The Impact of Multi-year Core Funding

We prioritise multi-year, flexible core cost grants because they give organisations the stability to focus on supporting communities and strengthening services. 

Improving Lives Through Advice (ILTA) is our five-year programme supported by £30 million from the National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. Thanks to National Lottery Players, the programme provides core funding to 59 organisations delivering free legal advice and support. 

Over the last two years, funded partners have shown how multi-year funding helps them maintain services, plan ahead, and respond to growing demand. 

Organisations consistently tell us that flexible, long-term funding allows them to support people with increasingly complex legal issues. It also enables them to expand outreach and connect with new communities. Rainbow Migration used the funding to respond to almost double demand, and Fiscus North increased staff capacity by 63%. 

Flexible funding gives organisations the capacity to build partnerships and engage more deeply with their communities and local services. These partnerships include health-justice initiatives such as Maternity Action’s maternity pathways, and collaborations with foodbanks and crisis support services, including Norfolk Community Law Service’s Food Hub integration. Suffolk Law Centre describes its partnership with Union Romani Voice as a ​“trust bridge” that helps people access support when other approaches had not succeeded. 

Advice organisations continue to face growing pressures, including rising case complexity, workforce constraints, and sudden increases in demand. Long-term funding gives them greater security and helps them continue meeting the needs of their communities. 

It enables organisations to build strong, trusted relationships with their clients. Many people feel hesitant about seeking advice or struggle to navigate long and complex processes. Consistent support over time helps to build trust and achieve better outcomes.

The funding is helping people better understand their legal situation and feel more confident taking action. This equips them to navigate similar issues in the future and share their knowledge with others in their communities. IPSEA reported that 89.5% of users felt better able to enforce their child’s legal rights after receiving advice. Disability North reported that 66% of service users gained a greater understanding of their benefit entitlement. 

For many people, the impact goes beyond practical advice. Domestic abuse survivors, asylum seekers and people navigating welfare reform often report feeling less fearful, isolated, and anxious after receiving support. PBIC Ltd reported that 216 clients said the help they received reduced their anxiety and distress. Advisers who speak the same language as clients play an important role in achieving this. 

Frontline organisations understand their communities and services better than anyone else. Core funding gives them the flexibility to decide how to use resources based on what they need, enabling them to invest in staffing, systems, service development, and other areas that allow them to strengthen support for the people they work with. 

This flexibility also helps them respond quickly when needs change and plan for the future with greater certainty. Short-term or restricted funding rarely gives organisations that opportunity. 

Advice organisations are working in an increasingly challenging funding environment. Many now spend increasing amounts of time managing financial uncertainty, balancing rising costs, staffing pressures, and short-term funding cycles. Too often, organisations have to focus on immediate survival instead of long-term development. 

Alongside funding, Improving Lives Through Advice funded partners also receive Funder Plus support through the LAPG Management & Leadership Hub. This support helps organisations develop leadership, management, and organisational health so they can continue delivering high-quality services for their communities, whilst also investing in their future and strengthening the wider sector. 

As the programme continues, we’ll keep sharing what we’re learning about the impact of multi-year core funding and why it matters for frontline organisations and the people they support. 

If you’d like to find out more about the programme and what we’re learning, get in touch with Senior Grants Manager, Sirintiya Booth-Roberts at sirintiyabooth-roberts@atjf.org.uk.