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The overall purpose of the Communities and Cultural Heritage Fund is to support community-led planning and development in the National Park that will help communities meet their aspirations and enhance community resilience. This is a partnership fund between the Cairngorms Trust and the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA).The Fund aims to support two of the themes in the Community Action Plan (CAP):- A culturally vibrant community – projects that support and celebrate the unique identity and heritage of communities e.g. community spaces, features, buildings, people, traditions.- A socially connected community – projects that support communities to be happy, healthy, accessible and inclusive e.g. improving facilities, amenities, spaces, events and housing.Project spend must be complete and claimed by 10 February 2027.

The Climate Ready Places Grant is to enable your community to consider what the impacts from these climatic changes and extreme weather will look like in your local area and to identify ideas for how you prepare to respond to them. The Climate Ready Places Grant will enable your group to host a workshop, which can be facilitated by the Lanarkshire Climate Action Hub and which will look at how your community can prepare for a changing climate. The workshop will gather observed local insights, consider the list of climate impacts from Adaptation Scotland and map this information onto a plan of your area. From the insights gathered at your workshop, your group can use the Community Climate Adaptation Routemap to identify climate actions and future projects and prioritise a climate action project to begin and which is funded through this grant. All activity including the workshop and the climate action project must be completed by 31st March 2026.

The Coastal Communities Challenge Fund (CCCF) supports community groups, third sector organisations and small businesses on Aberdeenshire’s coastline and can fund a range of activities with positive economic, social or environmental impacts.This year’s grants will be targeted towards activities or infrastructure which meet the following priorities:- Supporting the development of active travel routes along, to and from the coastline- Developing the coastal economy and sustainable tourism- Creating or enhancing community, leisure and recreational facilities- Safeguarding, restoring or enhancing the coastal environmentThe fund distributes revenues generated by Crown Estate Scotland, with applications being assessed and approved by NESFLAG – the North East Scotland Fisheries Local Action Group - a cross-sector partnership comprising representatives from Aberdeenshire’s coastal and fishing sectors.Projects approved under this application round must be completed by 30th September 2026.

The SURF Awards provide an opportunity for regeneration projects of all sizes to demonstrate value to funders and partners, support team-building and develop a national profile.The purpose of the SURF Awards is:- To recognise and reward best practice and innovation in community regeneration;- To promote and disseminate best practice across Scotland as means of sharing knowledge and experience, and thereby enhancing future policy and practice;- To highlight the role that regeneration projects have in improving the wellbeing of individuals and communities.2025 categories are TBC.

The purpose of the trust is to support the regeneration and development of the Outer Hebrides through disbursement of Community Benefit secured from the local deployment of Renewable Energy installations. Applicants should meet at least one of the WIDT's objectives: - advancement of citizenship and community development- prevention or relief of poverty- advancement of environmental protection or improvement- advancement of education- and advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science including the Gaelic language.

The Area Committee has a small budget which can be used to 'top up' other funding sources in cases where otherwise there would be inadequate funding to allow something to happen. They will favour projects which respond to local needs and show clear evidence of community economic development and emerged from, or take cognisance of: - Community Action Plans- Settlement Plans- Town Centre First approach- The Local Community Plan: Strong Communities, Wellbeing and Connecting People- Local Place Plans- Community Empowerment Act, in support of the assembly of for example business plans or feasibility studiesPlease note that this fund is for projects taking place with the Kincardine and Mearns area only. See the website for full criteria.

In recognition of children needing a Stronger Start in life, Tesco's Cooking for All campaign in partnership with The Sun, will offer £150k in grants through the Tesco Stronger Starts fund in an effort to improve children’s access to healthy food, have a wider understanding of where food comes from and an opportunity to learn how to prepare and cook healthy and nutritious meals.The type of things they would expect to fund are:- Food growing projects eg allotments/polytunnels that can then be used in lessons/breakfast clubs etc- Food education projects eg after-school family cooking clubs- Producing cookbooks/food educational materials for children to take home and use- Cooking equipment eg knives/chopping boards/smoothie makers to deliver project

The Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) is supporting community and faith organisations to install solar PV and battery storage in their buildings. This is a short-term pilot, funded by the Scottish Government and Great British Energy, with funds needing to be spent and claimed by 31 March 2026.Demand is expected to be high for this funding, with many communities already in a position to mobilise projects very quickly. Funding will be allocated on a first come first served basis. If you are developing a new project, read the guidance and self-assessment checklist carefully and prioritise seeking a quote if you think you are eligible.To be able to install within the pilot timescale, easier installation projects will be more suited to this funding. Therefore, while it is not a requirement, they suggest that the proposed project:- Is not in a conservation area or within the curtilage of a listed building.- Is under 50kW of solar PV.- Is on an easily accessible roof, which is built after 1930s (as the roof will be more likely to meet structural requirements).- Is not part of a more significant building renovation that would increase the risk of programme delays.

The "Our Local Nature" Grants are available to fund innovative projects, designed and led by young people in the UK. It aims to empower young people across the UK to take the lead on projects that involve their local nature and natural spaces.The grant is purposefully broad and welcomes novel ideas. Examples of possible proposals include:- running a school festival about nature- painting community murals showcasing biodiversity in the area- building a community garden- creating a nature walk- hiring a speaker to come and talk about local foraging.Adult applicants should develop their proposal alongside young people and the projects should seek to affect change or empower local young people and their surrounding communities to increase access to natural spaces and improve understanding of the local biodiversity.

The Youth Scotland Rural Action Fund is a Micro Grant fund being supported by The Gannochy Trust. This fund has been created in response to the challenges which rural youth groups are facing in funding the delivery of community based universal youth work. It will make small awards to enable youth groups operating in rural communities to provide more and/or better youth work opportunities for young people.The priority for this fund is to support/enable typical youth work activities that directly benefit young people in rural youth groups.