Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults 2025/26

The ambition of this Fund is to support initiatives which promote mental health and wellbeing at a small scale, grassroots, community level. Applications can be accepted from a wide range of voluntary, ‘not for profit’ organisations, associations, groups and clubs or collaboratives/partnerships which have a strong community focus towards their activities.

The types of organisations that can apply are:

• Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO)
• Unincorporated Associations
• Trusts
• Companies Limited by Guarantee (must also be registered as a charitable company with OSCR)
• Not-for-profit company or asset locked company or Community Interest Companies (CIC)
• Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies
• Community councils
• Parent councils (*Subject to conditions)

The Fund will also consider funding Unconstituted groups, either by supporting them to be become constituted, or by supporting a partnership application with a constituted entity (that meets criteria above) holding a grant for the Unconstituted group.

The Fund can support both existing and new projects. Projects funded through the first 4 years of the Fund are eligible to apply again, however, applicants must clearly demonstrate how the learning from previous years funding will be used to adapt, develop, improve and expand the project you are apply for. 

We are welcoming any application from eligible groups that can demonstrate activities or services that seek to improve the mental health and wellbeing, particularly ones that are community led. Based on local needs in East Renfrewshire we are particularly interested in projects addressing the following needs: 

• Suicide Prevention
• Befriending (including one to one befriending/group befriending)
• Friendship/Social Connections
• Address the Cost of Living (whole family poverty/ mitigating child poverty)
• Additional Support Needs activities/services (16+)

There will be a continued emphasis in Year 5 on responding to the cost-of-living crisis and on those facing socio-economic disadvantage. 

The fund also aims to support the groups most affected by the cost-of-living crisis, and for this reason we are particularly interested in project supporting the following groups: 

• Women (16+) (including women experiencing gender based violence)
• People with a long term health condition or disability
• People from a Minority Ethnic background
• Refugees and those with no recourse to public funds
• People facing socio-economic disadvantage
• People experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage
• People with diagnosed mental illness
• People affected by psychological trauma (including adverse childhood experiences)
• People who have experienced bereavement or loss
• Older people (aged 50 and above)
• People with neurological conditions or learning disabilities, and from neurodiverse communities
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) communities
• Young people aged 16-24

This fund has a specific focus on adults’ mental health and wellbeing, in this case adults are classed as anyone over the age of 16 years old. 

As in previous years, applicants are welcome to apply for one year of funding for their projects. However, for this round the Scottish Government have included the fund in their Fair Funding Pilot and have introduced the option for constituted groups/organisations to apply for a two-year funding period, subject to the continued availability of grant funding. This pilot has been set up to provide more certainty and allow for longer-term planning, aiming to improve stability and cost-efficiency for organisations and services. You can find out more information about this at: https://www.gov.scot/news/fairer-funding-for-charities/

Small grants up to £2,000. If you are applying for two year funding, the maximum you can request each year is £2,000, meaning you can access up to £4,000 over a two year period, subject to conditions

Project grants from £2,001 up to £15,000 can be applied for. If you are applying for two year funding, the maximum you can request each year is £15,000, meaning you can access up to £30,000 over a two year period, subject to conditions*

*Second year funding is subject to the following conditions:

• The value of the grant payable in year two is an indicative confirmation and cannot be taken as a guarantee: all indicative funding commitments are subject to the outcome of any spending review by the Scottish Government and approval of the annual Budget Bills by the Scottish Parliament during this period.
• Grantees will be asked to fill out an interim report after the first year, this must be received by the deadline set out in your funding agreement.

Up to £2,000 – Small Grant 
Deadline: 10 AM on the 6th of October 2025 ; unless the money is fully allocated beforehand. 

£2,001 up to £15,000 – Project Grant
Deadlines: 
1^st Deadline: 10am, Monday 14th of July 2025

2^nd Deadline: 10am,  Monday 25th of August 2025

3^rd Deadline: 10am, Monday 6th of October 2025

For full details on all funding levels, please download the fund criteria (PDF).