Tag: small grants

University of Edinburgh Community Grant Scheme to open for applications

Save the date – our Community Grant scheme will open for applications on Monday 25 March 2024!

Our scheme helps the development of projects, community activities and sustainable local action through funding and collaboration. We support local people’s vision for a better Edinburgh.

We award project grants of up to a maximum of £5,000, but welcome applications for less

The application process is simple and a member of the Community team will be on hand to support you if you have any questions, just contact local@ed.ac.uk or call us on 0131 651 5000. 

  • Applicants may only receive one grant per project
  • Please read our guidance notes before applying, to check eligibility criteria and other helpful information
  • We do not fund projects that have already been completed
    • Please note: You should aim to start your project around four months after the deadline. 
  • Sign up to our e-newsletter to be the first to hear about the Community Grants Scheme
  • Our micro-grant scheme is open all year round for applications for funding of up to £500: apply for a micro-grant here

If you require application materials in an alternative format, please email local@ed.ac.uk or call 0131 651 5000, or ask a friend or family member to do so for you.

We can send you a printed copy of the form by post on request.

If you need any help completing the form, we are happy to try and help.

We can talk with you online, over the phone or in person (at a mutually suitable venue).

Edinburgh and Lothian groups invited to apply for community initiative

Back by popular demand, Dobbies, the UK’s leading garden centre, has launched its 2023 Helping Your Community Grow campaign across Edinburgh and the Lothians. Designed to enhance communities local to its stores, this initiative will see community groups receive gardening product, support and expertise from the Dobbies’ team.

Helping Your Community Grow has sustainability at its core and encourages people across the country to care for, nurture and protect their green spaces and urban communities.

Both the Stockbridge little dobbies and Edinburgh Dobbies store are calling on local groups across Edinburgh and the Lothians that want to help their community space thrive in a sustainable way to get in touch.

Whether it’s a school allotment project that allows kids to learn about the health and environmental benefits of growing fruit and vegetables; a community garden or space, looking to bring the outside in; or a charity looking to create a sensory garden to encourage everyone outdoors, Dobbies wants to positively impact communities through its love of gardening. 

This year, Dobbies will offer advice, gardening products and tools to a community group to help them transform their space.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies said: “Community is at the heart of what we do and we’re proud of our Helping Your Community Grow campaign. Entries are now open for this year and we’re especially interested in hearing from projects across Edinburgh and the Lothians with sustainability at their core.

“Riding for the Disabled Association in Glasgow is just one of the many projects we supported in 2022 and highlights the diversity of the projects we aim to collaborate with.”

Lynda McKeeman, Yard Manager at Riding for the Disabled Association Glasgow, was thankful for the support. She said: “Dobbies’ support and funding allowed us to create a bright and fragrant sensory trail through the woodland area and out into the pond circuit which has been great for stimulating the senses of the riders and horses. 

“We support over 80 people with disabilities and give them the opportunity to learn to ride or spend time with a horse. Our youngest participant is just 2 years old, and our most senior is in their 70s. Many of our attendees have physical disabilities, psychological problems or just need a confidence boost, and horsemanship is a great way to help rehabilitate them.”

Taking part couldn’t be easier and applications are now open.

Eligible groups must be located within 20 miles of Dobbies’ Edinburgh or Livingston stores or five miles of little dobbies Stockbridge. A shortlist of community groups for each store will be made and Dobbies will call on members of the public to vote for their favourite project.

Based on the public vote, there will be one winner per store, with the project receiving the most votes securing the national winner title. They will receive additional funding and support.

In addition to Helping Your Community Grow, there will be further opportunities for community groups looking for support, with small grants available from their nearest Dobbies or little dobbies.

For more information about how to take part in Dobbies’ Helping Your Community Grow campaign, visit Helping Your Community Grow | Dobbies Garden Centres

Scottish charities celebrate share of £1 million Movement for Good fund

13 charities based in Scotland have received donations of £1,000 each as part of the Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards.

For the fourth year running, the Benefact Group is giving away £1million to charities through its Movement for Good awards. Members of the public were invited to nominate causes close to their hearts, with 250 awards of £1,000 available now for donation. 

Touch of Love Outreach, Hindu Mandir (Glasgow) and Women’s Aid Orkney are some of the local charities set to benefit from the money, following overwhelming public support in the country.

More than 9,450 kind-hearted residents have voted for charities across the country so far. In total, more than 104,000 people around the UK supported the Movement for Good awards, with over 7,250 charitable causes up and down the country receiving votes.

The 250 winning charities were picked at random from those nominated, with a further 250 winners being selected in September.

It’s quick and easy to nominate, you can vote for your favourite charity online at: www.movementforgood.com

Data gathered from the nominations so far has revealed that 41% of Scotland residents still intend to donate to charitable causes despite the increase in the cost of living, showing just how generous they are. Additionally, residents are more likely to support a local charity rather than a national or international one.

Thanking supporters in Scotland, Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group, said: “We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate a good cause as part of our Movement for Good Awards.

“Benefact Group is the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK and has an ambition to be the biggest. Owned by a charity, all of its available profits go to good causes, and the more the group grows, the more the group can give.

“As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of what we do. We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.”

A further 120 £1,000 grants will be given away in December and £500,000 will also be given in larger grants later this year. For more information about the awards visit www.movementforgood.com 

Movement for Good is funded by EIO plc, part of the Benefact Group.

Full list of winning Scotland charities:

Touch of Love Outreach

Finn’s place

Hindu Mandir (Glasgow)

Women’s Aid Orkney

Sports Driving

Broughty Ferry YMCA

Dunfermline Athletic Disabled Supporters’ Club

Thistle Youth Football Club

Lead Scotland

Baba Yangu Foundation (SCIO)

Scottish Burned Children’s Club

Ladies of the rock

Equi-Power Central Scotland RDA SCIO

ASH Scotland: small grants available

Our small grants are proving to be very popular and applications have been rolling in. We only have a limited number of grants to give.

If your organisation would like help to improve people’s health and wellbeing by addressing smoking, you can apply at:

http://ashscotland.org.uk/smallgrants.

£1.5m Lottery boost for sports, arts and community groups

It’s a great start to the year for 219 arts, sports and community groups across Scotland, thanks to a National Lottery cash boost of £1,551,849. 

The funding comes from National Lottery Awards for All Scotland – a quick and simple way to access small National Lottery grants of between £500 and £10,000.

Five Edinburgh organisations receive awards in the latest funding round.

Leith Crops in Pots (above) received £10,000 to deliver weekly club sessions for vulnerable children, while ArtSquat, BE United, Raised Voices and The Child Brain Injusry Trust were also successful applicants.

The Linda Tremble Foundation was set up in 2014 by Colin and Anne Tremble, following the loss of their daughter, Linda, who lost her battle with Anorexia Nervosa in April 2011.

The charity will use their award of £10,000 to run support groups for people with eating disorders, as well as organising a series of information services in schools and colleges.

Co-founder and Trustee, Anne Tremble, said, “We are very grateful for this support given by National Lottery Awards for All to help us expand the range of services we provide.

“Our charity currently provides local support in Fife, Glasgow and Perth and this will allow us to expand our services to Edinburgh and Forth Valley. On behalf of everyone here and all the people we support, we cannot thank you enough.”

Thanks to an award of £3,563, Orkney Women’s Football Club will be able to discover more female stars of the future by running training sessions and taking part in competitive matches on the mainland.

Welcoming the news, Club Secretary, Annabel Bews, said, “We currently have around 60 members and this money will be a huge help to our growing club, especially our newly formed junior team.  We can now offer opportunities to more girls and women across Orkney and this is a fantastic boost for all our existing members in this coming 2020 season.”

KOR! Records is an independent record label, based in Glasgow, that gives young people with additional support needs the opportunity to create and record their own music.  An award of £9,948 means they can run a series of experimental music sessions for young people aged between 18 and 30.

Co-Director, KOR! Records, Geraldine Heaney, said, “We will now run our Friday morning sessions all the way through 2020.

“Being there week in, week out, gives us the scope to be really responsive and allows us to develop ideas whilst building trust with the young people we work with. We’re really looking forward experimenting with new styles and creating lots of great music.”

People living in Hawick will have the chance to get involved in a unique film project celebrating the town’s rich history. Local people will get the chance to learn new skills by taking part in a series of workshops.

Production Director, Rachael Disbury, said,” We’re looking forward to working with communities across Hawick to renew, revise and go on to retell the stories of our town. This funding allows us to widen access to our events and activities so more local people can get involved.”

A National Lottery Awards for All Scotland spokesperson said: “This is National Lottery money making a real impact in communities across the country.

“The 219 groups receiving funding today showcases the wide range of projects that can be funded through this programme and the difference that the smallest amounts of money can make. We wish them all the best for the year ahead as they begin to put their plans into action.” 

National Lottery Awards for All Scotland awards grants of between £300 and £10,000 to local groups.

To find out how what it could do for your community visit our website  https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/ or phone 0300 123 7110.