Applications are now open for People’s Postcode Lottery’s Dream Fund.

A total award fund of £2,000,000 will be awarded for charitable organisations to deliver their ‘dream’ projects in one or more areas of the UK in 2016-2018.

£2 million is the largest ever Dream Fund to date, encompassing a first prize of £1,000,000 and two awards of £500,000.

Now in its sixth year, the Dream Fund has invested more than £3.2 Million in over 18 projects to date. Previous winners of the annual Dream Fund include Missing People, Energy Gardens and WWF Scotland.

The Dream Fund is a grants programme that encourages charities and community groups across Britain to work together and apply to finance their dream project – something they have always wanted to deliver but never had the opportunity to bring to life.

People’s Postcode Lottery is encouraging applications to Dream Fund 2016, which was launched today, for projects that fit with one or more of the six charitable purposes of the Postcode Dream Trust.

The charitable purposes include:

• community development

• environmental protection

• health

• human rights

• participation in sports

• prevention in poverty

National charity Missing People used their funding to work alongside PACT (Parents and Abducted Children Together) on the Child Rescue Project and developed an enhanced Child Rescue Alert system.

The system enables anyone signed up to receive a text, email or pop-up in the event of a child's abduction.

This is based on a similar system in the USA, the 'Amber Alert', which has enabled 679 children to be reunited with their families.

Jo Youle, CEO of Missing People, said: "The Dream Fund has enabled us to launch Child Rescue Alert.

"This was a project we had always dreamed of and something that could save children’s lives.

"Put simply, we couldn't have done it without winning the Dream Fund and without the players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

"We currently have over 309,000 people signed up to receive alerts, helping us to raise the alarm when the worst happens."

55p from every £2 People's Postcode Lottery ticket is awarded to charity – a recent increase to 27.5%.

To date, players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised almost £80 million for more than 1500 charities and good causes across Britain and globally.

Clara Govier, Head of Charities at People's Postcode Lottery, said, "In challenging times for the charitable and voluntary sector, I am very proud to today launch The Dream Fund 2016 Award.

"The players of People’s Postcode Lottery have helped bring to life the opportunity for charities and community groups to make possible the project they have always dreamed of, but could not fund.”

Applications for Dream Fund 2016 open on August 17 and close on September 22.

Winners will be announced in January. To download the application form, visit: http://www.postcodedreamtrust.org.uk/