Funding Opportunities

The British Heart Foundation is giving out a limited number of free defibrillators to community groups in the UK. 

With grants of up to £100,000, the Unlocking Potential Fund supports the strategic development of museums by addressing issues that are currently preventing them from moving forward.

With grants of up to £250,000, the Innovation Fund supports museums in developing, trialling and implementing activities that will improve their financial position.

‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People’: Catalyst Awards are designed to support community-led ​​research. Funding of up to £5,000 is available to conduct a research project for up to 12 months.

This can be a new or existing research project that promotes the health of individuals through fostering healthy environments and communities, and enabling access to healthy foods.

The Ayre Offshore Wind Farm offers small donations of up to £500 to support community groups based in Orkney and Caithness 

A total of £2m is available through this funding fron SSEN Transmission, with organisations able to apply for grants of between £40,000 and £500,000.

Through their 'Female Coaches for Girls Grants', Barclays aims to increase the number of high-quality female coaches. They believe this is crucial to help develop local female role models, improve standards, meet increased demand and inspire women and girls to get involved in sport.

The Triangle Trust is looking for proposals from organisations who want to work with young women and girls who have been in the criminal justice system or who are at a high risk of entering it.

The Corra Racial Equity Fund provides unrestricted funding to organisations led by, and that work with, people from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds. It is part of Corra’s commitment to supporting racial equity by providing targeted support to groups that have historically been under-resourced, in turn limiting their voice and power.

The Maternity Equity Fund supports organisations delivering preventative maternity support during pregnancy and birth. It helps organisations improving access, experience and outcomes, and those that are open to learning, partnerships, and shared practice. This includes knowledge exchange with health professionals and other funded organisations.

Through this fund The Robertson Trust supports projects that address a specific systemic racism issue, or create the infrastructure needed to sustain impactful anti-racist movements and build a liberated and equitable future.

Rewilding Britain will award up to £100,000 per year to the rewilding project that shows the maximum ambition and potential to work with others to scale up rewilding of our land and seas. 

Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance supports professional theatre and dance productions of varying scales to tour across Scotland.

It aims to bring high quality performances to more places and people across Scotland, supporting a mix of artists, producers, venues and companies to develop audiences for Theatre and Dance. This includes outdoor, circus, interdisciplinary and site-specific work.

Peatland Action is a peatland restoration project run by Scottish Natural Heritage and funded mainly by Scottish Government. The funding primarily supports on-the-ground restoration activities.

The JJ Charitable Trust grants provides grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 to charities and community groups that directly help children and young people develop literacy skills, with a focus on supporting those with learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

This programme provides early-stage financial support for community enterprise projects across the Scottish Crown Estate that contribute to community wealth building, local regeneration and sustainable development, and, ultimately, help create great places to live, work and visit.

The BFI is seeking organisations to design and run development programmes for UK creatives who have narrative, documentary or animation feature film projects or narrative immersive media projects. The aim is to support the programme participants with the advancement of their projects through a structured development environment, enabling them to go on to receive financial support from the marketplace.

Community Spaces Grants from The Robertson Trust support local communities experiencing poverty and associated trauma in Scotland.

Boost Charitable Trust is a grant-making charity whose mission is to fund and support inspiring programmes which help improve the lives of the disabled and disadvantaged through the power of sport.

The trust offers two different levels of funding:

1. Small Awards, up to £750, which are considered through a shorter process.

2. Large Awards, over £750, which are considered by the full trustee body at the next trustee meeting.  Most recent Large Awards have been in the range of £2,000 to £7,000. 

Parkinson's UK offers grants of up to £3000 to activity providers, communities, networks, organisations and others to develop opportunities for people with Parkinson’s to become and stay active. 

They are looking for innovative and new projects that will support people with Parkinson’s:

• to take part in movement‑based activities that help build their confidence and encourage a growing interest in being physically active
• who are currently inactive to begin engaging in physical activity and to maintain ongoing participation

The Aviva Foundation's Communities Fund supports organisations and projects that focus on either:

• Financial wellbeing - helping people feel more secure and in control of their money. This could include budgeting support, debt advice, financial education or money management.
• Climate action - helping communities prevent, prepare for and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. This might involve restoring nature, improving access to green spaces, or providing education and skills for a sustainable future.

Better Breaks provides 12-month grants to third sector organisations to develop and deliver short breaks projects and services for disabled children and young people (aged 20 and under) and their carers (adult and/or young carers)

The Plugged in Communities Grant Fund supports community transport operators in Scotland to replace a community transport vehicle with a zero-emission alternative, to support community trips and services.

Museums Galleries Scotland's Museum Development Fund supports museums to deliver medium-sized, strategic, sustainable development projects in line with their  own business plans and the Strategy. Accredited museums can apply for between £15,000 to £60,000 and projects can run for 2 years.

Tesco's grant funding programme invites schools, registered charities and not-for-profit organisations supporting children to apply for up to £1,500 to improve access to fruit and veg.

Members of the Highlands and Islands Climate Hub can apply for up to £1000 to help with unexpected financial challenges that mean a project relating to climate action can no longer continue.

Constituted groups and organisations can apply for a grant of up to £10,000 for projects in Sanday from SSE. 

The Big Change That Lasts Fund supports organisations working in Scotland to deliver long‑term, systemic change that prevents and reduces poverty and related trauma. 

The RAF Benevolent Fund offers range of support including financial assistance, breaks, emotional wellbeing support, and more, for current and former RAF personnel and their families.

The fund provides grants of £1,000 to £3,000 to small wildlife charities working in the UK and Ireland for projects that protect species and restore habitats.

Registered charities with an annual income under £2 million an apply for projects that:

• Protect species and enhance biodiversity
• Restore and improve habitats
• Support the work of conservation organisations

The Sackler Trust has supported research and education charities across the UK since 2010. 

The Swan Mountain trust is a small grant making trust whose focus for the next three years is refugees and asylum seekers. They are particularly interested in projects that support the mental health of young people.

The National Lottery Community Fund, Small Eco Awards programme offers grants of £300 to £20,000 to help communities in Scotland take practical action for the environment.

The Foundation provides grants to help organisations and clubs involved in 'on water' elements of the sport of rowing. Most of their grants are awarded to UK rowing clubs but they also support any club or organisation involved in “on water rowing-type” activities.

The Strategic Investment Fund focuses on larger-scale, multi-partner projects that help alleviate fuel poverty and improve skills and employability, delivering lasting benefits for communities across the north of Scotland.

Corra Foundation is administering Scottish Government funding intended to help organisations to stabilise or increase capacity, continue services and provide further reach into the community. It aims to facilitate rights-based, relational support for people so that they can easily access the right support at the right time.

The Local Support Grants are funds available through the Scottish Government’s Alcohol and Drugs Fund, administered by the Corra Foundation.

This fund is intended to help organisations to stabilise or increase capacity, continue services and provide further reach into the community. It aims to facilitate rights-based, relational support for people so that they can easily access the right support at the right time.

The Community Learning ExchangeFund enables community groups to visit others to build mutual support across the community sector through peer-to-peer learning. 

The Craighnish Trust focuses on environmental and human rights issues as well as the particular special interests of the trustees. Previous awards have included grants to organisations working in conservation, refugees, youth, and music. The fund has a Scottish bias but is not exclusive to Scotland.

Through their Wee Grants, The Robertson Trust offers funding to charitable organisations that support people and communities in Scotland who are living with poverty or trauma.

The Robertson Trust offers registered charities working in Scotland with an annual income of between £30,000 and £200,000, that support people who are experiencing (or are at high risk of experiencing) poverty and associated trauma.

The Robertson Trust offers unrestricted or restricted revenue funding of between £20,000 and £50,000 per year, up to 5 years (typically for 3 years) to charitable organisations that support people and communities in Scotland who are living with poverty or trauma.

The broad aim of the Heart of the Community Grant Trust is to provide financial grants for community projects that deliver lasting change within the regions in which the Company operates (Shetland, Orkney, Highland and Argyll).

The Clothworkers’ Foundation award grants for capital projects to UK registered charities, CICs, and other registered UK not-for-profit organisations (including special schools). They fund both large and small projects. The size of grant awarded depends on a number of factors including the size of the organisation and the cost and scale of the capital project.

Buttle UK offer individually tailored grants of up to £2,400 for children and young people who have experienced a crisis that has recently had a significant and enduring impact on their wellbeing and educational engagement. They fund items and activities to help improve children and young people’s wellbeing and increase their capacity to engage in education and learning.

Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund can provide immediate relief to families with children (aged 21 and under) who are suffering extreme hardship. This support is usually via cash grants to assist with a range of needs, such as food, utilities, clothing, bedding, appliance repairs, replacement of appliances that have failed, or other essentials (excluding carpets, floor coverings or electronic devices).

National Lottery Awards for All offers funding to support what matters to people and communities. The programme is a partnership between the National Lottery Community Fund Scotland, sportscotland and Creative Scotland. It can fund projects that will do at least one of these things:

• bring people together to build strong relationships in and across communities
• improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
• help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage
• support people, communities and organisations facing more demands and challenges because of the cost-of-living crisis.

Young Start offers grants of £20,001 - £150,000 for up to 3 years to organisations in Scotland that work with children and young people, aged 8 to 24.

The National Lottery Community Fund worked with children and young people to design this funding. It focuses on what matters to them and how they want to be involved.

The Scottish Land Fund supports rural and urban communities to become more resilient and sustainable through the ownership and management of land and land assets.

This funding is for projects that will help people connect more with each other. For the Community Action funding programme, The National Lottery Community Fund define communities as people who share an identity, interest or experience. They also include people living in the same place. They will support projects that are open, inclusive and led by their community.

This funding is for projects that support children, young people and families or that help people to be healthier and have better access to support.

The fund, which is administered by Victim Support Scotland, is open to any victim of crime who is resident in Scotland who is currently accessing victim and other support services. It is also available for people who live outside of Scotland who have been bereaved by a crime that has occurred within Scotland. Support organisations can apply for funding on behalf of victims.

Parents, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists of a child or young person under the age of 18 living with a disability or long-term health condition, can now apply for funding to purchase a new wheelchair.

Greener Spaces, Fairer Places’ - grants up to £500 are available for local faith groups or related organisations working primarily in a small, specific geographic communities to tackle poverty and climate change.

The Veterans’ Foundation Small Grants funding programme supports charities and other not-for-profit groups that provide assistance to those in need among serving armed forces personnel, veterans, operationally qualified seafarers and their immediate families.

Grants are available for between £500 and £5,000 and must be spent within 12 months.

The Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded, charitable grant-making foundation, which supports a wide range of causes across the UK.

Start It is a funding programme that helps budding social entrepreneurs in Scotland to get their businesses up and running. Funding comes from the Scottish Government’s Social Entrepreneurs Fund.

The grant is available to any child, up to the age of 18 years, resident in Orkney and who is disadvantaged due to any disability, behavioral or psychological problem, experiencing poverty, deprivation, illness, distress, abuse or neglect.

This funding is for organisations in Scotland, that The National Lottery Community Fund currently fund. They want to support organisations to try out new ideas and ways of working, or to develop their organisation and improve their current work.

Funding from £300 to £50,000 is available, for up to 2 years.

Step Up offers 0% interest loans of £5,000 to £30,000 to help Scottish social enterprises scale or repeat successful trading activities.

• Social enterprises of any age can apply for microloans of up to £10,000
• New enterprises and those starting to trade can apply for loans up to £30,000

The Community Enterprise Fund is a funding programme that helps community organisations to start trading or set up social enterprises in Scotland. It offers grants of up to £5,000, to be spent over 6 months. Funding comes from the Scottish Government’s Social Entrepreneurs Fund (SEF).

The Esmee Fairburn Foundation is one of the largest independent grant-makers in the UK. They also offer social investment.

As well as making direct investments into organisations seeking to create impact towards their aims, the foundation also invests into impact funds, which are managed by other social investors. They offer loans (secured and unsecured), equity, fund investments and everything else.

Expressions of Interest can be submitted at any time.

The fund awards grants to projects that value, care for and sustain heritage for everyone across the UK, now and in the future.  

Heritage can mean different things to different people. It can be anything from the past that you value and want to pass on to future generations. This could include nature and habitats, historic buildings and environments, or cultures, traditions and people’s memories. 

The fund awards grants to projects that value, care for and sustain heritage for everyone across the UK, now and in the future.  

Heritage can mean different things to different people. It can be anything from the past that you value and want to pass on to future generations. This could include nature and habitats, historic buildings and environments, or cultures, traditions and people’s memories. 

The Boost Fund is for small community-led organisations across Scotland supporting local people affected by poverty or disadvantage. Groups can apply if their activities will support their communities and the people who live there. Grants are flexible and groups can apply for many different costs. The work you are doing might be about providing practical help, or organising activities and gatherings, or addressing another local need.

The7stars foundation offers funding to charities, CICs, Schools, Nurseries and Children’s Homes for apprenticeship training to support young people who are challenged by the issues they prioritise.

The Sasha Foundation (TSF) was set up to support charities that work with mental health issues in memory of Sasha Love. In the UK this involves supporting young people with a bias towards young people, who are suffering from depression and mental health issues or who are confronting drug abuse issues. Additionally, it involves supporting education and healthcare projects and programs in low and middle income countries, with a bias towards education for young women.

Grants of between £300 to £20,000 are available for organisations in Scotland with an annual income of under £500,000, looking to support children and young people aged 8 to 24.  

The Social Investment Scotland (SIS) Community Finance Fund provides flexible, affordable finance to charities and social enterprises across Scotland.

Loan sizes range from £25,001 to £375,000, with the flexibility to consider smaller amounts. The fund includes both term loans and bridging loans, tailored to meet the diverse needs of organisations working to create positive social impact.