A new £1 million ‘Scotland Loves Local’ fund will provide grants of between £500 and £5,000 to hundreds of projects to promote town centre and online businesses.
The funding aims to support small scale improvements that will help motivate people to shop, eat and relax within their community whilst ensuring public health safety.
Grants can be put towards providing safe shopping information for residents and tourists, the installation of public health infrastructure such as protective screens, physical distancing markers, hand sanitising equipment and PPE.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “We know money spent locally is more likely to stay in the local economy and support local jobs. The Scotland Loves Local campaign encourages people to think how they can safely support this.
“This fund will help initiatives supporting businesses, such as projects to encourage safe shopping, business and leisure opportunities, promoting and advertising local providers of online shopping or enhancing visitor appeal.
“We all have a part to play in Scotland’s economic recovery and can do so, whilst we look out for one another and follow the FACTS guidance.”
Chief Officer of Scotland’s Towns Partnership Phil Prentice said: “This is an exceptional opportunity for local communities – a chance to get the funding that will unlock some brilliant creativity.
“We’ve seen throughout the Scotland Loves Local campaign that people all over the country want to back their local towns and places – we’re looking forward to seeing some brilliant ideas take shape. Our campaign is highlighting that money spent locally stays local for longer. This new fund will be a real boost for communities across the country.”
The funding is being provided by the Scottish Government, and administered by Scotland’s Towns Partnership.
Projects which support people with neurological conditions are to benefit from the latest round of funding announced as part of a five-year action plan.
The investment of £492,535 is focussed on initiatives where partnership working is key. Many of the 17 funded activities see NHS Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships and Third Sector organisations joining forces to achieve better outcomes for people living with neurological conditions.
Funding recipients include Pain Association Scotland who will develop online courses to support the wellbeing of unpaid carers and the MS Society who will deliver online and telephone sessions to support the physical and emotional wellbeing of people living with MS in response to the pandemic.
‘Neurological care and support: framework for action – 2020 to 2025’ aims to ensure people get access to personalised care and support regardless of their condition or where in Scotland they live.
Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: “Around one million people in Scotland live with a neurological condition ranging from common conditions such as migraines to life-limiting illnesses such as Motor Neurone Disease.
“We recognise the scale, variety and context of neurological conditions and how distressing they can be for the person with the condition and their family and the framework for action aims to support those responsible for providing care and support to people affected.
“This latest round of funding will ensure this vital work not only continues but is strengthened despite the challenges faced during the pandemic.”
PSPA provides information and support to people affected by Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD).
CEO Andrew Symons said: “Neurological Care and Support Framework Funding will allow us to map provision for PSP and CBD in Scotland, simultaneously highlighting the information and support that we can offer from PSPA.
“This will contribute to the aim of earlier diagnosis of these rare conditions and reduce the time spent by people in the wrong part of the system with the result they can benefit from the provisions of the Framework as soon as their disease is recognised.”
A package of financial flexibilities and extra funding for councils which could be worth up to £750 million has been agreed by the Scottish Government in partnership with COSLA.
To address the financial pressures caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic over the next two years, councils will be granted additional spending powers which could be worth around £600 million.
In addition to this, a Lost Income Scheme will be established to help compensate councils and council trusts for lost sales, fees and charges from services such as sports centres and parking charges.
Councils and their trusts will have access to an estimated £90 million of funding with council trusts delivering services on behalf of councils able to receive a share of a further £49 million of support through the scheme.
Added to additional funding already committed, this brings the value of the overall COVID-19 support package for councils to more than £1 billion.
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: “I have been clear that the Scottish Government needs appropriate fiscal levers in order to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is equally true for local government, which is why I am very pleased that we have been able to deliver a package of support for local services worth up to £750 million.
“Working in partnership with COSLA, the Scottish Government has delivered on our commitment to support councils across Scotland with a game changing package of financial flexibilities, giving them the powers they need to make informed decisions about spending at a local level.
“In addition, we are close to finalising the details of additional financial support through a Lost Income Scheme, worth an estimated £90 million subject to confirmation of the funding from the UK Government. For trusts delivering services on behalf of councils this can also be topped up with £49 million of additional funding already confirmed.
“This support will help councils and their trusts manage the loss of income they are facing from local services due to COVID-19.
“These measures are excellent examples of how the Scottish Government is working together with COSLA and local authorities to ensure that we are doing everything within our power to save jobs, protect our public services and reboot our economy.”
COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Cllr Gail Macgregor said: “We welcome this substantial package of measures from which councils can choose, depending on local circumstance.
“Responding to COVID-19 whilst continuing to deliver essential, everyday services has put extreme pressure on Local Government finances this year. The pandemic has also meant substantial losses of income across a range of council services including leisure, sport, culture, and planning.
“Balancing budgets will be a real challenge and this has been fully recognised by Scottish Government who we have worked with constructively and positively.”
Applications are now open for bursaries of up to £750 of National Lottery funding, through Creative Scotland’s Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) programme.
Delivered in partnership with local partners across Scotland, these one-off grants aim to support the creative development of visual artists and craft makers at all stages of their career.
This year’s VACMA programme offers two fixed fee bursaries – the first is a £750 grant for visual artists and craft makers who can demonstrate a commitment to developing their creative practice; the second is a grant of £500 for new graduates/emerging artists.
VACMA funding has previously supported projects including skills development and courses, artistic mentoring, researching a new body of work and experimenting with new materials.
Full eligibility criteria and a list of participating local partners through which applications will be made, is available on the Creative Scotland website.
The deadlines for applications are:
Autumn: 5pm, Tuesday 10 November 2020
Winter: 5pm, Tuesday 2 February 2021
Amanda Catto, Head of Visual Arts, Creative Scotlandsaid: “These bursaries are invaluable in supporting the creative development of artists and craft makers across Scotland.
“With thanks to National Lottery players who make these awards possible, we’re pleased to be working with local partners to deliver the scheme across 25 Local Authority areas, offering grants to emerging and more established practitioners, alike.”
Free, online information sessions about the Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards will be held on Thursday 15 and Tuesday 27th October from 10am – 11am.
Hosted by local partner representatives and members of Creative Scotland’s Visual Arts Team, the sessions will include an overview of the scheme, followed by a panel discussion and Q+A.
Booking is required to take part in the sessions. This can be done here for Thursday 15 October, and here for Tuesday 27 October.
From online youth poetry events, to debut album recordings and digital presentations of visual art, the 173 funding awards – 113 of which to individuals (£1.4million) and 60 to organisations (£1.4million) – are supporting creative development across the breadth of Scotland, helping the creative and culture sector adapt and respond to current challenging circumstances.
Iain Munro, Chief Executive, Creative Scotlandsaid: “The Open Fund: Sustaining Creative Development is all about helping to ensure that Scotland’s creative workforce and organisations have opportunities to continue to develop creative practice in a challenging context.
“Thanks to £7.5million from National Lottery and the recently announced additional £3.5million boost from the Scottish Government, we’re able to support creative people who are addressing the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on their creative practice.
“People are thinking about new ways of working, how to reach audiences in different ways, taking creative risks or looking at ways to stabilise existing activity.
“Even in these challenging circumstances, these awards announced today are a positive reflection of Scotland’s resilient and innovative creative sector.”
An additional £3.5m funding from the Scottish Government was announced on Friday 28 August as part of £59million emergency funding for culture and heritage.
In addition, the threshold of funding that can be applied for will increase from £50,000 to £100,000 for individuals and organisations, from next week. Full details will be made available @CreativeScots / www.creativescotland.com, during w/c 5 Oct.
The fund has no deadlines, and full eligibility criteria and application guidance can be found on the Creative Scotland website.
Over 100,000 local people benefit from more than £610,000 awarded to the region to date
Foundation Scotland, Scotland’s community foundation, has noted a significant increase in the number of funding applications submitted in the last six-months compared to the same period last year.
Since the start of the crisis the Scottish funder has received almost the same number of applications in the last 6 months as it received in the whole of last financial year. The number of Scottish charities and community groups receiving funding across all the charity’s funding programmes has grown by a staggering 92%.
The community foundation was quick to respond to the impending crisis. Their Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund launched at the end of March and was the first source of community funding to open as the coronavirus pandemic hit the country.
Working in partnership with the National Emergencies Trust (NET), a new and additional £3.6 Million has been awarded to the sector in Scotland so far. This sizable new source of funding has to date enabled over 900 organisations to deliver key services to over one million people through the crisis the length and breadth of the country.
Locally, this support has reached over 100,000 locals across Edinburgh and the Lothians. 152 projects have shared a total of £616,246 in the region to date. Local organisations such as Open Door Accommodation Project, Brock Garden Centre SCIO, Edinburgh Women’s Aid and Bikes for Refugees have all received essential support.
Edinburgh-based Street Fit Scotland received £5,000 to provide digital devices, online fitness classes and peer support sessions to 30 local people to help reduce isolation, self-harmful behaviours and suicide risk whilst supporting their mental and physical well-being.
Michelle Reilly, Founder, Street Fit Scotland, (above) said: “This life-changing award could not have come at a better time for Street Fit Scotland. Thanks to Foundation Scotland we are now able to deliver free outdoor fitness sessions in the Meadows to support the homeless community and others to re-engage back into society supporting them to get fit active and healthy.
“This is a great opportunity giving people the chance to recover from periods of isolation. All or sessions are socially distanced, and we have created the safest environment we can following all government guidance.”
Foundation Scotland distributes charitable funds on behalf of over 400 individuals, families, companies, public bodies and charitable trusts including this key partnership with NET. The foundation manages over 120 funding programmes and has distributed £100m to the third sector since its launch in 1996.
Helen Wray, Programme Manager at Foundation Scotland said: “We could see the impact that COVID was going to have and we knew we needed to move extremely quickly so that we could continue to deliver reliable financial support to groups delivering essential services across the country.
“Fortunately, our partnership with NET meant we were able to respond immediately and could open and offer new funding opportunities. At the same time, we have kept all of our other important funding streams open as normal.
“We are working relentlessly to get support to where it is needed most through this challenging time. Since April this year, we have assessed the same volume of applications as we did through the entirety of 2019.
We appreciate that funding is becoming harder to secure and demand for essential services is often higher than ever before. So we are delighted that due to an increase in funding from NET, we are able to continue to offer these essential awards to allow groups to apply for support where they need it most. We are however encouraging groups to apply as soon as they can.”
The Foundation Scotland Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund continues to offer grants of between £1,000-£5,000 to constituted community groups and registered charities.
The fund is currently in its ‘recovery’ phase supporting organisations to plan ahead, to continue their operations in the ‘new normal’, re-establish or re-design their activities to comply with new regulations.
Examples of projects include those needing support to restart face to face services, counselling groups helping those experiencing mental health issues, bereavement and domestic abuse support services and organisations needing to increase hygiene policies to safely reopen.
Foundation Scotland is eager to distribute funds quickly to communities in need and is appealing to eligible groups to apply quickly as they respond and recover from the crisis.
The Scottish Government’s Community & Third Sector Recovery Programme funding stream is now open, offering both organisational support and funding to deliver services.
The Community & Third Sector Recovery Programme is a £25m Scottish Government funded programme aiming to support charities, community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations that are supporting people and communities through the shift from lockdown to recovery.
The Community & Third Sector Recovery Programme has two strands:
Strand one: Adapt and Thrive
The programme aims to support organisational change. It offers tailored support and funding to develop a plan so third sector organisations can operate sustainably post-COVID.
Strand two: Communities Recovery Fund
The fund aims to support the delivery of services in communities that were suspended or reduced because of COVID, or the creation of new services that tackle new challenges presented by COVID.
Women and children experiencing or at risk of violence and domestic abuse will have increased access to support, with £4.25 million of additional funding for charities and projects across Scotland.
The additional investment will help respond to an increase in demand from victims of abuse for support services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
More staff, increased hours for centres and helplines, improvements to IT and new digital resources and training will all allow services to be up-scaled so that more people can quickly and easily access help.
Updated guidance, developed in partnership with COSLA, is also already being used by local authorities to keep women and children safe.
Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said: “The greater risks to women and children of domestic abuse with referrals to frontline services increasing during the pandemic is a major concern. It is atrocious that this is the case but we are focused on ensuring that frontline services can meet the increased demand for support.
“This extra funding will help to ensure these vital services are still able to provide support to people across the country, and the scale and innovation of these projects will provide a lifeline to many women and families.
“Any kind of violence is unacceptable and the safety and wellbeing needs of women and children need to be protected – that is even more important during a pandemic. Police Scotland continue to prioritise domestic abuse cases so I would also encourage anyone suffering violence and domestic abuse not to hesitate to get the support they need.”
Dr Marsha Scott, Chief Executive of Scottish Women’s Aid, said: “Our local Women’s Aid groups have shown extraordinary resilience and creativity in rapidly redesigning their services to continue supporting those experiencing domestic abuse throughout the pandemic. The challenges they’ve faced have been huge as COVID-19 has given abusers more tools to control and harm women and children.
“This injection of financial support will provide some much-needed stability for groups against a back drop of precarious, patchwork local funding. As lockdown and other measures ease, our local groups are anticipating even more demand for their specialist services as survivors begin to have more opportunities to seek support.
“Additionally, if faced with a second wave of the virus, this funding will strengthen the responses of groups and allow them to build on the progress they have made in delivering services remotely. This support from the Scottish Government will help local Women’s Aid services prepare to meet those needs and will mean that women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse can access the help and advice they want, when they want it.”
A theatre project about the lived experience of disability, album recordings and a film project highlighting the experiences of LGBTQIA refugees are among the 25 projects to receive support in the latest round of Create: Inclusion funding, throughCreative Scotland.
The Create: Inclusion Fund, supported by the National Lottery, has distributed awards of between £2,250 and £28,187, to a total of £375,000. The fund supports activities which enable development of creative and professional practice, and opportunities to take creative risks.
Actor Kirin Saeed has received funding towards Crossing Care (working title), a theatre project which will use the lived experience of a blind Asian woman as a framework to collaborate with community groups and emerging artists.
Kirin Saeed said: “This project will offer opportunities for disabled people and communities whose voices are not often told on their own terms through the medium of theatre. I am so excited to be able to highlight the many complexities of receiving support as a disabled person, especially at a time when carers and caring are such topical subjects for discussion.”
Folk pop musician Man of the Minch has received funding towards debut album The Tide is At the Turning. An extension of the Bogha-frois: LGBT+ Voices in Folk project, the album will be recorded working with people who predominately identify as members of the LGBTQIA community. The Tide is At the Turning will be a musical blend of traditional Scottish music and contemporary pop, and its lyrical content will discuss queer experiences.
Pedro Cameron (Man of the Minch) said: “I hope the album serves as a monument to the Bogha-frois project and will be a piece of work which speaks not only to LGBTQIA people, but the wider community as a whole.”
Composer Amble Skuse has received funding towards A Reasonable Adjustment, a verbatim opera about the experiences of disabled people under austerity in the UK. The piece will be performed by an all-disabled ensemble and will premiere in February 2021 as part of Aberdeen’s Sound Festival.
Amble Skuse said: “This funding means we will be able to explore strategies of disseminating disabled voices through composition. We will be using the funding to work out how disabled artists can make and share work under the restrictions of shielding, a situation which may be considerably lengthier for disabled people than for the general population.”
Bombito Productions received funding towards Who I am Now, a short film project focused on the experience of a transgender Egyptian man and his emigration to Scotland. The project is dedicated to the memory of Zan Scott, who originally conceived of the idea and sadly passed away before production.
Reece Cargan, Producer, Bombito Productions said: “This funding was vital in allowing me to work with queer collaborators and expand my slate as an LGBTQI+ filmmaker. More importantly, the film will hopefully give audiences an insight into the extra barriers experienced by trans people when seeking asylum in the UK.”
Edinburgh-based acclaimed Syrian artist Nihad Al Turk has received funding towards The Threat, a collection of paintings expressing the artist’s experience of living under constant threat.
Nihad Al Turk said: “This project will really help to support me to start working as a professional artist in Scotland, both by funding my work and enabling me to connect with other artists. The project will also help my wellbeing, by creatively expressing my experience of living under threat.”
Director Manu Kurewa has received funding towards Life Lived in Black and White. The short film project, set on a Glasgow housing estate, explores the lives of a group of African immigrants who are connected by their sense of dislocation. The film celebrates the love and loss experienced by the diaspora and will be performed by actors with lived experience of the issues the film explores.
Manu Kurewa said: “I am delighted at having been given this wonderful opportunity to develop my film practice. This is a great opportunity for me and other members from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds to share experiences with the wider community and tell stories that normally don’t get the chance to be heard.”
Other projects to receive funding in this round include:
An interactive game depicting the experiences of refugees from Malath Abbas
A spoken word project exploring neurodiversity from Jen McGregor
A collection of multi-artform projects from Roderick MacKenzie
A short film exploring mental health and questions of place from Fiona Bailey
A devised verbatim piece from Heather Andrews, exploring neurodiversity
Do you mind can I ask you what happened … (to your legs)? a dance film about disability from Simon Fildes
A storytelling dance drama project from Abhinaya Dance Academy
A research and development programme merging Ghanian traditional arts with contemporary performance practice from Adie Baako
An artistic development programme from Penny Anderson
The development of a new neurodivergent artist collective from Tzipporah Johnston
A printmaking programme from Garvald Art Studio, in collaboration with Edinburgh Printmakers
The development of a drama film feature from Razan Madhoon
A celebration of folk song from Azerbaijan from FarzaneZamen
The mentoring and development of musician Magnus Turpie
A spoken word project from Sarah Grant
A novel from Anne Hamilton
The Ando Glass Collective, a musical ensemble from Glasgow’s Roma communities.
The Create:Inclusion Fund represents one aspect of Creative Scotland’s ongoing workto address the numerous and complex barriers to access, progression and representation in the arts, screen and creative industries.
Another round of the fund will open for applications in Autumn 2020.
Iain Munro, Chief Executive, Creative Scotlandsaid: “When creative practice is reflective of, and made by, a diverse range of people and communities, it becomes more relevant to everybody.
“This fund offers a step towards achieving this ambition, helping increase diversity among people building careers in the arts, screen and creative industries. These awards support a breadth of practice, a diversity of perspectives and level of ambition that reflects the rich cultural life of Scotland.”
An award of £770k announced today to North Edinburgh Childcare means they will be able to transform and expand their existing premises allowing them to increase the services they already provide and support even more families across the city.
Welcoming the award, Theresa Allison, General Manager, North Edinburgh Childcare, said: “We are absolutely delighted at this award which will go towards a new build and renovations of our existing building which will enable us to create an additional 84 full-time equivalent childcare places.
“Once built this has the potential to support approximately another 200 parents/carers to lift themselves out of poverty. We are so excited about the new build and refurbishment but even more excited that, for the first time ever, we will be able to offer a number of places to people aspiring to get into work or training. This is all possible thanks to people who play The National Lottery.”
Another capital organisation celebrating this morning is Leith’s Multi Cultural Family Base (MCFB), who receive £233,000 to deliver support services to vunerable children and families from primarily minority ethnic communities.
A spokesperson for MCFB said: We are thrilled to receive continued funding from the The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland to continue supporting children from minority ethnic communities in Edinburgh with the important transition from home and nursery to school via our 4-2-7 project.
“As well as supporting children one to one and, when possible, within school settings, this will include our continued work supporting parents by providing them a space to meet once a week to build confidence, make friendships and share experiences.
“We look forward to continuing to work with schools and families both virtually and, when we can, face to face at our offices and within schools.”
There’s also £8750 for Blackhall Playgroup, who will use their award to prepare for the easing of lockdown, putting measures in place to enable the return of some children and also provide resources to those who cannot.
And Granton Parish Church will be cooking with gas – the church on Boswall Parkway receives £10,000 for a new kitchen in the church hall, supporting numerous community groups who use the popular local facility.
Announcing today’s funding to 311 projects across Scotland, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “These awards, made possible by National Lottery players, recognise the incredible work happening across Scotland to create stronger, more connected communities.
“I am delighted that some of this funding will be used to transform existing buildings into vibrant community hubs that will carry on the strong community spirit that has been so evident in recent times.
“National Lottery players can be proud to know that money they raise by buying tickets is continuing to make such a difference.”
National Lottery players raise £30 million every week for good causes in the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund in Scotland is currently focusing its funding on those projects that supporting organisations and communities to respond to the challenge of COVID-19.
