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Local community planning is about making a positive difference to the communities we live in. Fife Council does this by bringing together local communities with public, voluntary, private sector and other organisations to improve our communities and quality of life.Projects should meet some of the priorities of your local area’s community plan. There are individual plans for each area on the Council's [Local Community Plans page](https://www.fife.gov.uk/about-your-council/council-performance/local-community-planning).Examples of the types of projects they will be looking to support are:- taking a pride in your community- improvements to community facilities- community events- employability initiatives- vulnerable or disadvantaged groups in a community

The Forestry Grant Scheme offers financial support for the creation of new woodland and the sustainable management of existing woodland. Within the scheme's eight categories, there are a range of support options covering planting, woodland protection, harvesting and more.

The Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) is designed to support access to finance for UK small businesses (third-sector) as they look to invest and grow. The Scheme provides a 70% government backed guarantee on loans, and aims to improve access to finance to boost overall investment and economic growth. The Scheme supports term loans, overdrafts, asset based lending and invoice finance facilities. Term loans and asset finance facilities are available from three months up to six years, with overdrafts and invoice finance available from three months up to three years.To find out more, visit the SIS website or contact them to speak with a member of the team.

The Community Buildings Fund, part of the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), provides grants to help community organisations reduce their building’s energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It does this by funding the installation of renewable technologies like heat pumps, battery storage, and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, as well as some energy efficiency measures.Grants up to £80,000 for 80% of eligible costs are available to eligible community groups to help you reduce energy costs and make your building more sustainable. The funding can be used towards the cost of installing renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. It can also be used for costs like building warrants, planning permission and grid connection applications which are essential to install some measures. What improvements will CARES fund?**1. Heating requirement**CARES funding is prioritised to buildings that have or will decarbonise their heating. Your building must have:- A heat pump (air source, ground source or water source).- A connection to a heat network.- Direct electric heating (including storage heating or electric boilers) biomass heating.Or as part of your CARES project you will be installing:- A heat pump; or- A connection to a heat network.**2. Core measures eligible for CARES funding.**You must install at least one core CARES measures:- A heat pump (air source, ground source or water source).- A connection to heat network.- Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.- Solar water heating.**3. Add-on measures**In addition to installing a core measure(s), you can also apply for funding to install one or more of the following:- Energy storage – heat/thermal or electrical.Insulation – any loft, underfloor or cavity wall insulation.- Secondary glazing.- Draught proofing.- Appropriate energy saving controls that are linked to new installations to ensure they operate efficiently.Eligible community buildings include, but are not limited to:- Village halls.- Community centres.- Community hubs.- Sports facilities.- Faith buildings.The building must be used by the local community or charitable organisation.

If you are interested in starting a tenant and resident’s association in your local area you can apply for a grant to help meet running costs of the group.The grant can cover the cost of:- Publicising and holding meetings- Responding to requests for help, from tenants and the Council- Producing information for those they represent- Keeping up to date with developments in housing- Organising events and initiatives that benefit their community

Common Good Funds earn money each year from property rents and interest on investments and balances. These funds can be used for the benefit of the inhabitants of that town/area. Projects must have a community-wide benefit. You must clearly show how your proposal will benefit the people living in the relevant former burgh.Fife Council uses agreed criteria to assess applications:- the value of each Common Good Fund should be protected over time- grants will normally cover no more than 50% of a project’s total cost

The Local Support Grants are funds available through the Scottish Government’s Alcohol and Drugs Fund, administered by the Corra Foundation. This fund is intended to help organisations to stabilise or increase capacity, continue services and provide further reach into the community. It aims to facilitate rights-based, relational support for people so that they can easily access the right support at the right time.

The Youth Arts Open Fund is administered by YouthLink Scotland (the national agency for youth work in Scotland) and is part of Creative Scotland’s wider support for children and young people, funded by the Scottish Government. The purpose of the Youth Arts Open Fund is to support freelance artists or organisations seeking small amounts of funding so that they can deliver arts activity for children and young people, prioritising those who have traditionally found it hardest to access such opportunities. Funded projects are expected to engage children and young people in high-quality and accessible arts activity that empowers them through self-expression, enhances their health, wellbeing and personal development, and builds their confidence and skills.

The aim of the fund is to develop and support substance and/or behaviour Lived Experience recovery organisations to trial, grow and develop their ideas, services or products and build organisational capacity.The Recovery Seed Fund has Startup and Support funding for Lived Experience voluntary groups, charities and Social Enterprises. In addition to the Recovery fund SRC are also offering support and business development advice to individuals, groups and social enterprises to allow them to grow, develop and become sustainable. If this is something that would be of interest please contact fiona@scottishrecoveryconsortium.org

The overarching aim of the Fund is to support community-based initiatives that promote and develop good mental health and wellbeing and/or mitigate and protect against the impact of distress and mental ill health within the adult population (aged 16 or over), with a particular focus on prevention and early intervention. Specifically, it aims to: - Tackle mental health inequalities through supporting a range of ‘at risk’ groups (as outlined in the Equalities section). - Address priority issues of social isolation and loneliness, suicide prevention and poverty and inequality with a particular emphasis on responding to the cost of living crisis and support to those facing socio-economic disadvantage. - Support small ‘grass roots’ community groups and organisations to deliver such activities. - Provide opportunities for people to connect with each other, build trusted relationships and revitalise communities. It can support both new and existing groups or projects, and it is AVA’s intention that new and unconstituted groups will be supported with governance, funding and volunteering advice that facilitates them to build internal capacity. These do not have to have mental health and wellbeing as their main focus, but their application does have to clearly benefit the mental health and wellbeing of people in the community that they serve, be that a community of geography or a community of interest.