toggle menu
New £1.5m fund to support new ideas in rural communities launches - Inspiring Scotland

News

The latest stories from Inspiring Scotland and our partner charities.

New £1.5m fund to support new ideas in rural communities launches

Not-for-profit community groups in rural areas can now apply for funding of up to £50,000, to trial new and innovative ways to address local challenges and benefit from local opportunities.

The Rural Communities “Ideas into Action” Fund is supported by £1.5 million of Scottish Government funding and is delivered in partnership with Inspiring Scotland. It is designed to allow applicants to take forward ideas that will test change while linking community action with addressing local issues.

The fund forms part of the wider £3 million fund announced earlier this year in the Scottish Budget, to deliver pilot projects testing innovative ways of delivering Community Led Local Development (CLLD) before March 2022.

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said:

“I want to put rural and island communities in charge of making change happen in their local area. This Fund will help communities do just that, allowing them to be creative and test unproven but good ideas.

“We will be looking for projects that demonstrate how they will help make rural Scotland greener and fairer. Projects will also need to show how they will include people especially those who are harder to reach or who are remote from or less often involved in community activity.

“The aim is to learn about what does and doesn’t work in rural communities and why, and we will use this information to influence future policy.”

Inspiring Scotland CEO Celia Tennant said:

“We’re delighted to be partnering with the Scottish Government to deliver the Rural Communities Ideas into Action Fund which will support locally-driven social action in rural communities. This approach is central to Inspiring Scotland’s ethos, to encourage new ideas, to capture learning and to support, develop and connect communities. We look forward to supporting successful applicants to deliver the aims and ambitions of the fund.”

The fund opened for applications on Monday 13 September, and will close on Friday 8 October at 12 noon. Full details are available here.

 Background

There are two strands of funding available:-

  • Small Grants of up to £3,000 for grassroots rural groups or organisations to support community projects that fit with local needs and are locally led.  The process for applying for this funding has been simplified to make it easy for unincorporated groups to apply and both capital and expenditure costs are eligible.
  • Large Grants of between £3001 and £50,000 for not for profit organisations to invest in community led initiatives that respond to local need.  Again, capital and revenue costs are eligible and these can be delivered in partnership with other local organisations.

The first part of of the £3 million fund (Rural Communities Testing Change Fund) was ring-fenced for use by LEADER Local Action Groups to build on the legacy of LEADER funding whilst exploring new options for delivering Community Led Local Development through place-based partnerships.

Community Led local Development and the first tranche of the RCTC fund.

Support for survivors of childhood abuse
22.11.2024

Support for survivors of childhood abuse

“We are deeply grateful for this opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of survivors, guiding them towards a brighter and more hopeful future.”   A new phase of the Scottish Government’s Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support (SOCAS) fund has now started. 22 third sector organisations across Scotland will share the £3.3m over

Read More
Successful community groups selected to develop local nature restoration projects
25.09.2024

Successful community groups selected to develop local nature restoration projects

The first 14 projects supported by the Neighbourhood Ecosystem Fund will kick start their local nature restoration projects this month. Ecological surveys, wetland restoration, pond excavations, peatland restoration and biodiversity surveys are just some of the projects that will benefit from the £146,000 of funding. Additionally, each project will receive £1,500 to be spent on

Read More
First Minister marks mid-point of 10 ten-year youth employability fund
28.08.2024

First Minister marks mid-point of 10 ten-year youth employability fund

(Tuesday 26th August) the First Minister and Minister for Higher and Further Education Graeme Dey, joined Inspiring Scotland to launch the mid-point impact report of its 10-year youth employment fund. The fund, Our Future Now (OFN), delivered by charity Inspiring Scotland is focused on supporting the bedrock of circa 40,000 young people in Scotland that

Read More