Welcome to the KDP Bulletin.
This week we don’t have a ‘Spotlight On’ feature, but we can promise you lots of funding options, useful information and learning opportunities.
If your group would like to be part of the ‘Spotlight On’, we would be delighted to include you.
All we need is an article, around 300 words, sharing details on who you are, what you do, any forthcoming events, and any support you might need. Really anything that you would like people to know about your group.
We also welcome two or three photos and a logo to include in the feature.
The Granite Heart Fund offers small grants to support charities, voluntary groups and initiatives working to make a positive difference in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Funded through their community charity shops and generous supporters, they award grants regularly, typically between £50 and £500, with larger awards considered in special cases.
They prioritise projects that deliver real benefit to local people and communities, and which align with their charitable objectives:
- Helping people and communities experiencing poverty, hardship or disadvantage;
- Supporting learning, skills development, and access to education for all ages;
- Improving health, quality of life and mental well-being, and tackling health inequalities;
- Strengthening communities through inclusion, diversity, equality and cohesion;
- Promoting arts, culture, heritage and science in ways that enrich local life;
- Encouraging participation in sport and physical activity for better well-being; and
- Protecting the environment, promoting sustainability, and caring for animals.
Find out more on their website.
The next UK Emergency Alert Test takes place at around 3pm on Sunday 7th September. Mobile phones on 4G and 5G networks across the country will vibrate and emit a loud siren-like sound for up to ten seconds. A test message will appear on screens, making it clear the alert is a drill.
The test will be just the second of its kind and follows a government commitment to test the system regularly to make sure it works optimally and familiarise the public with the alerts. More information here.
The alert will sound on mobile phones even if they are on silent. This could put someone experiencing abuse at risk if they have a hidden phone.
See the advice from SafeLives showing how to turn off the alerts here. More information is also available here.
The Community Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund for Adults has returned.
For round 5, a guaranteed £645,157.41 is available to disburse to community, voluntary and third sector organisations to deliver valuable projects that respond to local mental health and wellbeing challenges. A commitment has also been made by the Scottish Government to make the same amount available again for round 6 meaning that multi-year funding for larger projects is being made available.
Visit the AVA website for guidance and information on how to apply.
AVA will be holding a number of support webinars which are designed to give more information around the application process and eligibility. You can register for any of these sessions here.
The National Centre for Resilience works to strengthen resilience to natural hazards through collaboration with Scotland’s universities, policymakers, responders and communities.
Their latest bulletin is now available, and you can subscribe to the bulletin via the website.
The FCC Scottish Action Fund offers funding to projects through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund (SLCF).
It will consider applications across all types of projects included in the SLCF: – Land Reclamation (Object A): The reclamation, remediation, restoration or other operation on land to facilitate economic, social or environmental use. – Community Recycling (Object B): Community based recycling, re-use and waste prevention projects. – Public Amenities and Parks (Object C): To provide, maintain or improve a public park or other public amenity. – Biodiversity (Object D): The conservation or promotion of biological diversity through the provision, conservation, restoration or enhancement of a natural habitat or the maintenance or recovery of a species in its natural habitat. – Historic Buildings (Object E): The maintenance, repair or restoration of a building, other structure or a site of archaeological interest which is a place of religious worship, or a site of historic or architectural or archaeological interest and is open to the public.
The fund will reopen on 3rd September, closing on 19th November.
More here.
Stress is natural and a part of everyday life, but when we’re under too much pressure and living in a state of chronic stress it can affect our physical and mental health in a big way. The Stress Less Webinar is delivered by the Employment Support Team Wellbeing Key on Friday 29th August 2025, 11am -12.30pm.
This free online session will help participants:
- Recognise the signs and symptoms of stress
- Understand how stress affects health and wellbeing
- Learn practical tools to manage stress more effectively
Register for free on Eventbrite.
The Meikle Carewe Wind Farm Community Fund is open for applications until 30th September 2025.
The Fund is for any constituted community group, club, society, charity or other not-for-profit entity that operates and benefits residents living in the following Community Council areas (the Area of Benefit):
- Crathes, Drumoak and Durris
- Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore
- North Kincardine Rural
- Portlethen and District
- Stonehaven and District
This year, there is £39,572.48 available in the Fund.
Visit the KDP website for the Guidance Notes and Application Form.
For more information or assistance with completing an application, please contact margo@kdp.scot
The Community Right to Buy, introduced in Scotland in 2003, has empowered rural, urban, and crofting communities to acquire land and assets. The Scottish Government is consulting as part of a review aimed at simplifying the process and exploring improvements. Through this consultation, they want to understand how these rights can best be improved to facilitate community ownership.
The consultation is open to all members of the public. They are particularly keen to hear from those who have interacted with the rights in the past, whether as a seller, buyer, practitioner or interested party.
Read the consultation paper and take part here.
Changing Places Toilets are larger accessible toilets designed to meet the needs of disabled people who need carer support and specialist equipment to use the facilities and have their personal care needs met, fulfilling this basic human right for them.
The Scottish Government is committed to extending the provision of these facilities across Scotland’s communities and, through its Changing Places Toilets Scotland Fund, will provide grant investment to support this.
The Fund will pay for the development and installation of new Changing Places Toilets, including:
- Planning and design of the facilities.
- Changing Places Toilet equipment and installation.
- Alteration of existing spaces as part of the installation of a new Changing Places Toilet, for example repurposing rooms, or building a standalone toilet.
- Modular Changing Places Toilets.
- 5% contingency costs.
Applications must be submitted by 12pm (midday) on Monday 20th October 2025. Successful applicants must spend their grant and therefore have built their Changing Places Toilets by 31 March 2027.
Learn more here.
Tackling Poverty & Inequalities 2025 is a collaborative event between the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN), Aberdeenshire Council and NHS Grampian. It will take place online, on Tuesday 16th September between 10am and noon.
This two hour session will enable you to find out about what is currently being done to reduce the poverty and inequalities people living in the North of Scotland face.
Hear from speakers and learn about resources and projects which have been developed and implemented to support some of the most vulnerable people in society to have choice and dignity.
The session will cover:
- Worrying About Money? resource
- Cash-first Aberdeenshire
- Lived experience
- NHS Grampian projects
- Reducing stigma and discrimination
- Case studies and solutions
To sign up and for more details click here.
Small charities and community groups with an annual income below £30,000 can apply for grants of up to £5,000 for projects addressing the impact of poverty and/or trauma on people and communities in Scotland.
The funding is available through the Robertson Trust’s Wee Grants for Wee Groups programme, which supports organisations focused on building stronger communities.
Eligible projects include Men’s Sheds, lunch clubs, community gardens, sports and physical activities for people with disabilities, social activities for asylum seekers and refugees, family fun days, and community events. The programme also supports more targeted initiatives to tackle the financial and material effects of poverty, provide learning and skills development, and assist people in seeking employment.
Applications can be submitted at any time, with decisions typically made within eight weeks.
The application form and guidance can be found on the Robertson Trust website.
The Community Food & Health Scotland team produce a regular bulletin which provides useful updates, resources and events around the important role community food projects play in tackling inequalities.
You can read the latest Bulletin here, and at the bottom there is the option to sign up to receive the Bulletins on a regular basis.
You’re Only Young Once is a fund designed by young people as part of the Way Forward for Families Partnership Fund. The young people have designed the fund criteria, application process, name, and a logo.
The young people of the Way Forward’s Be Different to Make A Difference Advisory Group is focussing this small grant programme on supporting children, young people and their families to shape and share experiences, create connections, and to create the conditions where they are empowered to influence participation, policy and practice across Scotland, and can thrive in the future.
The fund has £50,000 which will be distributed in grants of up to £10,000 to organisations with a track record of delivering services specifically for children, young people and families affected by drugs and alcohol.
The closing date for this round of applications is 2pm on Friday 31st October.
Visit the Corra website for more information.
Live Life Aberdeenshire have committed a total of £30,000 of Sport for Change Funding to be used to support Hubs, Clubs and Community and 3rd sector organisations across Aberdeenshire to support projects that will introduce new activities which tackle local need.
They are inviting applications that will support projects targeting:
- Women and girls in participation
- Disability and inclusion
- Mental health
- Tackling poverty / inequalities
- Underrepresented groups
- Rural communities
- Older people
- Young people
For more information including how to apply, visit the website.
