South Africa's National Lotteries Commission approves 1,187 funding applications

The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) of  South Africa has provided an update on the progress of adjudications from the 2023/24 Call for Funding Applications as of August 5, 2024.

In total, the NLC received 5,304 applications, of which 1,187 have been approved for funding. However, 703 applications were declined, and a significant 3,413 remain pending adjudication. These applications were submitted between May 2 and August 11, 2023.

Looking ahead, the NLC anticipates that the next Call for Applications will likely open in the third quarter of the 2024/25 financial year.

The NLC is currently facing challenges in distributing grants effectively due to a lack of personnel within its distributing agency. Each grant application requires approval from this agency, which has been hindered by insufficient member appointments made by the Minister. The distributing agency is tasked with evaluating applications across four sectors funded by the lottery: Charities, Sport and Recreation, Arts, Culture and National Heritage, and Miscellaneous.

For the 2023/24 financial year, the available budget for distribution stands at R1.4 billion.