Good causes invited to sign up for Essex Lottery funding

Good causes in Essex are invited to boost their income stream and sign up for funding from the Essex Lottery

The Essex Lottery is an online lottery created by Essex County Council to support local causes across the county. More than 270 good causes are now receiving funding from the Essex Lottery and more are invited to join.

Since the Essex Lottery launched in 2017 over £215,000 has been donated to good causes in the county. This is thanks to the thousands of players who buy a weekly £1 ticket – with 60p of every ticket they purchase going to good causes.

At present many good causes and organisations are struggling to raise funds as the country deals with the threat posed by mass transition of Coronavirus. Essex County Council wants to make these groups aware of this opportunity and potential new income stream they may be able to benefit from. 

A common misconception is that you need to be a charity to benefit from the lottery. If your organisation provides community activities or services within Essex, which are of benefit to local residents, then you can join. Your group could be a charity or a not for profit organisation based around local arts, sports clubs, scouts and brownie groups, education and school PTA’s, animal welfare, children and elderly groups. All are welcome.

It’s free for causes to join. Each ticket costs £1 a week and you receive 50p from every ticket your supporters buy via your dedicated page on the Essex Lottery website and a further 10p from the ticket sale is donated to other good causes in Essex. The draw takes place every Saturday at 8 pm.

Funds are paid directly into your account monthly and we will provide you with support and marketing materials to help get you started. If your supporters buy:

• 10 tickets a week you will raise £260 a year
• 25 tickets a week you will raise £650 a year
• 50 tickets a week you will raise £1,300 a year

Applying is easy, it’s all done online and takes a few minutes, you’ll even be provided with marketing materials to help you get started.

Cllr Susan Barker, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Customer, Corporate, Culture and Communities, said:

“This a difficult time to secure funding, but help is at hand.”

“The reason we created the Essex Lottery was to help good causes in the county tap into the tremendous goodwill of the people of Essex.

“The rising number of people who are playing the Essex Lottery each week proves that Essex people want to help. Please apply today and take advantage of this goodwill.”

One of the organisations which has benefitted from the Essex Lottery is PACT for Autism.

A spokesperson for PACT for Autism said:

“The Essex Lottery has been a great resource to our charity to raise much needed funds that we use to support Families and Individuals living life on the Autistic Spectrum. The Essex Lottery makes it easy, thank you Essex Lottery and everyone who supports us.”

The East Anglian Railway Museum (EARM) at Chappel is another beneficiary of the Essex Lottery.

A spokesperson for the EARM said: “The Essex Lottery is such a great way of raising money and awareness for our museum and locomotive restoration programme. It was easy to join; the team were helpful from the start and the ongoing marketing support is excellent.”To apply for funding from the Essex Lottery visit The Essex Lottery website