Search

The Community Finance Fund is SIS's core loan offering, designed to provide flexible, affordable finance to charities and social enterprises across Scotland.With loan sizes ranging, the fund includes both term loans and bridging loans, tailored to meet the diverse needs of organisations working to create positive social impact.The SIS Community Finance Fund goes beyond funding, providing potential support to organisations with expert advice, training, and peer networking - helping them build the skills and connections they need to grow sustainably.Loans from the SIS Community Finance Fund can be used for a wide range of purposes, including:- Working capital - to support day-to-day operations and keep your organisation running smoothly- Bridging finance - to cover gaps in funding or delayed grant payments, ensuring stability during transitions- Capital projects - to invest in property, equipment, or infrastructure that underpins long-term growth- Growth - to expand production, services, or programmes and reach more people- Investment readiness - to strengthen governance and organisational development, preparing your organisation for future opportunities

The aim of this programme is to pilot a small number of grants to organisations to provide additional capacity to review their governance, strategic growth, maturity of impact measurement and financial resilience, to ensure they’re better equipped to support their beneficiary cohort.All projects must meet this overarching aim and the following programme outcome:- The organisation has developed an actionable vision to more effectively provide itsservices to those in the UK armed forces community who’ve given the most.You can apply for a grant of up to £30,000 in total towards a project being delivered over a period of 6 to 12 months. In exceptional cases, the Trust will consider awarding an enhanced grant. You can request up to an additional £20,000 to enhance your project.Enhanced awards will only be considered for organisations wishing to work alongside other organisations. The other organisation will need to be benefitting from the work and achieving similar sustainable outcomes, rather than simply backfilling support or providing some other service. For example, provision might include the legal costs of both organisations looking to merge; or perhaps exploring opportunities to merge back-office functions, to support efficiency savings.

The Employability Fund is being distributed by VASLan on behalf of UK Government and is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The overall aim of the fund is to strengthen capacity of community-based employability support for individuals.For full guidance, visit the VASLan website.Your project should fit with one or more essential priorities:- People taking part in work experience programs. An example could be organisations supporting people in job-searching activities i.e. identifying volunteering options, any other work experience programs.- People engaged in job-searching following support, for example organizations supporting people in job-searching activities i.e. job clubs, identifying skills, writing CVs, identifying volunteering ortraining options.- People in employment, including self-employment, following support, i.e. when organisation is offering advice- how to find job and matching with current skills, advice or working in partnership on self-employment.- People in education/training in order to gain skills needed to employment in the future i.e. volunteers identifying education destination as a result of support during volunteering experience,staff in particular roles looking to enhance their skills in order to support individuals better.- People experiencing reduced structural barriers into employment and into skills provision, i.e. when organisation is helping with project like mentorship for people with low self- confidence and mental health barrier which previously stopped them from employment, supported employment options etc.

The Gambling Harm and Mental Health Fund exists to support community-based activity to further work on mental health and gambling harms, including a focus on suicide. The main purpose of this fund is to understand the impact of Gambling Harms on specific disadvantaged, marginalised, and minoritised communities and how this intersects with wider social, economic, and environmental factors.The fund will be administered by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) on behalf of the Scottish Government. The Scotland Reducing Gambling Harm (ScotRGH) team will lead this work and be the main point of contact for potential and successful projects.

The aim of the Scottish Strategic Timber Transport Scheme is to facilitate the sustainable transport of timber in rural areas of Scotland for the benefit of local communities and the environment, maximising the value of monies available through innovative Regionally and Nationally Strategic projects and partnerships. Projects should have community and social and environmental benefits and reduce damage and disruption to public roads.

The Scottish Government’s Ecosystem Fund is designed to back programmes and organisations that help new businesses start, grow and scale, and plays a central role in strengthening the entrepreneurial infrastructure across the country. It provides grants to organisations that are driving entrepreneurial growth and innovation across Scotland.Funding is available to support projects that:- Expand access to entrepreneurship for underrepresented groups.- Deliver skills development, mentorship, and collaboration.- Boost Scotland's visibility as a global hub for startups.- Increase access to funding and investment opportunities.- Encourage innovation.The Fund is opportunity-focused, seeking initiatives that do not duplicate existing activity but fill gaps in the current ecosystem offering in Scotland. It is committed to supporting initiatives that enhance diversity, inclusion and accessibility within Scotland's entrepreneurial community. All proposed activity must be delivered, and all project costs incurred by 31st March 2026.

The Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund aims to finance organisations, businesses, communities and individuals to transition to net zero, creating jobs in low carbon industries and contributing to the region’s future prosperity.Applicants must deliver at least one of the following outcomes:- Decarbonisation and efficiencies: contribute to resource efficient and sustainable economic approaches that actively encourage decarbonisation, support low-carbon investment and infrastructure, and avoid carbon 'lock-in'- Citizens, communities and place: support affected regions by empowering and invigorating communities and strengthening local economies;- Jobs, skills and education: equip people with the skills, education and retraining required to support retention and creation of access to green, fair and high-value work- Fair distribution of costs and benefits: address existing economic and social inequality by sharing the benefits of climate action widely, while ensuring that the costs are distributed on the basis of ability to pay- Business and economy: support a strong, dynamic and productive economy which creates wealth and high quality employment across Scotland, upholds the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and continues to make Scotland a great place to do business- Adaptation and resilience: identify key risks from climate change and set out actions to build resilience to these risks, ensuring our economy is flexible, adaptable and responsive to the changing climate- Further equality and human rights: address fuel poverty and child poverty in a manner consistent with Scotland's statutory targets on each, while furthering wider equality and human rights across all protected characteristics- Environmental protection and restoration: commit to act within our planetary boundaries while protecting and restoring our natural environment.

The Fund aims to strengthen an informed, engaged and active global citizenship community in Scotland. It supports organisations and communities to work in partnership with counterparts in the Global South to address shared global challenges and contribute to the achievement of the [United Nations Sustainable Development Goals](https://sdgs.un.org/goals).Global Solidarity Fund has a particular focus on strengthening the capacity and impact of smaller organisations and community groups. It is designed to support capacity development by empowering small Scottish‑based civil society organisations (CSOs), social enterprises and local groups that operate on a not‑for‑profit basis. By providing targeted, accessible funding, GSF enables these organisations to develop, build meaningful international partnerships, and engage people across Scotland in global issues.The fund aims to achieve this through three grant types:- Scottish Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Strengthening Grant- Global Citizenship Engagement Grant- Shifting the Power Grant

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.

Managed by CVS Falkirk & District, the Falkirk Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing (CMHW) Fund aims to support community-based projects and initiatives to help address local mental health and wellbeing needs for adults across Falkirk communities. The Fund has a strong focus on prevention and early intervention and aims to support local activities tackling mental health inequalities and addressing priority issues of:- social isolation and loneliness- suicide prevention- tackling poverty and inequalityAll funded projects will also have considered and developed an approach to:- Responding to the ongoing cost of living crisis- Supporting adults facing socio-economic disadvantage- Supporting adults from the six priority family groups identified in the previous [Best Start Bright Futures: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan](https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2022/03/best-start-bright-futures-tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2022-26/documents/best-start-bright-futures-tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2022-2026/best-start-bright-futures-tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2022-2026/govscot%3Adocument/best-start-bright-futures-tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2022-2026.pdf) and the new plan [Bringing Hope Building Futures Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-2031](https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2026/03/bringing-hope-building-futures-tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2026-2031/documents/tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2026-2031/tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2026-2031/govscot%3Adocument/tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2026-2031.pdf)