Throughout the year, we administer and disperse several funds. These support a diverse range of activities and projects in the Orkney Community.
The funds are only open to applications at certain points in the year. Sign up to receive a up to date information about these and other funds.
Select the fund you would like to know more about from the list below to view the details.
The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults aims to support community-based initiatives that promote and develop good mental health and wellbeing within the adult population.
In 2025 the Scottish Government announced that the Fund would be included in the Fairer Funding Pilot, which saw organisations able to apply for 2 years of funding. This left £25,500 in the pot to be disbursed in the next round through one year projects taking place between 1 March 2027 and 28 February 2028. This round is now open for applications.
The Fund is managed on behalf of the Scottish Government by Voluntary Action Orkney in partnership with the Orkney Partnership.
The projects supported will benefit communities right across Orkney, and can offer a wide range of activities, such as fitness and gentle sports, provide equipment and enable the set-up of self-help support groups, support those with long term and life limiting illness, offer access to learning, and arts activities.
The maximum grant that can be applied for is £7,500, and a maximum of £5,000 in any application can be requested towards capital items. There is no minimum level that organisations can apply for, and in previous rounds the smallest grants allocated have been around £400.
The ambition of this Fund is to support initiatives which promote adult mental health and wellbeing at a small scale, grass roots, community level. For the purposes of this Fund, the adult population is considered to be those 16 and over. It is accessible to all groups, no matter how small or inexperienced they are. It can support both new and existing groups or projects. Your group does not have to have mental health and wellbeing as your main focus, but your application does have to clearly benefit the mental wellbeing of people in your community.
Applications can be accepted from a range of voluntary, ‘not for profit’ organisations, associations, groups and clubs or consortiums/partnerships which have a strong community focus for their activities. Your group or organisation does not have to be constituted in order to apply but you will need to be working towards being constituted as a part of the award.
Any organisation with confirmed two-year funding awarded is ineligible to apply to this round of the Fund.
Applicants must be a member of VAO. For more information about joining visit our 'Becoming a member' section.
We ask that you read the full Fund Guidance before applying.
The successful applications will deliver against some or all of the local priorities for the fund. These have been identified in collaboration with statutory and third sector partners and experts as being:
This round covers projects taking place one year projects taking place between 1 March 2027 and 28 February 2028.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 11 December 2026.
To apply complete the application form and attach the required documents.
Completed application forms should be submitted to: development@vaorkney.org.uk or posted to Voluntary Action Orkney, 6 Bridge Street, Kirkwall, KW15 1HR marked CMHWF.
VAO will provide one to one advice, support and resources to help you develop your project/activity ideas and complete your application form.
We will also keep in close contact with you during the delivery phase of your project/activity and will support you with any concerns or difficulties you may face.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Community Development Team at development@vaorkney.org.uk or phone 01856 872897.
With generous donations from Neo Next and Liam McArthur MSP, Voluntary Action Orkney (VAO) is pleased to offer grants of up to £500 to support charities, community groups and voluntary organisations across Orkney.
Constituted groups with charitable aims (excluding party political groups) can apply for funding towards a project or activity that benefits their local community.
Examples of what we have funded before include:
This is a competitive fund, so it is important that your application clearly explains what you want to do, who will benefit and the impact it will have in Orkney.
Applications will be assessed by a panel of VAO Directors. Their decision will be final. Priority will be given to projects that demonstrate a strong local impact.
Grants must be used for projects taking place between 1 April 2026 and 31 December 2026.
Successful applicants will receive the full grant payment upfront, once:
Grant recipients must submit:
Final reports and receipts must be submitted no later than 31 January 2027
VAO may request repayment of the grant if:
Priority will be given to organisations that have not previously received a Small Grant, although past recipients are still welcome to apply.
To be eligible groups or organisation must:
Where possible, purchases should be local and environmentally responsible
The grant cannot be used for:
Applications must be submitted before 9:00am Monday 2 March 2026.
To apply, complete and return the application form with the required supporting documents before the deadline.
Supporting documents required
Please read the full guidance before preparing and submitting your application.
We know that some groups may have limited experience of applying for funding. VAO is here to help.
If you would like to:
Please contact the VAO Community Development Team: development@vaorkney.org.uk.
