Welcome to the KDP Bulletin.
The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults has now re-opened for grants of up to £2,000.
Interested in applying? Visit the AVA website to complete an Expression of Interest form and to check your eligibility.
Applications close 12 noon on Monday, 3rd February.
The Scottish Government are consulting on Good Practice Principles for community benefits from onshore and offshore net zero energy developments, which seeks to ensure that their guidance helps communities and developers get the best from community benefits.
See more and take part here.
The Outdoor Community Spaces Fund is Asda’s new funding opportunity, with grants ranging from £500 to £3,000, to be used to improve or transform outdoor community spaces where people can meet and be together and build pride in their local areas.
Whether it’s cleaning up a green space, delivering collaborative growing projects or transforming an unused area for local people to use, the Outdoor Community Spaces Fund can be used to create or enhance an outdoor space near you.
This grant is for projects which meet at least one of the following aims:
- Transform an outdoor area, creating greener and more engaging community spaces.
- Create or enhance community growing projects.
- Enable community clean ups*
*Grants for community clear ups only will be capped at £500.
The closing date is 11 February, however it may close early if the total budget is reached.
Visit the website for more information.
Join National Rural Mental Health Forum online for a day filled with insightful discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities focused on mental health in rural communities. This event is designed to bring together experts, practitioners, and community members to address the unique challenges and solutions for mental health in rural areas. Don’t miss this chance to learn, connect, and make a difference in rural mental health!
The free online session takes place on Wednesday 29th January, between 11am and 1pm.
Reserve your space here.
Imperial Polythene has launched their Imperial Community Impact Fund; a new initiative designed to support local community groups and charities committed to making a positive difference.
With an annual fund of £10,000, this grant scheme offers up to £1,000 per project to encourage and empower local organisations working in the fields of environment, sustainability, creativity, and addressing local problems.
They invite community groups and charitable organisations to apply for funding to bring impactful projects to life. Their goal is to support initiatives that drive meaningful change, whether it’s through environmental conservation, creative community engagement, or solving pressing local issues.
For more information, visit the website.
The next closing date is 20th March.
The Screwfix Foundation are offering grants of up to £5,000 to local charities and not-for-profit organisations for projects that will fix, repair, maintain and improve properties and community facilities for those in need in the UK.
Applications are reviewed every quarter. The next closing date for applications is the 10th February 2025.
More here.
The Aberdeenshire Mental Health Hub signposts a range of helplines, websites, resources and services which will be helpful to anyone working directly with children and young people. Topics include, Anxiety, Stress & Worry; Bereavement & Loss; Eating Problems; LGBTQ+; Low Mood & Depression; Sleep Problems; Self Harm and Suicide.
The Hub also details mental health professional learning opportunities available to the Aberdeenshire multi-agency workforce on mental health, suicide prevention and trauma.
The Hub can be accessed here.
The Naturesave Trust has announced its latest funding round for environmental projects in the UK. The Trust is offering grants of up to £5,000 for small projects run by charities, social enterprises, and grassroots community organisations.
For this funding window, the Naturesave Trust is looking to support projects that actively promote sustainable and eco-friendly approaches to travel and transport.
Applications are open until 12 noon on the 27th February 2025.
Visit the website for more information.
The Movement for Good Awards are available to charities that are changing people’s lives for the better. The public can nominate a charity they would like to see receive £1000 and competition winners will then be drawn at random.
They have supported a range of causes, from funding heat pads to keep hedgehogs warm to helping a telephone befriending service for isolated carers.
Submit the nomination form on the Movement for Good website. The more nominations a charity receives the greater the chance of them winning.
Winners are chosen at random and nominations will remain open until midnight the day before each draw. The first draw will be on Monday 27th January.
Nominate here.
Marketing and advertising your community group or voluntary organisation can be extremely useful for recruiting volunteers, sourcing funding and increasing your profile. Business Gateway have several online courses taking place over the next two weeks to help you make the most of your online presence:
Wednesday 22nd January, 2-4pm – How to create engaging content
Thursday 23rd January, 10am–noon – Social media essentials: Facebook
Thursday 30th January, 10am–noon – Social media essentials: Instagram
Friday 31st January, 10am–noon – How to build your brand
The Armourers and Brasiers’ Gauntlet Trust is inviting schools to apply for funding to purchase equipment so that students can enjoy practical science, to run science enrichment projects in schools, or to enable students to participate in science events and competitions.
Primary schools can apply for grants of up to £600 and Secondary schools up to £1,000.
Funds are finite and will be allocated on a first come first served basis ending on the 31st March 2025 or until all the funds are exhausted.
Learn more here.
SCVO has launched a brand new planning resource for Scottish voluntary organisations – Shifting Sands.
Through Shifting Sands, SCVO has pulled together an overview of the state of the sector, and the different issues that are impacting right now, or that might start to impact in coming months.
The resource is structured around six sets of factors that make up the voluntary sector’s operating environment: politics, the economy, society, technology, the law, and the environment.
As you go through Shifting Sands, you’ll be given insights, food for thought, suggestions and signposting to further helpful resources.
