VCEL Monthly Funding Update | January 2026
Welcome to the latest funding update from Volunteer Centre East Lothian.
1 | FUNDING NEWS
The Giving Machine
We look forward to welcoming Abigail Ward from The Giving Machine to host a presentation about who The Giving Machine are, what they do, their impact so far and their mission. Abigail will give guidance on the Giving Lottery and Community Grants. There will also be time for a Q&A session at the end. Join us to see how your organisation could benefit.
Date: 27 January 2026
Time: 11:00 - 12:00
Zoom Link to be sent in advance of webinar start date and time.
Register here: VCEL Event - The Giving Machine
Meet the Funder Webinar: NHS Lothian Community Benefits Gateway
We look forward to welcoming Lorna Bellany, Population Health Project Manager (East Lothian) from NHS Lothian, to host a presentation about the NHS Community Benefit Gateway Portal. Lorna will give guidance on what the portal is, how it's funded, and she'll tell you what you need to know to enable your organisation to benefit from using the portal.
Date: 05 February 2026
Time: 11:00 - 12:00
MS Teams Link to be sent in advance of webinar start date and time.
Register here: VCEL Event - Meet the Funder Webinar
2 | ARTS & CULTURE
Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA)
Visual artists and crafts makers in Scotland can apply for funding through small grants. The Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) are a programme of small grants schemes delivered in partnership with local authorities and art organisations across Scotland. The schemes are managed locally by these partners. VACMA is offering fixed bursaries of £500 and £1,000:
The £500 Early-Career Bursary is for artists and makers who have graduated within the past three years, or those who can demonstrate experience of the public presentation of their work within the same timeframe.
The £1,000 Bursary is for artists and makers who can demonstrate more than three years' experience of the public presentation of their work.
Creative Scotland is working with partners across Scotland to deliver the scheme across 24 local authorities.
Deadline: 03 February 2026, 5pm
Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards - Creative Scotland
Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers
The Trust provides biennial grants to support weavers in further developing their craft through equipment, sabbaticals or creative projects. The objective is to enable creative freedom, craft development and the advancement of hand-weaving as an art form. Grants of between £500 and £5,000 are available.
Deadline: 05 February 2026
Biennial Grants - Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers
Youth Music NextGen Fund
Grants are available to young creatives in the UK to help them take a step forward to participating in and changing the music industries. Grants of up to £3,000 are available. Applications will be accepted from 18-25 year old creatives (under-30s who identify as d/Deaf, neurodivergent or Disabled) in the UK who lack the finance to develop their creative project or idea. The scheme will support the future of the music industries, which may include singers, rappers, songwriters, producers, DJs, A&Rs, managers and agents, right through to roles that have yet to be defined.
Deadline: 06 February 2026
NextGen Fund - Youth Music
Association for Industrial Archaeology - Restoration Grants
Funding is available for the restoration of historically, technically, architecturally, and/or archaeologically important industrial buildings, structures, machinery, vehicles and vessels within the UK. Two funding streams are available:
Major projects - up to £30,000. Grants must form a significant portion of the total project costs (normally, at least 20% of the total project costs).
Small projects - up to £10,000 for projects with total costs of no more than £12,500.
The grant is for capital funding only, not ongoing revenue funding.
Deadline: 31 March 2026
Association for Industrial Archaeology
Music for All - Community Project Funding
Discretionary grants are available to UK-based community groups that aim to bring musical projects to their local communities. In the current round, support will be available in the following distinct areas:
Groups working with those facing chronic diseases and conditions affecting quality of life.
Groups working with those facing financial hardship
Youth clubs and comparable organisations
Pure tone classical guitar 1/2 size C45A Natural
Descant recorders
Deadline: 31 March 2026
Music for All
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Arts-based Learning Fund
The funding of up to £300,000 is intended to create a more equitable school system where high-quality arts-based learning is a core part of all children’s education. Applications will be accepted from:
Arts and cultural organisations working in partnership with formal education settings (including state-funded primary and secondary schools, SEND specialist schools, Further Education colleges, alternative provision settings such as Pupil Referral Units, and some types of state-funded Early Years settings).
Organisations that are developing established programmes of work and/or testing new approaches.
Deadline: Ongoing
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Arts-based Learning Fund
Creative Scotland – Open Fund for Individuals
Supports a wide range of activity initiated by artists, writers, producers and other creative practitioners in Scotland. The fund is intended to support periods of research, development and/or delivery of creative activity, such as specific projects and productions for up to 24 months. It can support an individual’s time where this is related to specific creative outcomes. Grants are available for amounts between £500 and £50,000.
Deadline: Ongoing
Creative Scotland – Open Fund for Individuals
National Lottery Open Fund for Organisations
This fund aims to support organisations who seek funding to undertake creative activity such as a specific project or production, a programme of creative work, or a period of research and development. This includes funding for a specific one-off project or production or a period of creative research and development or a longer term programme of work. It can also support organisations to undertake business and organisational development that will enhance their business sustainability through the development of new or more diverse income streams, or consider broader organisational development costs. Eligible organisations can apply for funding between £1k and £100k for projects or programmes lasting up to 18 months.
Deadline: Ongoing
National Lottery Open Fund for Organisations
Awards for Young Musicians
Grants of £100 to £2,000 are available for the UK's most talented young instrumentalists in any genre, aged five to 17 years of age who, because of financial need, may be prevented from fulfilling their creative potential.
Deadline: Ongoing
Awards for Young Musicians
BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund
Grants of between £20,000 and £200,000 are available to support various audience related activities in the UK, including film festivals, distribution releases, multi-platform distribution proposals, touring film programmes, large scale and ambitious film programmes. Applications are accepted all year round but must be submitted 16 weeks before any funded activity.
Deadline: Ongoing
BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund
3 | BUSINESS & ENTERPRISE
Business Catalyst (Large) Grants
Grants are intended to support jewellers, silversmiths and allied industry practitioners in the UK to grow their business, develop their skills and expand their business knowledge. Grants of up to £7,000 available.
Deadline: 01 February 2026
Business Catalyst Large Grants - The Goldsmiths' Centre
MMC Venture Capital
Equity investments available to early-stage UK SMEs that demonstrate high growth potential. Although MMC Ventures can provide investments to companies in any sector, they tend to focus support on the following:
Business software and digital media
Financial services
E-commerce
Business services
Deadline: Ongoing
MMC Venture Capital
Pentech Ventures
Pentech invests in teams who believe they can build a category leading software company. Areas of interest include: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; Big Data; Infrastructure such as Blockchain; and verticals that are enabled via the efficient use of AI and new infrastructure approaches, such as FinServ, Health, and Enterprise Transformation. Initial investment is likely to be £500,000 to £2 million, with up to £10 million invested over the lifetime of the investment.
Deadline: Ongoing
Pentech Ventures
Access to Work
Financial assistance is available to help organisations in Great Britain with any extra employment costs that result from employing a person with a disability. Access to Work provides grants to employers towards extra employment costs which result from an employee having a disability. The programme aims to provide practical advice and support to disabled people and their employers, in order to overcome work related obstacles which result from disability.
Deadline: Ongoing
Access to Work
Kaleidoscope Investments (Ki)
Kaleidoscope is aimed at giving financial backing to help disabled entrepreneurs in the UK start their own business. The fund will assist in the development of the businesses it invests in and ensure they make a worthwhile return for investors.
Deadline: Ongoing
Kaleidoscope Investments
Foundation Scotland - Social Investment Fund
Grant and loan investments are available to social enterprises, community organisations and charities across Scotland to benefit local communities. Objectives supported:
Prevent and/or relieve poverty
Advance community development
Advance education
Urban and rural regeneration
Deadline: Ongoing
Foundation Scotland - Social Investment Fund
Growth Impact Fund
Funding is available to early stage growing social enterprises and charitable organisations in the UK to address the structural barriers that diverse organisations face.
Deadline: Ongoing
Growth Impact Fund
Redundancy Payments - Financial Assistance
Assistance to help employers in the UK with severe cash flow problems to make necessary redundancy payments.
Deadline: Ongoing
Redundancy Payments - Financial Assistance
Scottish Community Alliance - Community Learning Exchange Fund
Grants up to £1,000 are available to local community groups in Scotland to facilitate learning exchanges with other community groups. To be eligible to apply, applicants can access the fund through the SCA’s member networks.
Deadline: Ongoing
Scottish Community Alliance - Community Learning Exchange Fund
LaunchMe
LaunchMe is an accelerator programme for ambitious, social enterprise start-ups in Scotland. It aims to develop a pool of strong, capable and ambitious social enterprises that can go on to secure investment, so they can achieve social impact at scale.
Deadline: Ongoing
LaunchMe
The Prospectory - Idea Fund
The funding is intended to enable people to test out an innovative technical solution that can deliver a social or environmental benefit. The fund offers grants ranging from £250 to £3,000.
Deadline: Ongoing
The Prospectory - Idea Fund
4 | CHILDREN & FAMILIES
Trefoil – Organisational Grants
Discretionary grants are available for registered charities and other not-for-profit organisations to deliver projects and
activities that support children with additional needs across Scotland.
Deadline: 13 February 2026
Applications - Trefoil
Kelly Family Charitable Trust
Grants are available for UK registered charities, working locally or regionally in the United Kingdom, whose activities
nurture and support family life. The three principal areas that the charity wishes to support are:
Interventions that support families and help them in ways that prevent the fracture of the family unit, eg relationship
counselling, mediation.
Families where sexual abuse, physical abuse, domestic violence, alcohol abuse and drugs abuse threaten the integrity of the family unit.
Prisoners and in particular their families, during and after the period of imprisonment.
Deadline: 01 March 2026
Kelly Family Charitable Trust
Mother and Baby Unit Family Fund
A Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) is a specialist inpatient unit for people who:
Develop severe mental health problems in the later stages of pregnancy
Develop severe mental health problems during the year after their baby is born
You can claim towards the cost of travel, food and accommodation when you're visiting someone in an MBU, if you are the:
Partner of the person who gave birth
Baby's other parent
Main carer of the person who gave birth
If you have children who are 16 and under, you can claim towards the costs of travel, food and accommodation during their visits to the MBU too. For further information and how to make a claim, visit Mother and Baby Unit Family Fund.
Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund
The Urgent Assistance Fund remains committed to providing emergency cash grants to help families who are struggling to provide essentials such as food, heating, beds and clothing for their children. Applications must be submitted via a sponsor. Sponsors can be frontline professionals working for a registered charity, housing association or public sector organisation who:
Are working directly with the children/young person
Have made a full assessment of the child’s or young person’s needs
Children and young people must meet the following criteria:
Aged under 21 or aged 25 and under if the young person is care experienced
Living on a low income and experiencing financial hardship
Have experienced a crisis that has recently had a significant and enduring impact on their wellbeing and / or their development and education
The family or young person has recently taken action to improve their situation, are actively engaging with support and are moving on from the crisis.
Deadline: Ongoing
Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund
True Colours Trust - UK Small Grants
Small grants are available to UK registered charities and community interest companies that are working to make a
difference to the lives of disabled children (up to 25 years old) and their families in the UK. Grants of up to £10,000 are
available.
Deadline: Ongoing
True Colours Trust - UK Small Grants
Buttle UK - Chances for Children
Grants of up to £2,400 are available 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.
Deadline: Ongoing
Buttle UK - Chances for Children
Variety Club - Equipment Grants
Grants are available for specialist equipment for the direct use of children up to the age of 18 years who are sick,
disabled or disadvantaged and are resident in the UK.
Deadline: Ongoing
Variety Club - Equipment Grants
Percy Bilton Charity - Grants for Organisations
Grants up to £5,000 are available to UK registered charities with primary objectives to assist one or more of the following groups:
Disadvantaged/underprivileged young people (under 25 years old)
People with disabilities (physical or learning disabilities or mental health problems)
Older people (aged over 60)
Deadline: Ongoing
Percy Bilton Charity - Grants for Organisations
Tesco Stronger Starts Grants
Grants up to £1,500 are available to all schools, registered charities and not-for-profit organisations, with priority given to projects that provide food and support to young people.
Deadline: Ongoing
Tesco Stronger Starts Grants
5 | COMMUNITY FUNDING
Future Woodlands Scotland - Urban Forestry Challenge Fund
Grants are available to community groups, local authorities, not-for-profit organisations, charities and schools in Scotland for planting, forestry management and educational projects that will address the need for more trees and green spaces in Scotland’s urban areas.
Deadline: 23 January 2026
Urban Forestry Programme - Future Woodlands Scotland
Pub is the Hub
Pub is the Hub encourages rural pub owners, licensees, and their local communities to work together to support, retain and locate local services, where possible, within the pub, whilst often improving the viability of the business itself. The provider may be able to assist some projects through its own Community Services Fund, which aims to support projects as a fund of last resort, where no local funding for services currently exists. A grant of up to £3,000 may be provided. Pub is The Hub does not always have funds to be a direct provider of grants or loans for individual diversification projects. It does, however, provide advice help and support at no cost to licensees and seek to work with the local authorities to find the potential funding sources.
Deadline: Ongoing
Pub is the Hub
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
Grants are available for small and medium sized local charities and not-for-profit organisations in the UK with a track record of success working to address local issues in communities of extreme urban deprivation or deprived rural areas. Projects will be expected to focus on community support. This could include community transport schemes in Rural locations (with a population of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants in a village/town) in England, Scotland and Wales. Applicant organisations' postcodes must be ranked within the most deprived 50% of the Index of Multiple Deprivation. To check the SIMD ranking of your project area, check on the SIMD website map and click on the area to see the ranking. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is a relative measure of deprivation across 6,976 small areas (called data zones). If an area is identified as ‘deprived’, this can relate to people having a low income but it can also mean fewer resources or opportunities. If the area has a ranking of under 3,488 it should be eligible to apply. Small grants are available of £2,000 to £10,000 for one year. (Successful applicants can reapply for a further two years. No further applications can be made after the completion of a third grant.) The amount requested must not be for more than 50% of the total cost of the project. Grant recipients must be able to start spending the grant within three months of the award being made.
Deadline: Ongoing
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
Robertson Trust's Community Spaces Fund
Funding is intended to support the running costs of local community centres, hubs or anchor organisations that are delivering and/or hosting a range of services and activities in places with high levels of deprivation. Examples of eligible work include: The running costs of an accessible community hub based in a town with high levels of deprivation. The hub hosts and delivers services for local people, including community meals, family activities, a youth group and drop-in sessions with partner organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and local employability service. The running costs of a village hall in a rural community where there are no other community facilities. The hall hosts a range of groups and services, such as a parent and toddler group, a food pantry, and warm space, and provides access to IT facilities. Grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year for up to three years are available to registered charities working in Scotland. Organisations should demonstrate the various services they deliver and/or host related to preventing or reducing poverty and trauma for local people.
Deadline: Ongoing
Robertson Trust's Community Spaces Fund
Royal Countryside Fund – Supporting Rural Communities
The UK-wide Supporting Rural Communities grant programme launched on Friday 10 January 2025. This new differentiated funding will support transformative, community-led initiatives across the UK, unlocking the huge potential for positive change in rural communities. The aim is to support innovative solutions that will “power up, not prop up” communities, inspiring change and encouraging economic vibrancy. Organisations can apply for grants of up to £25,000 over a period of 24 months to deliver activities along the themes of:
Keeping young people in the countryside
Powering up rural communities
Increasing environmental sustainability
Building emergency resilience in rural areas
Support will be focused on isolated rural areas where the activity is required due to a lack of alternative services. Projects must be community led and show that they actively listen to, understand and respond to the needs of their local community. The fund is also looking for community organisations that demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics:
Working towards a long-term vision
Facilitating collaboration/connectedness
Demonstrating innovation
Deadline: Ongoing
Royal Countryside Fund - Supporting Rural Communities
National Lottery Awards for All - Scotland
The National Lottery Awards for All programme is a partnership between The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland, SportScotland and Creative Scotland. For arts and sports projects, applications can be made for up to £10,000 supporting projects for up to 12 months. For community-led projects (that are not primarily arts or sport focused), applications can be made for up to £20,000 per year supporting projects for up to two years. Groups can only hold one National Lottery Awards for All grant at a time.
Deadline: Ongoing
National Lottery Awards for All - Scotland
Cruden Foundation
This fund aims to support charitable projects and activities in Scotland for the benefit of people living there. Funding is intended to support projects with a strong focus on community welfare, medical support and research, the arts, education, and conservation. Most grants are in the £2,500 to £5,000 range, although both smaller and larger grants can also be requested.
Deadline: Ongoing
Cruden Foundation
UK Community Foundations
Grants for projects in all sectors of the local community. Each foundation has its own character appropriate to the location and grants may be made to a wide range of activities including health, children and young people, arts and culture, the environment, and services. Community foundations can meet all areas of community need, including but not limited to:
Arts and culture
Education
Environment
Health
Community development
Children and young people
Older people
Employment and training
Deadline: Ongoing
UK Community Foundations
The Robertson Trust – Community Spaces Grants
Grants of up to £5,000 are available. Revenue and capital funding for constituted community groups and small charities who support people who are experiencing (or are at high risk of experiencing) poverty and trauma, with an annual income of under £30,000.
Deadline: Ongoing
The Robertson Trust - Community Spaces Grants
National Lottery Community Fund - The UK Fund
Grants of £500,000 to £5 million are available to not-for-profit groups for projects which forge connections between communities to create a better-connected society across the UK.
Deadline: Ongoing
National Lottery Community Fund - The UK Fund
6 | ENVIRONMENT & CONSERVATION
National Lottery Heritage Fund: Strategic Initiatives – Landscape Connections
Grants are available for not-for-profit organisations to deliver projects and activities that improve protected landscapes across UK and make them more accessible. Grants range from £10,000 to £10 million.
Deadline: 26 February 2026, 12pm
Strategic initiatives - The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) - Development Fund
Grants are available for community groups in Scotland at the early stages of their community-owned energy or shared ownership journey. Local Energy Scotland administers the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). Local Energy Scotland provides free impartial advice and support for community groups, rural businesses, social enterprises and other stakeholders to advance local energy projects. Grants of up to £30,000 to cover up to 100% of eligible costs are available. Scottish constituted non-profit distributing organisations can apply. Examples of support for early-stage capacity building activities include:
Funding for events
Community consultations
Community energy plans or action plans
Renewable energy option appraisals
Initial legal advice
Support for part-time or temporary staff or a development officer to take your project forward
Deadline: 28 February 2026
CARES Development Fund · Local Energy Scotland
The Mushroom Trust
This fund aims to support the creation, enhancement and upkeep of green spaces throughout Scotland. This includes both the creation of urban spaces, such as public parks, community gardens and allotments, as well as other environmental and conservation projects, such as ancient woodland restoration projects. Grants of between £500 and £10,000 are available. Eligible projects include:
Formal gardens
Public parks and pathways
Community gardens, woodlands, orchards, and allotments
Cycle ways
Woodland restoration
The Trustees encourage applications for the initial costs for design work in connection with new projects where this has not yet been considered.
Deadline: 31 March 2026
The Mushroom Trust
Sea-Changers Grant Programme
One-off grants of up to £2,500 are available to UK-based marine conservation charities and not-for-profit organisations for projects that address specific marine conservation areas. Two levels of funding are available:
Small Grants programme - up to £500
Main Grants programme - between £500 and £2,500
Deadline: 31 March 2026
Sea-Changers
Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF)
Funding is available to enable investment in tangible, effective marine and coastal restoration projects in Scotland, undertaken by organisations across all sectors. The main aim of the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) is to support practical improvements to Scottish marine and coastal ecosystems. Although it is anticipated that most applications for enhancement projects will initially focus on salt marsh, seagrass, sand dunes, native oysters, marine birds and cetaceans; the funder is keen to receive proposals for research to inform a broader range of potential marine and coastal enhancement opportunities across all relevant species and habitats.
Deadline: Ongoing
SMEEF
Scottish Forestry Community Fund
Grants are available to voluntary and community organisations, development trusts, social enterprises, charities and local authorities for projects and activities that encourage people to use woods more. The funding aims to encourage and support greater use of woods by people to improve their health, wellbeing and life chances. Applicants will need to provide match funding for projects above £1,000.
Deadline: Ongoing
Scottish Forestry Community Fund
Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Grant for Staff and Fleets
Grants are intended to support Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK with the costs of electric vehicle infrastructure and chargepoints on their business premises.
Deadline: Ongoing
Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Grant
Pets Foundation - Rescue Centre Grants
Grants are available for charities and non-profit organisations in the UK whose main objective is the rescue and rehoming of domestic pets in the UK. The Pets Foundation provides three grant programmes:
Rescue Centres – to support organisations whose main activities are the rescue and rehoming of UK pets.
Pets Assisting People – to support organisations whose main activities are one or more of the following: The provision of temporary or ongoing assistance to ensure pets can remain with their owners, where rehoming takes place only when it is not possible to reunite the pet with their owner. Changing the lives of adults and children through the provision of animal-based activities or practical assistance.
Preventing Pet Relinquishment – to support projects that aim to keep pets with their owners and out of rescue.
Deadline: Ongoing
Pets Foundation - Rescue Centre Grants
Plug-in Vehicle Grant (PIVG) Scheme
As announced by the Chancellor at the Autumn Budget, £120 million will be provided in 2025-26 to support the purchase of new electric vans via the Plug-in Vehicle Grant and to support the manufacture of wheelchair accessible EVs. The amount of the grant depends on which category the vehicle is in.
Deadline: Ongoing
Plug-in Vehicle Grant (PIVG) Scheme
Exchange Market
A pilot funding scheme rewarding arable farmers in the UK for reducing emissions within their supply chains through tailored, verified plans. Farmers can join Exchange Market by having a completed Exchange baseline and a recent Farm Carbon Toolkit assessment. The Soil Association Exchange will then work with applicants to create a verified emissions reduction plan. With annual payments based on verified results, the programme ensures transparency and accountability at every step. Farmers in the scheme can earn up to £60 per tonne of carbon reduced annually, with 50% of payments provided upfront to support their transition.
Deadline: Ongoing
Exchange Market
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation - Grants
The minimum grant size is £30,000 and available to organisations doing legally charitable work in the UK that focuses on the Foundation's funding priorities of improving the natural world, securing a fairer future, and strengthening the bonds in communities in the UK.
Deadline: Ongoing
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation - Grants
Swire Charitable Trust
Grants are available for UK registered charities working to deliver positive and lasting change to UK society under three programme areas: opportunity, environment and heritage.
Deadline: Ongoing
Swire Charitable Trust
Electric Vehicle Chargepoint and Infrastructure Grant for Landlords
Funding to install electric vehicle chargepoints as a landlord, social housing provider or property factor.
Deadline: Ongoing
Electric Vehicle Chargepoint and Infrastructure Grant
7 | GENERAL FUNDING
Weir Charitable Trust
Grants of up to £25,000 are available to small charities or community groups in Scotland for work addressing sport, health, culture, animal welfare, or recreational facilities.
Deadline: 06 February 2026, 5pm
The Weir Charitable Trust
SUEZ Communities Fund Scotland
The SUEZ Communities Fund - Scotland supports community improvement projects that fall under the following categories:
Land Reclamation (Object A)
Community Recycling (Object B)
Public Amenities (Object C)
Biodiversity (Object D)
Historic Buildings, Structures or Sites (Object E)
The Scottish Landfill Communities Fund is an initiative which allows landfill operators to release tax credits to environmental and community groups. The scheme broadly aims to benefit local communities in the vicinity of a landfill site. Grants of between £3,000 and £20,000 are available. Projects must have an overall cost of no more than £40,000.
Deadline: 18 February 2026
SUEZ Communities Fund - Scotland - Grantscape
RS MacDonald Charitable Trust
Funding is available for registered charities in Scotland in the following areas: tackling child abuse and neglect; visual impairment; neurological conditions; medical research; and animal welfare. The Trust's principal areas of interest are:
Tackling child abuse and neglect
Visual impairment
Neurological conditions
Medical research
Animal welfare
Small grant applications are accepted any time.
Deadline: Ongoing
RS MacDonald Charitable Trust
De Brye Charitable Trust
Grants are available for charitable organisations that provide care and housing for the aged, orphans and neglected children or aid physically disabled children and the blind. The majority of grants are between £500 and £5,000. The Trust does not have a website or an email address.
Deadline: Ongoing
Enquiries: 01727 869141
Rhododendron Trust
Grants are available to UK registered charities who are working for the welfare of the disadvantaged in the UK and overseas as well as some cultural and wildlife projects.
Deadline: Ongoing
Rhododendron Trust
Mickel Fund
Grants of up to £10,000 are available. Funding is available for projects in Scotland that address one or more of the following categories:
The advancement of education.
The prevention or relief of poverty.
The advancement of health and saving of lives.
The advancement of the arts, heritage, culture and science.
The advancement of public participation in sports.
Deadline: Ongoing
Mickel Fund
Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust
The Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust offers grants to registered charities active in Great Britain. The funding is intended to support projects relating to young people, people with disabilities, the environment and the arts. Grants usually range from £500 to £2,500.
Deadline: Ongoing
Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust
National Lottery Awards for All – Scotland
For arts and sports projects, applications can be made for up to £10,000 supporting projects for up to 12 months. For community-led projects (that are not primarily arts or sport focused), applications can be made for up to £20,000 per year supporting projects for up to two years.
Deadline: Ongoing
National Lottery Awards for All – Scotland
MacRobert Trust
Grants are available for UK registered charities with a preference for organisations based in Scotland which have projects that address the themes set out by The MacRobert Trust.
Theme 1: Armed Forces & Good Citizenship
Theme 2: Education & Professional Excellence
Theme 3: Local Community & Other MacRobert Interests
Deadline: Various
MacRobert Trust
Matthew Good Foundation - Grants for Good Fund
A small number of grants are available for local community groups, charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises in the UK for projects that have a positive impact on communities, people, or the environment.
Deadline: Ongoing
Matthew Good Foundation - Grants for Good Fund
Foundation Scotland
Some of the funds are available on a Scotland-wide basis, and others are aimed at specific geographical areas or themes. You’ll find grant size and criteria information on each fund’s page, together with any unique criteria. Also, every fund lists a deadline for applications, and there may be more than one round of funding each year. When searching, be sure to note all the key dates in the fund listing.
Deadline: Various
Foundation Scotland
8 | HEALTH
Macmillan CARE Grants
Grants are available for community organisations across the UK for projects that tackle unfairness in cancer care. Up to £1.5 million is available for this first round, with grants ranging from £50,000 to £150,000.
Deadline: 23 January 2026
Macmillan CARE Grants - Macmillan Cancer Support
Blue Light Wellbeing Fund
The funding is intended to support the physical, mental and emotional well-being of the entire Blue Light Community - across health, emergency, social care and armed forces - recognising their vital role in society. There is particular interest in applications for projects that support individuals across multiple Blue Light services, fostering collaboration and shared learning. Priority will be given to initiatives that include clear, well-developed plans for continuing the work beyond the life of the grant. Grants of up to a maximum of £25,000 are available.
Deadline: Ongoing
Blue Light Wellbeing Fund
Gardening With Disabilities Trust
Small grants are available to groups and individuals in the UK who suffer all kinds of chronic disabilities - mental and physical - to help them get gardening again.
Deadline: Ongoing
Gardening With Disabilities Trust
Parkinson’s UK Physical Activity Grants Programme
Grants are available for activity providers, communities, networks and organisations across the UK to develop new opportunities for people with Parkinson’s to become and stay active or help increase their levels of physical activity. Grants of between £500 and £3,000 are available. Applications will be accepted from activity providers, national governing bodies, Parkinson’s groups and branches, and sports and healthcare professionals.
Deadline: Ongoing
Parkinson’s UK Physical Activity Grants Programme
RNIB Technology Grants
The funding is intended for UK residents who are registered blind or partially sighted people and who have been refused funding from their local authority for the items they need. The grant will support the cost of any item that is on the RNIB list of approved equipment.
Deadline: Ongoing
RNIB Technology Grants
Anton Jurgens Charitable Trust
Grants are available to UK based charities for projects that support people of all ages who are socially disadvantaged and/or have disabilities.
Deadline: Ongoing
Anton Jurgens Charitable Trust
Vegetarian for Life Grants
Funding is available for charities and charitable organisations supporting older vegetarians and vegans.
Deadline: Ongoing
Vegetarian for Life Grants
The Family Recovery Initiative Fund (FRIF)
One-off grants of up to £5,000 are available to organisations and groups working to support families affected by alcohol and drugs in Scotland.
Deadline: Ongoing
The Family Recovery Initiative Fund (FRIF)
Barchester Healthcare Foundation
Grants are available for small local groups and small local charities to improve the quality of life and combat loneliness in older people as well as adults with a physical or mental disability. Grants for individuals and groups available.
Deadline: Ongoing
Barchester Healthcare Foundation
Fletchers Foundation
Grants are available to charities and organisations in the UK working to support individuals or families who have suffered life changing circumstances as a result of illness (born with or acquired), severe personal injury, accident or medical negligence.
Deadline: Ongoing
Fletchers Foundation
9 | LAND & PROPERTY
Scottish Government - Housing Infrastructure Fund
Grants available to registered social landlords and local authorities in Scotland for the unlocking of sites to provide new affordable housing which aligns with the 'Housing to 2040' strategy.
Deadline: Ongoing
Scottish Government - Housing Infrastructure Fund
National Heritage Memorial Fund
Funding for charities, not-for-profit organisations and public bodies to help with the cost of acquiring historic land,
buildings, works of fine and decorative art and other objects of interest which are important to national heritage.
Deadline: Ongoing
National Heritage Memorial Fund
Scottish Land Fund
Grants between £5,000 and £1,000,000 are available to organisations in both urban and rural Scotland which are
community-led, community-controlled and defined by a geographic area that can demonstrate significant positive impact for the community as a whole. Applicants will have the opportunity to test out and develop their ideas with support from a Scottish Land Fund Adviser.
Deadline: Ongoing
Scottish Land Fund
10 | POVERTY & COST OF LIVING CRISIS
Trefoil – Lilias Finlay Holiday Fund
Trefoil offers holiday grants to children and families who meet our development needs criteria. Applicants for holiday grants should be under eighteen years old and living in Scotland. Trefoil only funds holidays in the UK and does not support overseas trips. Applications for holiday grants are open and considered all year. Please apply at least 12 weeks before your holiday. Your applications should be supported by two references. Holiday grants are open and considered all year.
Deadline: Personal development - Friday 13 February 2026
Deadline: Organisational grants - Friday 13 February 2026
Deadline: Holiday grants - Ongoing
Lilias Finlay Holiday Fund - Trefoil
The Adamson Trust
Grants for voluntary and community organisations and charities to help with the cost of holidays or respite breaks for disabled children (aged 3 to 17 years) with physical, mental, or emotional impairments. Individual families can apply and, in addition, applications on behalf of groups of children, organisations and other registered charities.
Deadline: 31 March 2026 for the May 2026 meeting
The Adamson Trust
Grocers' Charity Grant
One-off grants are available to small UK registered charities for work in the specific areas of: relief of poverty,
disability and inclusion, the elderly, health, military, environment and conservation, and the arts and heritage. Application link will open on 30 March 2026.
Deadline: 01 September 2026
The Grocers' Charity
The National Lottery Community Fund - Fairer Life Chances (Scotland)
Grants are available to voluntary and community and public sector organisations in Scotland for projects that support children, young people and families, or help people to be healthier and have better access to support, with a focus on those experiencing poverty, discrimination and disadvantage. Grants of between £20,001 and £500,000 are available. However, it is expected that most grants will be for £250,000 or less.
Deadline: Ongoing
Fairer Life Chances
BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme
Funding for the purchase of essential items to meet the most basic needs of children and young people in the UK who are facing exceptionally difficult circumstances. Where possible, items will be provided directly rather than awarding a cash grant.
Deadline: Ongoing
Family Fund Services
British Gas Energy Trust
Grants are available to individuals and families across Great Britain to be used to help write off their energy debts, regardless of energy provider. The Trust offers two funds:
Individuals and Families Fund – Open to Credit and Pre-Payment Meter customers
British Gas Energy Support Fund – Now closed
Both are intended to tackle fuel poverty by clearing the energy debts of struggling households and respond to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. You do not need to be a British Gas customer to apply for this fund - you can be a British Gas customer, or a customer from another supplier with arrears of up to £1,700.
Deadline: Ongoing
British Gas Energy Trust
The Robertson Trust - Wee Grants
Grants of £300 to £2,000 are available for up to one year for small charities and community groups in Scotland carrying out charitable work in local communities to address poverty and trauma.
Deadline: Ongoing
The Robertson Trust
COSARAF – Hardship Grants
Grants of up to £2,000 but only in exceptional circumstances will individuals receive a grant of more than £500. These
are available for third party social organisations to support individuals and families across the UK who are in financial
need and have exhausted all other sources of funding.
Deadline: Ongoing
Cosaraf
Faith in Community Scotland - Greener Spaces, Fairer Places
Grants of up to £500 are available to local faith groups and other related organisations for projects that address poverty and climate change in communities across Scotland.
Deadline: Ongoing
Faith in Community Scotland
Family Fund Trust
Grants up to £300 are available to support families and individuals for essential personal and household needs to assist families and individuals with low incomes, particularly those living on benefits.
Deadline: Ongoing
Family Fund
Happy Days Children's Charity
Funding for families with children aged 3-17 who are disabled, have a special need or have been abused.
Deadline: Ongoing
Happy Days
Cavell
Cavell helps registered nurses, midwives, nursing associates and maternity support workers, both working and retired, when they’re going through tough times. This is often due to illness, disability, older age, domestic abuse and the impact of the rise in living costs.
Deadline: Ongoing
Cavell
The Rozelle Trust
Financial assistance is available to smaller charities in Scotland that work to support the poor and disadvantaged in their local communities.
Deadline: Ongoing
The Rozelle Trust
Forte Charitable Foundation
Grants of £2,000 to £10,000 are available for small and medium sized local charities and not-for-profit organisations in the UK with a track record of success working to address local issues in communities of deprived rural areas.
Deadline: Ongoing
Forte Charitable Foundation
Victim Support Scotland – Emergency Assistance Fund
Grants are available to support people affected by crime across Scotland and provide a wide range of goods and services to people who would typically lack access to financial help.
Deadline: Ongoing
Victim Support Emergency Assistance Fund
Pets Foundation - Preventing Pet Relinquishment Grants
Grants of up to £80,000 per year are available for projects which aim to keep pets with their owners and out of rescue, including projects providing emergency pet fostering for people facing crisis, subsidised veterinary care, neutering schemes and pet food banks.
Deadline: Ongoing
Pets Foundation
Thomas Wall Trust - Grants for Individuals
The individual grants programme aims to support motivated adults living in the UK to undertake education and training that will increase their chances of employment. Grants of up to £1,500 are available to undertake accredited vocational training up to level 3 (Qualification levels explained) and towards other costs associated with studying.
Deadline: Ongoing
Thomas Wall Trust
Veterans' Foundation
Grants are available for small and medium-sized charities and not-for-profit organisations that provide support to those in need among serving Armed Forces personnel, veterans, operationally qualified seafarers and their immediate families across the UK. Maximum value: £75,000.
Deadline: Ongoing
Veterans' Foundation
The Robertson Trust - Nurturing Relationships
Grants are available to registered charities working to support nurturing relationships within families and communities, to help break the cycle between persistent poverty and intergenerational trauma, and to support recovery.
Small Grants - £30,000 to £200,000
Large Grants - £200,000 to £2 million
Deadline: Ongoing
The Robertson Trust
Family Action - Welfare Grants Programme
The Welfare Grants Programme is aimed at people who already receive means-tested benefits but still need a little
helping hand to afford basics or replace essentials like a broken washing machine. Together with emotional support
this can help individuals and families avoid a bigger crisis and get back on track. The fund is open for applications
for people over the age of 60 who live anywhere in the UK. Applications can only be made
by a suitable referring organisation such as a statutory agency or charity that provides health or social care, housing
associations, probation services and GP’s. Members of the public cannot apply themselves directly.
Deadline: Ongoing
Family Action
11 | SPORT FUNDING
Scottish Mountaineering Trust
Discretionary grants are available for organisations and individuals to promote public recreation, knowledge and safe enjoyment of the mountains of Scotland. The aim of this fund is to support projects that promote public enjoyment and knowledge of the Scottish mountains via the promotion of mountaineering, hill walking and other associated activities.
Deadline: 30 March 2026
Apply for a grant - SMT
SportScotland - Sports Facilities Fund
Grants are available for the provision or upgrading of sports facilities in local communities throughout Scotland. The Sports Facilities Fund aims to support capital projects that provide opportunities for people to get involved in and participate in sport and physical activity in Scotland.
Grants of to 50% of eligible project costs up to a maximum of £200,000 may be awarded.
A higher percentage of investment can be awarded to community led projects within or serving the most deprived areas (Deciles 1 and 2 on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation up to 75% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum of £250,000.)
There are two annual deadlines: 01 April and 01 September, 5pm. SportScotland aim to make a decision within three
months from the submission deadline date.
Deadline: 1 April 2026, 5pm
SportScotland Funding - Sport Facilities Fund
Sports Charity Scotland
Grants are available to charitable organisations in Scotland who operate within sectors representing children, young people and sport. The funding is intended to provide support which can make a significant difference to the delivery of existing activities that will benefit children and young people, the disabled and disadvantaged in Scotland. Most awards made are between £500 and £5,000.
Deadline: Ongoing
Sports Charity Scotland
SportScotland - Transforming Scottish Indoor Tennis Fund
The aim of the fund is to support the creation of indoor tennis facilities in area of high demand across Scotland, as well
as to provide investment in pre-existing facilities. This is part of a wider strategy to create a national community tennis
network and generate working partnerships across local communities while increasing participation in tennis clubs
across Scotland.
Deadline: Ongoing
Transforming Scottish Indoor Tennis Fund
RYA Foundation
Grants are available for sailing clubs in the UK to promote participation in boating by those who are disadvantaged by reason of youth, age, infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances.
Deadline: Ongoing
RYA Foundation
Boost Charitable Trust
Small grants are available to charities and not-for-profit organisations with a focus on helping disabled and disadvantaged individuals in the UK to participate in sport. Boost has awarded grants across five areas of disadvantage: Social exclusion, Financial hardship, Physical and learning disabilities, Mental health, Medical research and relief.
Deadline: Ongoing
Boost Charitable Trust
SportsAid Award
Assistance for unfunded talented young sportsmen and women (12-18 years old or up to 35 for disability sports) who participate in specific sports and are preparing to compete in major international competition.
Deadline: Ongoing
SportsAid Award
Scotmid Co-op Community Grants
The Community Grant scheme aims to support local communities served by Scotmid and Semichem stores. Grants can be used for one-off investments, purchases or events that address (among other things) active lifestyles - encouraging exercise/fitness/sport. The maximum Community Grant is £500.
Deadline: Ongoing
Scotmid Co-op Community Grants
12 | YOUNG PEOPLE
Duke of Edinburgh, Youth Without Limits - Funding for Community Groups
Grants are available for voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisations to allow them to set up and
deliver the Duke of Edinburgh Award to create more opportunities for marginalised young people (14 to 24 years) to access the Award.
Deadline: 31 January 2026
Duke of Edinburgh, Youth Without Limits - Funding for Community Groups
Weaver's Company Benevolent Fund
Grants are available for UK registered charities and charitable incorporated organisations that can demonstrate impact with ex-offenders, young offenders or young people at risk of offending, either within a local area or nationally. There are two levels of funding:
Small grants of up to £5,000
Main grants have no maximum amount
Grants are normally awarded for one year only, however in exceptional cases, applications for multi-year funding of up to three years will be considered.
Deadline: 12 March 2026
Charitable Grants – The Weavers' Company
The Richard and Siobhán Coward Foundation - Grants for Community Photography
Grants are available to support the provision of participatory projects in the UK which seek to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people under 25. The use of photography must be a core element of the project. Grants of between £500 and £1,500 are available.
Deadline: 02 April 2026
The Richard and Siobhan Coward Foundation - Grants for Community Photography
Scottish Gambling Education Hub – Gambling Education Youth Fund
Grants of up to £500 are available for groups of young people across Scotland to deliver gambling education and prevention projects and activities. The Scottish Gambling Education Hub is a Fast Forward Programme, in partnership with
GambleAware, that supports young people’s health and well-being by promoting gambling education and prevention across Scotland. This fund aims to enable youth workers and young people to transform their ideas into action and create their own local gambling education and prevention project.
Deadline: Ongoing
Gambling Education Fund - Scottish Gambling Education Hub
Sofronie Foundation
Grants are available for charities and not-for-profit organisations across the UK to deliver educational or vocational projects to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people. Funding is for interventions that:
Increase access to higher education – Educational programmes for young people that raise aspirations, build confidence, and develop skills in preparation for university.
Increase access to vocational training – Initiatives that provide young people with practical skills or offer opportunities of work experience in preparation for future employment.
Deadline: Ongoing
Sofronie Foundation
Wooden Spoon Charity
Grants are available for not-for-profit organisations that are working in the UK to support the lives of children and young people with a cognitive age under 25 years who are disadvantaged physically, mentally, or socially.
Deadline: Ongoing
Wooden Spoon Charity
Cash For Kids - Holiday Hunger Grants
Grants are available to charities, voluntary and community groups to provide food and activities for disadvantaged children and young people during the school holidays. No minimum or maximum values are stated, but awards are usually between £1,000 and £3,000.
Deadline: Ongoing
Cash For Kids - Holiday Hunger Grants
Ernest Cook Trust - Outdoor Essentials Grant
Grants are available to UK state funded primary and secondary schools to enable them to get their pupils learning outdoors. The current round of funding offers grants for the following options:
Nature and Nurture – school grounds improvements
Transport and Travel – transport costs to outdoor learning venues
Wellies and Waterproofs – outdoor clothing
Deadline: Ongoing
Ernest Cook Trust - Outdoor Essentials Grant
Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park – Engagement Travel Grants
Grants of up to £250 are available for schools and groups working with disadvantaged people across Scotland to cover transport costs for educational trips to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. There is no deadline and applications can be made at any time. Guidance notes and an application form are available from the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park website.
Deadline: Ongoing
National Park Travel Grant
Hargreaves Foundation
Grants are available for charities and educational institutions that support those under the age of 18 years, and living with a mental health condition, disability or growing up in poverty through the mediums of sport and education. The Foundation aims to distribute a total of around £2 million in grants per year. There is no minimum or maximum grant size. The following organisations can apply:
Registered Charities or Charitable Incorporated Organisations
Schools and Further Education Colleges (usually exempt charities)
NHS Trusts
Deadline: Ongoing
Hargreaves Foundation
Leslie Sell Charitable Trust
Grants for trips or projects associated with the Scouts or Guides movement within the UK. Please note the Trustees are unable to consider applications for trips or events submitted within four months of your proposed departure or event date due to processing times.
Deadline: Ongoing
Leslie Sell Charitable Trust
National Lottery Community Fund - Young Start Fund
Grants of between £20,001 and £100,000 for up to three years are available to voluntary and community organisations in Scotland for work that helps young people (aged 8 to 24) to become more confident and play an active part in realising their potential.
Deadline: Ongoing
Young Start Fund
Foux Foundation
Grants are available for registered charities across the United Kingdom and Ireland (and worldwide) to deliver a variety of projects and activities that address health, education, youth opportunity, and the relief of poverty.
Deadline: Ongoing
Foux Foundation
