National Lotteries Commission - Charities

The Charities Sector of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) provides funding for organisations in the social welfare, community health, literacy, and social development fields providing they meet the criteria below:

• Improve the quality of life of the community as a whole.
  
• Assist disadvantaged or excluded groups, such as the elderly, people with disabilities and vulnerable children.
  
• Provide facilities or services for the underprivileged.
  

Particular emphasis is placed on organisations that deal with:

• Expanding home-based care services through training and developing infrastructure for the care of elderly people, ill people and vulnerable groups, including orphaned children.
  
• Providing educational facilities for early childhood education and adult literacy, and undertaking vocational training and mentoring for skills development through programmes that include people with disabilities.
  

Grants are available according to the following categories:

• Small grants: R1 - R500 000.
  
• Medium grants: R500 001 - R5m.
  
• Large grants: In excess of R 5m.

Eligibility criteria

• Registered not-for-profit organisation.
  
• Primary activities match the prescribed fields of operation (listed above).
• Tax compliant.
  
• Clean audits.
  

Note: Organisations that have received funding previously and have not submitted all outstanding progress and final reports (both narrative and financial) in accordance with the grant agreement will NOT be considered.

Application process

If you are applying for a grant less than R500 000, fill in this Application Form.

If you are applying for a grant greater than R500 000, fill in this Application Form.

Please read the before completing the application form as the information required may change.

Please download the Business Plan and Budget template here.

Please see the funding focus areas for 2024-2025 here.