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The Argyll and the Islands Community Led Local Development (CLLD) Fund has been provided by the Scottish Government's CLLD programme. The delivery will be overseen by the Argyll and the Islands Local Action Group (LAG) and will be administered by Argyll and Bute Council as the Accountable Body. The principles of bottom up, partnership, integration, innovation, co-operation, networking, and area-based approaches will apply to the fund.Projects must demonstrate that activity will advance inclusion, equality, and diversity, and support one or more of the main fund priorities for 2024/25 which are: - Eradicating child poverty - Growing the economy- Tackling the climate emergency- Ensuring high quality and sustainable public services Applications will be managed via Aspiring Places. Aspiring Places is a new digital space for community groups and organisations across Argyll and Bute to share information about projects that they would like to carry out. The Council's vision is to create a vibrant bank of community projects that supports joint working and connects community groups to funding, making Argyll and Bute an even better place to live, work, and visit.

This Scottish Government-funded programme was set up to support the development of co-produced, person-centred, self-management activity across Scotland. Learning from people’s lived experience of living with long-term conditions, and their unpaid carers, is at the heart of what the Fund is designed to achieve.The Self Management for Life cycle of the fund aims to support project that put people and communities at the centre. In the 2026 round, we hope to focus more clearly on two specific points of a person’s journey with a long-term condition as well as health inequalities. Applications must demonstrate their project supports, guides and enables self-management in one of the following ways:- Work that aligns with secondary prevention by working to embed self-management soon after a long-term condition or disability is identified, or early in someone’s unpaid caring role.- Work that seeks to address health inequalities while increasing the self-management capacity of people with long-term conditions, disabilities and/or unpaid caring responsibilities who experience these inequalities- Work that develops the self-management capacity of people living with long-term conditions, disabilities, and/or their unpaid carers, whilst awaiting health or social care support

The Hidden Voices Programme will award grants of up to £25,000 to enable and deliver accessible mental health and wellbeing support for those with seldom heard needs in Armed Forces communities.Aims to support projects that address the unique mental health and wellbeing needs of marginalised groups focusing on prevention and early intervention. Your project will need to meet bothof the following outcomes:- Those who are underrepresented, or whose voices are seldom heard, within the armed forces community, have equitable access to mental health and wellbeing support which meets their specific needs.- Awareness of the needs of underrepresented groups within the armed forces community has been raised among organisations supporting them, through mutual learning and knowledge exchange to embed best practice.

The Council has a number of settlement trusts which support projects under a wide range of categories including education, arts, local communities and the environment.Check the website for a full list of trusts and for contact details for each.You can apply for funding from a Settlement Trust if it falls under the following categories:- Prevention of Poverty- Advancement of Education- Advancement of Religion- Saving of Lives-Advancement of Citizenship- Advancement of Arts- Advancement of Public Participation in Sport- Provision of Recreational Facilities- Advancement of Human Rights- Promotion of religious or racial harmony- Promotion of Equality- Advancement of Environmental Protection- Relief of Those In Need- Advancement of Animal Welfare- Analogous Purposes- Advancement of Health

Inspiring Scotland’s Creative Communities programme aims to support and empower communities to develop cultural activities that benefit individual and collective well-being. The Creative Communities Scotland Fund will distribute grants to grassroots community-led organisations in Scotland to develop and deliver projects that harness the power of creativity in supporting people and communities.The programme is based on the premise that cultural activity has broad, interlinked benefits for people and communities, and that a participatory approach can lead to greater impact and drive unexpected outcomes. This Fund is focused on supporting communities who face barriers to engaging with cultural activities because of social, economic, cultural, physical or other challenges. This reflects the aims of the Scottish Government’s Culture Strategy to widen access and ensure culture is valued and made accessible to everyone. Successful applicants will join the portfolio of charities which make up the Creative Communities Programme, becoming part of a community of practice facilitated by Inspiring Scotland to share ideas, challenges and approaches with others delivering similar work. Alongside peer learning, charities benefit from capacity building support through 1:1 advice, portfolio events and access to Inspiring Scotland’s pro-bono Specialist Volunteer Network. Your project will support the Creative Communities outcomes. Your project must support at least one of these outcomes:- 1. Provide the opportunity for people to engage in creative arts that they would not have otherwise, have fun and feel joy and pride.- 2. Bring people together, building connections and reducing loneliness.- 3. Help participants develop a wide range of improved skills for life, learning and work.

Funding is available to stage an event from 13th September - 8th October 2025 as part of the Highlands & Islands Climate Festival.There are two stages of funding available exclusively for Community Groups:- £150 event contribution- Invitation to apply for funding and support for Marketplace style larger events Marketplace:They are looking to partner with a lead organisation in each area of Highland and Orkney (they already have a partnership event underway in planning for Shetland) to host similar events. You can either work as a collaboration across many organisations or nominate yourself as the lead organisation for your area to bring partners together. Your event should bring together a wide range of groups in your area and include a range of activities. HICH can support with funding including venue & equipment hire, refreshments, activities, marketing and cover some staffing and organisational costs.They have funding available and also can provide Community Development Officer support and the support of their wider team to help you to plan and deliver the event. Their one criteria is that within your event there should be time and space for a Climate Engagement workshop which they will either provide the tools or the staffing to support. Community views from that engagement will help to shape HICH's Climate Conference on 8th October 2025. All events funded must be confirmed with dates/time by 22nd August 2025 for inclusion in the Highlands & Islands Climate Festival Programme. Your event must be environmentally sustainable.

The Glasgow Wellbeing Fund provides small grants of up to £10,500 for projects that improve mental wellbeing for adults in the city. The fund aims to support small to medium sized community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprises to deliver mental wellbeing projects across the city’s diverse communities. It is resourced by the Scottish Government, and part of the national Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.The fund’s primary focus is to support projects that help and support mental health and wellbeing. Counselling or therapy can be included, but priority will be given to more community-focused activities.Projects funded through the Glasgow Wellbeing Fund will need to demonstrate how they build one or more of seven wellbeing drivers: emotional resilience, strength and mindfulness; connection to others within the community; a sense of security, trust and being included; mobility and physical activity; a sense of purpose and being valued through volunteering, helping others, or paid work; support for people who are in distress; access to learning opportunities and the development of new skills and knowledge.Applicants should consider how their proposal contributes to promoting people’s human rights. Priority will be given to projects demonstrating that they work with groups of people who are routinely disadvantaged or excluded in society or have been particularly affected by the cost of living crisis. Community is the key word for applicants. Bringing people together to connect with and support each other is an absolute priority for the fund. Activity funded by the grant must last at least six months and be completed within 18 months from the award date.