Welcome to the KDP Bulletin.
It’s been a while since we last shared an update, as we were busy organising our Grassroots Festival. Thank you to everyone who joined us and made the day such a success. We had almost 100 people attend, and over 30 Community groups were represented. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
For those who couldn’t make it along, check out the KDP Facebook page where we have shared lots of photos from the event, including the wonderful Community Showcase.
We have received great feedback on all the workshops, and are happy to share the slides from the Stress Less and Volunteer Support sessions, along with the Top Tips Sheet and Useful Examples from the Funding workshop.
The Hillhead of Auquhirie Wind Farm Community Fund is open until 30th June 2026. This year, there is £16,746.16 to be awarded. The maximum grant will be £1500.
Applications to the fund can be made from groups and projects which benefit the communities living in the community council areas of:
- Arbuthnott
- Catterline, Kinneff & Dunnottar
- Mearns
- Stonehaven & District
If you would like to discuss a potential application, contact Margo at margo@kdp.scot.
Visit the KDP website for the application form and guidelines.
Community Action from The Naitonal Lottery is for communities in Scotland. They are looking for projects that will help people connect more with each other, and they will support projects that are open, inclusive and led by their community.
By community, they mean people who share something in common, such as their background, where they live, or a shared experience.
Your project must meet at least 2 of these outcomes:
- build positive relationships
- support people’s health or wellbeing
- help people improve their access and connection to nature
- make a positive difference to the environment
TNL will fund new or existing projects, from organisations of all sizes and levels of experience.
You can apply for £20,001 to £250,000 for up to 5 years.
Find out more on the National Lottery website.
The Aberdeenshire Alcohol & Drug Partnership (ADP) has re-launched their website to provide comprehensive and up to date information about alcohol and drug support, advice and treatment available across Aberdeenshire.
The AADP will also be working to promote advice, services, support and information about harm reduction through their Facebook Page which you are invited to follow.
The AADP provides leadership, direction, and coordination to prevent harm, support recovery, and improve lives across Aberdeenshire.
Bringing together local services, communities, and people with lived experience to reduce alcohol and drug harm across Aberdeenshire. The Aberdeenshire ADP works to ensure that work is undertaken through multi-agency partnerships spanning health, social care, justice, third sector organisations, communities, and individuals working collectively to improve outcomes and save lives.
Everything the AADP does is grounded in compassion, collaboration, and evidence.
The Powering Communities to Net Zero fund’s core aim is to help communities become more resilient, and to support the adoption of low-carbon technologies that will help us all get to net zero.
The fund is designed to support low-carbon technology (LCT) projects which are part of a community’s decarbonisation plans. Examples include: solar panels; heat systems; battery storage; renewable energy generation; smart heating controls; energy efficiency measures; EV charging; building management systems.
In most cases, you can apply for funding from £1,000 up to a maximum of £20,000. In exceptional circumstances, multi-community area funding to a maximum of £40,000 can be considered.
The Fund is open until 12noon on Thursday 21 May 2026.
More here.
With thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund “Awards for All”, The Caim Project, part of Howe o’ the Mearns Parish Church of Scotland, wish to recruit for a new position of Growing Coordinator, to work with their Project Lead to oversee, develop and maintain the growing of produce (both on open fields and in polytunnels) and biodiversity work on their 2.5-acre site in Luthermuir.
As well as the produce growing, this role will also support their all-age group of volunteers, and liaise with the Project Lead on developing their existing schools link work.
The closing date is this Friday 1st May.
Click here for more information.
Grants of £500 to £15,000 are available to ethnic minority-led third sector organisations in Scotland through the 2026 round of the Ethnic Minority Development Fund.
Funding is provided as project grants and can support a combination of revenue, core, and small capital costs, including staffing, training, equipment, events, and minor refurbishment.
Projects must benefit ethnic minority communities and address priorities such as community connection, early support, or improving places.
Applications close at 5pm on 26 May 2026, with decisions expected in late August 2026.
More here.
The Community Building 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. The Local Energy Scotland team will review applications and try and help you take forward your project.
Visit the website to find more information.
The Aberdeenshire Public Health Team is adopting Aberdeenshire and Area Linktrees as a digital tool to support clearer and more accessible access to public health information and resources.
Linktree provides a simple and accessible way to connect people to trusted, relevant and up‑to‑date public health information and resources, without the need to search across multiple platforms.
The South Area Linktree can be found here.
If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch at gram.southpublichealth@nhs.scot.
The Wolfson Foundation’s main grants programme provides support for places. These grants are for capital initiatives, i.e. buildings (new build or refurbishment) and equipment.
They fund a broad range of organisations working across the fields of education, science & medicine, health & disability, heritage, humanities & the arts.
Before applying for funding, check the types of places they fund and their specific funding criteria. You can also take the eligibility quiz to see if they could support your project.
More on the Fund can be found here.
The Fund reopens on 14th May.
Just Enterprise is pleased to announce details of a new, flexible, fully-funded eLearning resource: The Resilient Leader’s Toolkit.
The toolkit is aimed at not-for-profit organisations and social enterprises who want to reflect on and develop their resilience and leadership in a time of complexity and crisis.
Whether you are developing your own skills or leading others, it offers practical tools to strengthen resilience at every level.
Click here for further details and a link to register.
The Sport Scotland Sport Facilities Fund (SFF) supports capital projects that help to create or improve places where people take part in sport and physical activity.
They want to support projects that provide more opportunities for people to get involved in and participate in sport & physical activity.
Prioritisation will be given to projects that deliver the greatest impact on their Equality, Diversity and Inclusion objectives.
Projects that can clearly demonstrate an inclusive approach that targets participants in/from SIMD areas or areas of rural disadvantage, or those with additional needs, or those from ethnically diverse communities, or other protected characteristics, as identified in The Equalities Act 2010, will be prioritised.
Deadlines for submission of Sport Facilities Fund applications are 5pm on the 1st April and 1st September each year.
Visit the Sport Scotland website for more information.
Benefact Group’s giving goes beyond financial donations – they offer a range of support and resources to help charities. From raising funds and managing volunteers to measuring impact, their support is available to help improve your group’s sustainability and resilience.
Their range of online resources and webinars are free and easily accessible to all charities, with experts from across the sector providing advice on topics requested by you. Explore webinars, articles, reports and more here.
The Aldi Scottish Sports Fund is returning for its 10th year, and to celebrate this milestone they are increasing the top prize fund to £3,000.
This annual initiative provides grants to help registered community sports organisations with essentials like equipment, kits, training costs and more – encouraging participation for all ages and abilities.
AB postcodes applications are open from Monday 11th May – Sunday 7th June
DD postcodes applications are open from Monday 3rd August – Sunday 30th August
Check out the website for more information.
Join The Haven for a day of wellbeing activities and community connection, this Saturday 2nd May from 9am.
Drop in taster sessions, all levels welcome, varied wellbeing actives.
9.00 – 9.30 – Gaelle – Qigong
10.00 – 10.30 – Pilates Plus taster with Julie
11.00 – 11.30 – West African Drumming Taster session – Drummin Aboot
12.00 – 13.00 – BFI Archive Short Film Screening & Stephanie Herron Nutrition – Nourishing your body
2.00 – 2.45 – Heather Dance Fitness taster
3.00 – 3.45 – Andrea Introduction to Shamanism: Journey Within
More here.
