Welcome to the KDP Bulletin.
Would your group like to be the focus of our next ‘Spotlight On’?
Send us a brief introduction to your group – what you do, volunteer requests, good news stories, future events – anything you want to shout about. 300-400 words is ideal, and don’t forget a few photos and your logo if you have one.
We want to celebrate all the amazing community groups in Kincardine & Mearns, so don’t be shy, let KDP share your story.
Contact margo@kdp.scot.
NESTRANS travel grant funds support organisations and groups across the North East to implement sustainable travel initiatives. They aim to increase travel by public transport, cycling and walking, promote low emission vehicles and reducing the need to travel.
The community version of the Sustainable Travel Grant is for any constituted community group, registered charity or social enterprise based in Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire.
Funding of up to £5,000 is available and groups are expected to demonstrate commitment by a contribution (or contribution in kind such as volunteer hours or resources) to the project.
Visit the website for more information.
Applications will open this month.
TRE-Life focuses on addressing unemployment and isolation issues in Scottish communities. Their aim is to improve the social and professional integration of people with disabilities and/or neurodivergence.
They offer courses to individuals with additional needs to gain skills and find gainful employment.
Social isolation and rural isolation are caused by many factors and TRE-Life run community projects to tackle these issues. Projects include a variety of activities that tackle environmental issues, promote upcycling/recycling and reduce waste.
Find out more about what TRE-Life can offer.
The National Events Programme is one of the core funds run by the EventScotland team.
It is designed to support innovative new projects and activity at events, and must:
- Identify relevant strategic development activity for funding support
- Take place in Scotland and outside the local authority areas of Edinburgh and Glasgow
- Drive domestic tourism within Scotland i.e. encourage residents of Scotland to travel and attend your event
The next deadline is Wednesday 14 January at 2pm for events taking place September – December 2026.
More information can be found here.
A Neurodivergence Information session will be held in Arduthie Primary School in Stonehaven on Monday the 8th of December, 6-7.30pm. The event is open to members of the public who may be Neurodivergent, have Neurodivergent family members, colleagues or employees.
The session will be delivered by Gail Penman, Director of NEWSolutions CIC.
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 a £1000 award and competition winners will then be drawn at random.
The more nominations a charity gets, the better their chances of being drawn.
They have supported a range of causes, from funding heat pads to keep hedgehogs warm to helping a telephone befriending service for isolated carers.
The remaining draws for 2025 are 1-16 December (120 draws), so get nominating now.
Grants of up to £7,000 are available to support preventative and early community based intervention programmes that focus on helping older people stay in their own homes and maintain their independence. The funding is being made available through the Charles Hayward Foundation Small Grants programme.
There are no deadlines and applications can be submitted at any time.
Visit the website for more information.
range of present-day and future scenarios and are used to support decision making including to help partners, places and people avoid, adapt and act against flooding.
They are conducting research to understand user needs for the flood hazard maps, ahead of planned work to update and improve them.
This survey is one part of that research and aims to allow SEPA to understand more about who uses map information, why, how people use it, and how it could be improved.
If you use/access flood hazard map information they would like to hear your views. The survey can be found here and will take around 10 minutes to complete.
The Empower programme provides unrestricted funding, which gives charities much greater scope to cover all essential costs and deal with challenges quickly and effectively. Unrestricted funding can be used towards core costs, delivery costs, project costs and/or general running costs enabling charities to use their funding in the way that helps them best.
The fund will open on 1st December and will close at noon on 10th December.
To learn more and check your eligibility click here.
Kincardine & Mearns Citizens Advice Bureau are pleased to announce that through the Good Things Foundation they can offer refurbished Apple or Android phones to those in need.
For further information and Eligibility Criteria visit the KAMCAB website.
Grants of up to £5,000 are available through the Thomas Wall Trust to registered charities to support projects that equip people (18 or older in order) from disadvantaged groups with the communication skills necessary to gain employment.
Priority will be given to projects that target people experiencing multiple deprivation or other groups facing major hurdles to employment, especially women, people with physical, mental, or learning disabilities, refugees and asylum seekers.
The deadline for stage 1 applications is 22 December 2025, and applicants successful at this stage will be invited to submit a stage 2 application.
More here.
The Aberdeenshire Mental Health Improvement & Wellbeing Service is organising a special Community Christmas project. The Jingle & Mingle will see 8 locations across Aberdeenshire host a Christmas meal to tackle poverty, loneliness and isolation.
They have raised over £19,000 to feed up to 800 people a Christmas Day Meal!
In Kincardine & Mearns, the venue will be Fetteresso Church.
The team are now looking for volunteers to host, serve and dine with their table.
If you would like to volunteer on Christmas Day register your interest here.
Bookings are now open on a first come, first served basis, and capacity is limited to each venue size. They ask that you take into consideration these events will have a wide range of people attending from children and families, vulnerable adults etc, and that you consider suitability before extending invites.
Here is the link for booking a place at the events. Please note that a separate form must be completed for each individual wishing to attend.
The Booking Form Link will close at midnight on Thursday 27th November.
Visit their Facebook page for more information.
Children in Need Core Costs support essential organisational and administrative spending. These are the key expenses required to keep your organisation running.
Core Costs funding can be spent on your organisation’s central day-to-day operations. These might include, for example:
- Management and administration
- HR and payroll
- General office expenses
- Accountancy and audit
- Communications and outreach
- Monitoring, evaluation, and learning
- Governance, regulatory, and compliance costs
There is no application deadlines, so you can apply at any time. If your request is successful, you must start spending your grant within 12 months.
Find out more here.
Pre-registration is now open for The Gathering – the largest free voluntary sector event in the UK.
Join SCVO on 10th and 11th February for Scotland’s biggest celebration of the voluntary sector when the Gathering takes place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC).
As well as bringing a packed programme of free workshops, seminars and activities, there will be a wide range of exhibitors from the voluntary, public and private sectors at the ever-popular exhibition.
Pre-register now for Gathering 2026 updates straight to your inbox, and SCVO will drop you an email as soon as bookings open.
