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Links to funding sources

Local authorities, NHS Boards and Community Health Partnerships in your area may have pots of funding that you may be able to apply for. Contact them directly to find out what is on offer.

Small grants

Community Food and Health (Scotland) small grant scheme (£500–£3,000)

Although this grant scheme is over subscribed every year, it is worth reading the guidance to see if your project fits. This small grant scheme has an easy to complete form and friendly advice on the phone.

Awards for All (£500–£10,000)

Any community group can apply to this fund which distributes money raised by the National Lottery. Groups should have a constitution but not necessarily be a registered charity.
www.awardsforall.org.uk/scotland

Fairer Scotland Fund

Funds available to charities delivering targeted services which tackle social inclusion and community regeneration in Scotland. The money is allocated and managed by community planning partnerships around Scotland (until 2011). Funding priorities will be decided locally and based on the local authority Single Outcome Agreements. For more general information visit
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/regeneration/fairer-scotland-fund/Q-A

For information about the fund in your area contact your area’s community planning partnership.

Sheila McKechnie Award (£5,000 per year for three years)

This award scheme is made annually to community food initiatives to commemorate the contribution that Dame Sheila McKechnie made in helping to set up the Food Standards Agency. Two community food initiatives will be chosen every year and each will receive £15,000 (£5,000 a year) over a three-year period.
www.food.gov.uk/aboutus/how_we_work/damemckechnieaward/

The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation

This is one of the largest funding trusts in the UK. In addition to its normal grant stream for charitable aims, it has recently launched a fund particularly for food. The fund will aim to promote an understanding of the role of food in enhancing quality of life. Applicants do not have to be a registered charity and the Foundation welcomes applications from social enterprises. There is no set grant limit.
www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk

2014 Communities

A new funding programme from the Big Lottery Fund Scotland, focused on building a legacy of wellbeing before and beyond the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.

Sports clubs, voluntary and community organisations, community councils and schools are invited to apply for grants of between £300 and £1,000 to support and stimulate grass roots involvement in sport and physical activity.
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_2014_communities

The Scottish Co-op Community Food Discount Card

Community food initiatives likely to spend at least £50 per week can apply for a Community Food Discount Card giving a 10% discount at Scottish Co-op food stores. Applications should be sent to Regional Secretary, Co-operative Group, Scotland and NI, Robert Owen House, 87 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 2EE.

Voluntary Action Fund

Runs the Volunteering Scotland grant scheme for registered charities that attract harder-to-reach volunteers. Small grants of up to £5,000 are considered through out the year and larger grants have a closing date. This year it will launch a community chest fund, which is open to constituted groups with bank accounts and will give out grants of a maximum £1,000.
www.voluntaryactionfund.org.uk/grant-schemes/vsgs, 01383 620 780

The Climate Challenge Fund

Funding is available for Scottish not-for-profit community groups to help them reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Groups do not have to be constituted at the time of applying; however support is available for groups to constitute and a group bank account is required to receive funds. An example of a project that could be considered for funding is facilitating the local production and consumption of food. There is no set amount. Support is also available for communities who want to get to grips with measuring emissions. Applicants will be supported through the application process by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the fund administrator.
www.infoscotland.com/gogreener/61.html

Lloyds TSB Foundation

Funds registered charities that are focused on improving quality of life and creating equality of opportunity for people in Scotland. This applies particularly to people who are disadvantaged or marginalised. No minimum or maximum limits on grants but the average award is around £8,000. Encourages potential applicants to attend a funding surgery prior to applying.
www.fundingthefuture.org.uk/index.asp?pg=3

Scotland Unlimited Millennium Awards

This grant pot supports individuals demonstrating enterprising solutions to social problems. Initially individuals can apply for up to £5,000 to support their work. This can be followed on by a second level award of up to £15,000.
www.unltd.org.uk/template.php?ID=1&PageName=whatareunltdawards

Scottish Community Foundation (up to £5,000)

This body gives grants to a broad cross-section of constituted groups involved in social welfare and community development activities. Grants available include general grants, grants for women's projects, and the sports relief programme.
www.scottishcf.org/strengthening-communities/apply-for-a-grant/

B&Q One Planet Living Grants

Schools, registered charitable organisations, and recognised community groups are eligible to apply to their local store for materials (£50-£150) for projects to save energy, conserve nature, support local culture and heritage, and grow your own.
www.diy.com/grants

Comic Relief

This fund supports work by community-led organisations to change things for the better. Check deadlines and funding priorities on the website. Large and small grants are available to charities or constituted groups.
www.comicrelief.com/apply_for_a_grant

Charles Hayward Foundation

The Foundation sees the value in supporting activities which have been demonstrated to work and can be replicated. It predominantly funds capital costs. Its preferred area of impact is at the community and neighbourhood level.

Small grants up to £5,000 only to charities with an annual turnover of less than £250,000. Other larger one-off grants are also available.
www.charleshaywardfoundation.org.uk

O2 it’s your community

Awards of up to £1,000 are available to local groups and individuals, for projects that will benefit a community.
www.itsyourcommunity.co.uk

Waste Recycling Environmental Limited (WREN)

WREN funds projects with a total cost of under £50,000 and grants can be awarded between £2,000 and £15,000. Typical projects suitable under the WREN small grant scheme might include village halls, community centres or play areas.
www.wren.org.uk/how-to-apply/small-grants

(To find out if your project is near a landfill site and you may be eligible for the Landfill Communities Fund check www.wrg.co.uk.)

Tesco Charity Trust - Community Awards

The Trust can provide practical benefits, such as equipment and resources for projects that directly benefit children, the elderly, and adults and children with disabilities, living in the local communities around their stores in the UK. The Trust provides one-off donations of between £1,000 and £4,000. Tesco also gives a 20% top-up to monies raised by Tesco employees for charity.
www.tescoplc.com/plc/corporate_responsibility_09/community/making_difference/charitablegiving/tesco_charity_trust

Action Earth: Small Environmental Grants

Small grants of between £50 and £250 to assist groups in carrying out environmental projects. The fund is administered by Community Service Volunteers.
www.actionearth.org.uk/contact.php

Gateway Exchange Fund

Grant awards of up to £5,000 are available to constituted, not-for-profit groups. Priority for grant awards will be given to projects that seek to involve or empower people to move on with their lives or fulfil their potential where they would otherwise not have the opportunity. For example, ex-offenders, people recovering from addiction or individuals with mental health problems or recovering from abuse. The fund is administered by Scottish Community Foundation.
www.scottishcf.org/page11264.cfm

The Gannochy Trust

Funds Scottish registered charities in the areas of health, education, social welfare, recreation and arts. Grants up to £200,000 (but normally smaller amounts). Application by letter. Trustees meet monthly. A website is due to be launched.
01738 620653, Kincarrathie House Drive, Pitcullen Crescent, Perth, PH2 7HX

Lankelly Chase

Small grants available for play schemes. Other larger grants available for registered charities and Community Interest Companies. Check guidelines on the website and note guidelines will be revised in 2009.
www.langkellychase.org.uk

The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund

This charity was established primarily to aid the research into learning disability and to aid the care and relief of those affected by learning disability by making grants to voluntary organisations (including schools and Parent Teacher Associations) within the UK. It offers grants from £250.
www.bailythomas.org.uk

The Hugh Fraser Foundation

Funds projects conducted by registered Scottish charities. Favours projects which are well focused and which might not otherwise attract funding. Application is by letter. Trustees meet quarterly, no website available.
Contact c/o Turcan Connell, Princes Exchange, 1 Earl Grey Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9EE 0131-228-8111

Hilton In The Community Foundation

The Foundation makes grants to a wide range of charities and organisations that work with young people on health issues. Small grants of up to £5,000 are processed quickly, although it is possibly to apply for more. Hilton hotel vouchers are available to community groups for prizes in raffles or auctions.
www.hilton-foundation.org.uk, 020 7605 7733 or info@hiltonfoundation.org.uk.

Philip Lawrence Awards

Awards of up to £1,000 for young people between 11 and 20 to reward outstanding achievements in good citizenship. Deadline once a year.
www.4children.org.uk/pla/

BT

Support to improve the communication of community-based organisations who want to make a difference locally. Grants are to help groups communicate through the internet and email. Particularly useful for groups wanting to set up a website.
www.btcommunityconnections.com

UIA Charitable Foundation

Funds registered charities or formally constituted groups which work with victims of domestic abuse; victims of drug and alcohol addiction; rehabilitation of offenders; Third World poverty; and Third World human rights. They are rarely able to support requests over £1,000.
www.uia.co.uk/UNISON/About/Charitable-foundation/

Community Matters

Charities and local good causes are eligible to apply for a new Waitrose initiative called Community Matters. Customers and employees choose who gets the funding.
www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?MasterId=a4e17b78-fb5b-40d2-9499-46154da7dd91&NavigationId=1235

Medium grants

The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation

Lloyds TSB Foundation

The Robertson Trust

This Trust supports work done by charities in Scotland. Application is by letter and there are no deadlines.
www.therobertsontrust.org.uk

The Tudor Trust

Tudor is an independent grant-making trust which supports organisations working across the UK. They aim to support work which addresses the social, emotional and financial needs of people at the margins of our society.
www.tudortrust.org.uk

Voluntary Action Fund

Runs the Volunteering Scotland grant scheme for registered charities that attract harder-to-reach volunteers. Small grants of up to £5,000 are considered through out the year and larger grants have a closing date. This year it will launch a community chest fund which is open to constituted groups with bank accounts and will give out grants of a maximum £1,000.
www.voluntaryactionfund.org.uk/grant-schemes/vsgs

The Climate Challenge Fund

Funding is available for Scottish not-for-profit community groups to help them reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Groups do not have to be constituted at the time of applying, however support is available for groups to constitute and a group bank account is required to receive funds. An example of a project that could be considered for funding is facilitating the local production and consumption of food. There is no set amount. Support is also available for communities who want to get to grips with measuring emissions. Applicants will be supported through the application process by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the fund administrator.
www.infoscotland.com/gogreener/61.html

Paul Hamlyn Foundation

The Foundation funds organisations whose charitable activities help people to realise their potential and have a better quality of life. The foundation is particularly interested in education and social justice. There is no minimum or maximum size of grant that organisations can apply for. Applications can be made at any time.
www.phf.org.uk/default.asp

Healthy Heart Fund

Offers grants to support innovative projects that promote heart health and prevent or reduce the risks of heart disease within specific communities in the UK. Grants can be for up to £10,000 and applications are invited from voluntary and community organisations and researchers. There are two application deadlines per year.
www.heartresearch.org.uk/healthy_heart_grants.htm

Large grants

Big Lottery Investing in Communities Funding (£10,000–£1 million up to five years)

Groups do not need to be registered charities to apply for this fund. The Big Lottery wants to invest this money to bring real improvements to communities and to the lives of people most in need. (This fund will be reviewed in 2009 and new funding streams will be announced by the end of 2009.)
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk, 0141 242 1400

The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation

The Climate Challenge Fund

Funding is available for Scottish not-for-profit community groups to help them reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Groups do not have to be constituted at the time of applying, however support is available for groups to constitute and a group bank account is required to receive funds. An example of a project that could be considered for funding is facilitating the local production and consumption of food. There is no set amount. Support is also available for communities who want to get to grips with measuring emissions. Applicants will be supported through the application process by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the fund administrator.
www.infoscotland.com/gogreener/61.html

Lloyds TSB Foundation

Themed

Rural Direct

A new service to help rural communities in Scotland apply for a range of funding programmes aimed at tackling climate change, reducing waste and improving environmental management. Rural Direct is operated by the Crofters Commission and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. Call the hotline on 0845 838 8598. Calls will be charged at local rate. You can also email your query to ruraldirect@crofterscommission.org.uk or ruraldirect@scvo.org.uk. The Crofters Commission also give out grants for established crofts and new-build crofts.

Young Scot Action Fund

Grants for 12-26-year-olds in Scotland to take ideas and turn them into action. Grants of £200 and £750 are given out to individuals and groups respectively. Deadlines are normally every three months but they can fast track the process in emergencies. Applications can be made online.
www.youngscot.org/actionfund

The Joanies Trust

The Trust helps registered charities who work with young people aged 11-25. The Trust funds projects that offer intensive support to young people, as well as those that promote preventative work and diversionary activities. The average grant size is £1,000, which can be used for project, core costs and capital costs.
www.joaniestrust.org.uk

Elizabeth Finn Care

Elizabeth Finn Care is the UK's largest, independent, direct grant-giving charity, helping individuals of British or Irish nationality, their partners and children with one-off grants or regular allowances towards meeting life's essentials. The Charity gives practical help, advice and support. For more information, visit
www.elizabethfinncare.org.uk

Changing lives

Crisis is the national homeless charity, dedicated to providing realistic opportunities for single homeless people to move towards financial independence. Changing Lives is its grant awarding project, and provides financial awards of up to £2,500 to people who have been homeless to help them move towards a work-based vocational goal. The award could be used to pay for a course, for materials to use at work or for start-up equipment to set up a business.
www.crisis.org.uk/page.builder/aboutchanginglives.html

Scottish Investment Fund

This is a fund managed by Social Investment Scotland for social enterprises. The fund opened in September 2008 and is looking for third sector organisations which assist achievement of the 15 National Outcomes as laid out in Scotland Performs.
www.scottishinvestmentfund.co.uk

Third Sector Enterprise Fund

This £12 million Fund, available from April 2009 to March 2011 ‘aims to support ambitious third sector organisations that wish to operate in a more business-like and enterprising way, with a view to achieving increased sustainability’. One of the initial priorities for investment from the fund is tackling the underlying causes of health inequalities. Awards will be between £25,000 and £100,000.
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/15300/funding/enterprising-skills-fund

The Social Entrepreneurs Fund

This fund, managed by Firstport, opened in March 2009 and is available to individuals who wish to establish new businesses with social purpose. Awards are made at three levels ranging from £5,000 to £20,000 and the programme works in conjunction with the current Scotland UnLtd awards.
www.socialentrepreneursfund.co.uk

Rosa

Rosa, a new UK-wide fund devoted exclusively to championing and investing in charities working with women and girls. Rosa will begin making grants in 2009. Work which improves the wellbeing of women will be funded.
www.rosauk.org

Coalfields Regeneration Trust

Funds organisations based within the former coalfield wards. The Trust will fund community, voluntary and statutory organisations that provide opportunities and services to residents of former mining towns. The Trust is particularly keen to support projects which: help people get back into work, such as information, advice and guidance services or work experience programmes; improve confidence and skills levels for people of all ages; encourage healthier lifestyles and participation in leisure activities; make access to community facilities and services easier for residents. The grants available range between a few hundred pounds to much bigger. Applications can be submitted at anytime.
www.coalfields-regen.org.uk/applyingforfunds/default.asp

Development Awareness Fund

The Fund is run by The Department for International Development (DFID). The aim of the fund is to promote awareness and understanding of global poverty and development issues. The Fund is open to any UK-based not-for-profit organisation or network who can apply for grants ranging from £10,000 to £100,000 per annum for a maximum of three years. Projects have included farm visits and groups tackling fair trade issues. For more information visit
www.dfid.gov.uk/Working-with-DFID/Funding-Schemes/Funding-for-not-for-profit-organisations/DAF/

Leonardo Di Vinci fund

All Leonardo projects involve working with European partners to build partnerships, exchange best practice, increase the expertise of staff and develop the skills of learners. The programme is open to every organisation involved in vocational education and training, so why not have a look at the opportunities available?
www.leonardo.org.uk/default.asp?section=00010001&sectionTitle=Home

The Links Foundation

The Links Foundation reinvests funding back into the communities and those surrounding areas Working Links (www.workinglinks.co.uk) work within. There is no set amount to apply for but average awards are £20,000.
www.linksfoundation.org

Big Lottery Fund Research Programme

The Big Lottery Fund will provide up to £25 million to fund social, medical or socio-medical research led by the voluntary and community sector (VCS). The Research programme aims to influence local and national policy and practice by funding VCS organisations to produce and disseminate evidence-based knowledge. In the longer term the programme, through producing sound evidence, aims to help develop better services and support for beneficiaries. Grants of between £10,000 and £500,000 are available for research projects lasting up to five years.
www.bigresearchprogramme.org.uk/content.php?key=home

Women's Fund for Scotland

Grants of up to £5,000 are available from the Scottish Community Foundation for International Women's Day 2010 events, or for projects that benefit women run by not-for-profit groups. Project funding is for between 25% to 100% of project costs, and projects should support women's development, self-sufficiency and economic and social equality; applications that support social enterprise are also of interest. The deadline is 11 December 2009.
www.scottishcf.org

The Learning Launchpad

Organisations that work with young people, whatever their background, to help them achieve their potential have the opportunity to apply for funding through The Learning Launchpad. The Learning Launchpad is a grant-making fund delivered by the Young Foundation working in partnership with Edge that provides investment to organisations in their early stages of development.In particular, the Learning Launchpad is looking to support ideas that have a profound social impact both on individuals and on society as a whole; are innovative; are sustainable; can be replicated and are run by passionate and competent people. The next closing date for applications is 24 November 2009.
www.learninglaunchpad.org

Area specific funds

Have you checked to see if your area has access to these funds?

Mineral Trust Fund

In some areas of open-cast mining the commercial operator gives a percentage of profits to a community fund. Ask your local authority for details.

Wind Farm money

In some areas communities have negotiated a payment from windfarm profits; ask your local authority for information.

Landfill funds

Contact Forward Scotland (www.forward-scotland.org.uk) to see if your area is eligible for Landfill funds. Or try WREN (www.wren.org.uk/how-to-apply/small-grants) which provides grants from Landfill funds.

Updates coming soon.