Building Communities Trustee Limited

Building Communities Trustee Limited (BCT), established in 2014 as the sole corporate trustee of Invest Local Trust in partnership with the Big Lottery Fund, empowers Wales' most disadvantaged communities to combat entrenched poverty and promote social inclusion. Its mission centers on trusting local decision-making to foster durable, community-led change, guided by core values of empowerment, local ownership, long-term support, and respect for community priorities. Governed by a quarterly-meeting board and a specialized team, BCT stands out for its rare devolved, place-based investment model, prioritizing overlooked areas through initiatives like the flagship 10-year Invest Local programme, which has allocated £1 million to each of 13 targeted Welsh localities for autonomous use.

BCT funds thematic priorities including poverty alleviation, social inclusion, community asset strengthening, resilience-building, and self-determined quality-of-life improvements. Supported activities span asset development, skills and employability, wellbeing, environmental enhancements, and local leadership, often via multi-year grants to community anchor organisations, networks, and grassroots projects like neighbourhood hubs, social enterprises, and green space revitalisation. It backs interconnected local entities through programmes such as the Community Anchor Development Programme.

Eligible applicants are invite-only UK-registered charities, social enterprises, and community groups deeply embedded as anchors in Wales' most deprived areas, with no strict income thresholds but a preference for smaller organisations committed to participatory change. Unsolicited applications are not accepted; funding is proactive and needs-led via targeted outreach and relationships. Typical grants range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of pounds over multiple years, including flexible core costs, capacity building, and unrestricted support for systemic impact—no open rounds or deadlines, with decisions at quarterly board meetings. BCT distinctly avoids short-term outputs, favouring sustainable, trusted local autonomy over mainstream funding norms.