up and down the country.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has also benefitted from grants totalling £13.1 million to boost the development of young cricketers. As England’s cricketers work hard for improved fortunes on the current Ashes tour, this should at least put a smile on any cricket fan’s face.
Released on Twitter (@lottogoodcauses #JustImagine) and Facebook today, the scroreboard is the second in a series of 31 items to feature through January – one for each day and each £1 billion.
For anyone wanting to find out more about funded projects in their area, the National Lottery has launched a ‘Good Cause Finder’. To see projects in your area, or to find out more about Just Imagine January, visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
For press enquiries relating to the Just Imagine campaign:
Alex Bake alex.bake@fasttrackagency.com 07552 289 290
Jim Williams jim.williams@fasttrackagency.com 07814 068 349
For press enquiries relating to the National Lottery:
Michael Thompson, Head of Media at the National Lottery Promotions Unit, on 07734 295745.
About National Lottery ‘Just Imagine’
A range of imagery, video and animation is being released on www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk for ‘Just Imagine’, an innovative digital and social media campaign that is using a range of techniques to encourage the public to consider an alternative reality of what might have been if the National Lottery had not funded £31 billion across more than 420,000 arts, sport, heritage and voluntary projects across the UK. The first phase of the campaign sees 31 items released daily through January – one for each day of the month and each £1 billion of funding.
The campaign will run through the first four months of the year, with further phases including an original animation movie telling the story of funding, and other “positively disruptive” digital techniques, according to a National Lottery spokesperson.
To enable people to learn more about National Lottery funded projects in their area, the National Lottery has launched a ‘Good Cause Finder’. To see projects in your area, or to find out more about Just Imagine January, visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
About the National Lottery Promotions Unit
The National Lottery Promotions Unit (NLPU) is responsible for raising awareness of Lottery funding to Good Causes. Amongst other initiatives, NLPU manages the National Lottery Awards.
National Lottery funding is awarded through 12 distributing bodies: Big Lottery Fund, UK Sport, Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport NI, Sport Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England, Arts Council Wales, Arts Council NI, Creative Scotland and the British Film Institute.
Over £31 billion has been awarded to good cause projects across the UK since the launch of the National Lottery back in 1994. Currently, £33 million of good cause funding is raised every week by National Lottery players.