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The ARIA Fund empowers local communities to address their unique challenges. As part of the Scottish Government's Community Led Local Development (CLLD) programme, ARIA operates through a bottom-up decision-making process, with funding priorities and project selections determined by representatives from the local area who form the Local Action Group (LAG).There are 2 funds: the Main Fund, and Community Asset Maintenance Fund.Main Fund:Projects must demonstrate fit with at least one of the ARIA Fund priorities. These include:- Community Wealth Building- Quality of Life- Community Led Tourism (CLT) - Enterprise- Net ZeroCommunity Asset Maintenance Fund:The Community Asset Maintenance Fund supports the production of a property condition register (also known as a repairs register). This assesses the internal and external condition of the building and includes a costed schedule of repairs alongside a proposed maintenance plan with indicative dates for periodic upkeep (e.g., external decoration, gutter clearance, etc.). ARIA also offers a £2,000 sinking fund to help finance repairs.

The Pride in Place Impact Fund is a UK Government funding initiative delivered by local authorities. The fund should be used to target areas in need, with the aim of building strong, resilient, prosperous, and inclusive communities. Applications are invited for projects that will focus on one or both of the following two themes:Environmental projects that are:- Community-led- In collaboration with a local Housing Association(s)- Focussed on, or connected to, a Transformational Regeneration Area (although applications for other areas will also be considered)ORFood system projects that:- Demonstrably improve the development of sustainable provision of healthy and locally sourced food; and/or- Focus on town centres and identified food desertsInformation can be found on the webpage https://surf.scot/pride-in-place-impact-fund-2026-27-call-for-applications-from-glasgow-cc/

The purpose of the Trust is to hold and distribute funds for charitable purposes as set out in the Trusts governing. These include: - the prevention or relief of poverty- the advancement of education- the advancement of religion- the advancement of health- the saving of lives- the advancement of citizenship or community development- the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science- the provision of recreational facilities, or the organisation of recreational activities, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities or activities are primarily intended- the advancement of environmental protection or improvement- the relief of those in need by reason of age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage- the advancement of animal welfare.Previous grantees have included Aberlour Child Care Trust, Chest Heart and Stroke (Scotland), Fife Young Carers, Pitlochry Theatre, and RNLI (Anstruther).

The Neighbourhood Ecosystem Fund seeks to inspire, encourage, and enable communities to explore and deliver ambitious ecosystem restoration projects locally. It also seeks to raise awareness about the importance of local ecosystem restoration and address barriers faced by community-led efforts. They are most interested in funding the development stages and successful organisations will also receive professional fundraising support to move their projects from development stage to delivery.Your project must focus on one (or more) parts of ecosystem restoration. These are:- Connecting nature corridors- Habitat and species restoration- Freshwater and wetland restoration- Coastal and marine initiatives- Control of invasive non-native species impacting on nature- Enhancing and connecting nature within villages, towns, or citiesThis Fund is supported by the Carman Family Foundation, the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, which is managed by NatureScot, and others. Inspiring Scotland is administering this funding.

The Shetland CLLD Programme is a grant fund provided by the Scottish Government. The delivery of Shetland CLLD is overseen by the Shetland Islands Local Action Group (LAG) – a group of representatives from organisations with economic, social, environmental and community interests in Shetland. The CLLD grant fund is administered by Shetland Islands Council on behalf of the LAG. The principal focus for activity is to support sustainable projects which can be reflected within the programme’s four priority areas:- Helping families and services through the cost-of-living crises, including helping to address the drivers of child poverty- Increasing community capacity to address rural challenges- Transforming the economy to deliver net zero- Creating sustainable local servicesProjects that support one or more of the programme priorities will be considered for funding.

The Fund aims to support businesses in the tourism, creative industries and food and drink processing sectors, and social enterprises in any sector, across the Highlands and Islands to reduce or green their energy usage. Projects can include anything that helps businesses or social enterprises to reduce or green their energy usage and make progress towards achieving net zero carbon emissions, for example energy efficiency measures, renewables, or waste management. HIE will prioritise projects based in remote and rural areas where applicants may be eligible for up to 50% funding.

Patagonia supports environmental organizations with bold, direct-action agendas and a commitment to long-term change.They support innovative work that addresses the root causes of the environmental crisis and seeks to protect both the environment and affected communities. They believe local battles to protect a specific stand of forest, a stretch of river, an indigenous wild species or a community from a polluting refinery build public support and confront larger, more complex issues like climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental justice. They encourage work that brings underrepresented communities to the forefront of the environmental movement and defend communities whose health and livelihoods are threatened by environmental exploitation. They support multipronged campaigns that push for greater environmental protections and force the government to abide by its own laws.They fund work that:- builds an equitable, inclusive and diverse environmental movement- confronts systemic bias, discrimination and injustice in environmental policy or outdoor spaces- is action-oriented- focuses on root causes- has a clear strategy- identifies specific goals and objectives that can be effectively measured to evaluate success- builds public involvement and civic engagement- works to build an inclusive and diverse environmental movement- takes place within the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) supports communities to engage with, participate in and benefit from the energy transition to net zero emissions. CARES can support a wide range of projects including installing renewable technologies in community buildings, community benefits and shared ownership. The CARES Development Fund is designed to help communities take that first step on their community energy journey. First steps include:- Raising awareness of your energy project idea.- Completing an options appraisal to understand the types of projects you might carry out.- Completing a first step feasibility study to see if your idea might work.- Funding for some staff time to progress your idea.To be eligible for this fund you should be at an early stage in developing your own community energy project or have an opportunity to investigate shared ownership of a commercially owned renewable energy project. This fund is all about getting started for either community-owned renewable energy projects or investigating shared ownership (where community groups make an investment in a commercially owned renewable energy project).