Community Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund for Adults
2026/2027 FUND OPENS 10AM, 17 JULY 2026
The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults (the Fund) was established in October 2021 and has since distributed £99 million to community-led initiatives supporting adult mental health and wellbeing across Scotland. In March 2025, the Scottish Government announced a further £15 million investment for Year 6 of the Fund through its Fairer Funding for the Third Sector Pilot.
As part of the Scottish Government’s Fairer Funding approach, introduced in 2025/26, a significant proportion of this year’s allocation has already been committed through two-year funding agreements awarded during the previous funding round. This approach provides greater financial certainty for organisations, enabling longer-term planning while supporting more stable and efficient service delivery.
As a result, £84,043.19 remains available for distribution in East Renfrewshire through a single-year grant programme for 2026/27. This funding will support local community groups and organisations delivering activities that promote positive mental health and wellbeing for adults across the area.
The Fairer Funding Pilot, launched in March 2025, committed £15 million in both 2025/26 and 2026/27 to help create a more sustainable, flexible, and predictable funding environment for Scotland’s third sector. To find out more about the Fairer Funding Pilot, please click here.
Here, in East Renfrewshire, this fund is being distributed via Voluntary Action East Renfrewshire SCIO (VAER), in partnership with our local Integrated Joint Board (IJB), Community Planning Partnership (CPP) and community organisations through our Wellbeing Network.
This fund’s ambition is to support initiatives promoting mental health and well-being at a small-scale, grassroots, community level. It should be accessible to all groups, no matter how small or inexperienced they are. It can support both new and existing groups or projects. Groups do not have to have mental health and wellbeing as their main focus, but the application does have to clearly demonstrate how your project will benefit the mental wellbeing of people (aged 16 or over) in their community.
We ask all applicants to read the Funding Criteria and Application Guidance carefully before applying. These documents provide important information about who can apply, what activities and costs can be funded, key funding deadlines, and how to submit an application.
Please note that applications must be submitted by 10:00am on the deadline date. Late applications cannot be accepted. To ensure fairness, each organisation may submit one application only per funding round.
We are aware that in previous years some unsuccessful projects have been demonstrating their frustration in a range of ways, including subjecting TSI staff members to inappropriate comments. Whilst it is understandable that projects not being funded will feel disappointment, especially in the light of wider financial constraints, abusive behaviour or language directed towards staff members will result in the immediate withdrawal of your application and may lead to disqualification from future funding opportunities.
Who can apply?
Check out the funding criteria, funding priorities and who should benefit from the fund
Fund Guidance and Resources
Download and read the full guidance and other related resources before applying.
Previous Funding Recipients
Find more information on all successful grant recipients from 2021 - 2025
Who can apply?
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 new and existing projects. Organisations that received funding through the first five years of the Fund are welcome to apply again. However, applicants must clearly demonstrate how learning from previous funding has informed the project and how the proposed activities will develop, improve, adapt, or expand its impact.
Please note that organisations that received funding through the 2025/26 funding round are not eligible to apply for additional funding until their current funding period has ended. Applications can only be submitted once the one-year funding period has been completed.
If you are unsure when your funding period ends, please get in touch at funding@va-er.org.uk.
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 6 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 part of the Scottish Government’s Fairer Funding approach, introduced in 2025/26, a significant proportion of this year’s allocation has already been committed to organisations that received two-year funding agreements through the previous funding round. This approach provides greater funding certainty, enabling organisations to plan for the longer term while improving stability and efficiency in service delivery.
As a result, £84,043.19 remains available for distribution through a single-year grant programme for 2026/27. The fund will support local community groups and organisations delivering activities that promote positive mental health and wellbeing for adults across East Renfrewshire.
Organisations can apply for:
- Small Grants of up to £2,000
- Project Grants of between £2,001 and £10,000
Please note that each organisation may submit one application only.
The Fairer Funding Pilot was launched in March 2025, with £15 million committed in both 2025/26 and 2026/27, helping to create a more sustainable and predictable funding environment for the third sector. To find out more about the Fairer Funding Pilot, please click here.
Up to £2,000 – Small Grant
This fund works on a rolling basis, the fund will close once all funds have been allocated.
£2,001 up to £10,000 – Project Grant
Deadline: 10am, 27 August 2026
Full details of the application process can be found on our Funding Criteria
Fund Guidance and Useful Resources
Please download and read the full Fund Criteria and Application Guidance documents, before applying for the fund.
Advice and Support
Please read the Funding Criteria and Application Guidance for this fund as it’s packed with information and provides answers to frequently asked questions.
If you still feel you need support or have any other questions about the application process, please contact us at funding@va-er.org.uk or call The Community Hub on 0141 876 9555 (10am – 3pm) and we will aim to get back to you within 2 working days.
