Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund
The Scottish Government launched the new Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund on Friday 15th October 2021. This new fund has been established with £15 million allocated to support adult mental health and wellbeing in communities across Scotland.
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.
The fund will be open on 15th of November 2021 and needs to be fully allocated by the end of March 2022.
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Click here to complete an online application form.
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The ambition of this fund is to support initiatives that promote mental health and wellbeing 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. These do not have to have mental health and wellbeing as their main focus, but the application does have to clearly benefit the mental wellbeing of people in their community.
Who can apply?
Check our funding criteria
Fund Guidance and Resources
Download and read the full guidance and other related resources before applying.
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
- Not-for-profit company or asset locked company or
- Community Interest Companies (CIC)
- Community councils
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. Please get in touch with us, to find out more at funding@va-er.org.uk or call 0141 876 9555.
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:
• Recovery from addiction.
• Social isolation and loneliness.
• Suicide prevention.
• Dementia community supports.
• Access to physical activity, diet and nutrition.
The fund also aims to support the groups most affected by the pandemic, and for this reason we are particularly interested in project supporting the following groups:
• Care experienced adults (16yrs+)
• Older people
• People previously required to shield during lockdowns
• Carers
• Women and girls
• Asylum seekers and refugees
• People with learning disabilities/ neurodiversity
• Ethnic Minority communities
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. There is a separate fund available for supports directed at children and young people. For more information click this link: https://www.gov.scot/news/children-and-young-peoples-mental-health/
We have an overall funding pot of £238,704.67 and our ambition is to ensure that a broad reach across community organisations is met. The distribution of grants are as follows:
• Unconstituted groups can apply for up to £2000
• Organisations/Groups can apply for up to £10,000
• Larger grants of up to £50,000 will be considered if applications meet the fund criteria and have a robust evidence of need
Fund Guidance and Useful Resources
Please download and read the full Fund Guidance document, before applying for the fund.
Advice and Support
If you require support or have any questions about the Fund or application process, please contact us at funding@va-er.org.uk or call The Community Hub on 0141 876 9555.
