Northamptonshire charities lose out on £432,000 due to 'outdated' cap on fundraising, says postcode lottery

A report says a cap on charity funding raised by the postcode lottery is 'outdated'.

A new report says legislation has not kept up with the tenfold increase in funding applications from small charities to trusts supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery.

Laws that cap the total grants awarded at £10 million, mean 28 Northamptonshire projects missed out on over £430,000 in grants in 2017 and 2018.

It means in the last two years only three in 10 applications for this funding have been awarded funding - and has led to 28 Northamptonshire charities missing out on £432,251 of funding between them.

The worst-affected area was Northampton South, which missed out on £191,000 of funding over 2017 and 2018.

The report - 'Small Change: How charity lottery limits impact on small charities' by research group nfpSynergy - is calling on the Government to rethink its laws on this cap on fundraising linked to postcode lotteries.

It comes after the Government suggested it could raise the charity lottery sales limit from £10million to £100million in 2018 - but this change has not been raised since.

Clara Govier, managing director of People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “This report lays bare the massive prize for local charities and good causes across Britain from reforming the outdated charity lottery laws.

“The Government can unlock millions of pounds in extra funding at the stroke of pen by raising the current caps on charity lottery fundraising, which are which are holding back organisations from improving the lives of people up and down the country.

“We hope Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright and Charites Minister Mims Davies will see the enormous amount of good that can be done at no cost to the taxpayer and update the rules as soon as possible. Further delay will mean that more local charities lose out.”

The reports author, Joe Saxton, of nfpSynergy, says the change in law would be a "win/win/win" situation and called the limit a "regulatory straitjacket".

Ministers are considering their response and promised a decision in the first half of 2019.

The report analysed the impact of the existing limits on three trusts funded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, which provide grants of up to £20,000 to small local charities across Britain. It found all three “are constrained by the annual sales limits from raising more for small charities”.