Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults

Applications for the fund have now CLOSED from 9/1/24.

Highland Third Sector Interface is pleased to be distributing the Highland Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for a third round on behalf of the Scottish Government.

This fund is to support community based initiatives that promote and develop good mental health and wellbeing and/or mitigate and protect against the impact of distress and mental ill health within the adult population.

Fund Information

The fund aims to support community-led initiatives that promote and develop good mental health and wellbeing and/or mitigate and protect against the impact of distress and mental ill health for people in Highland who are 16 or over. These should be new projects, or significant development/expansion of existing projects.

In the meantime, please begin the process by gathering evidence of community engagement/involvement, which:

a) supports the need(s) you aim to address,

b) supports the solution(s) you propose to offer, and

c) demonstrates how lived experience will shape the delivery of the proposed project.

More information is available in the documents below.

How much can I apply for?
The guidance from the Government is that most of the grants will be for less than £10k. This should give you an indication of the scale and scope of the projects that are appropriate. Remember that this is for small-scale, grassroots community activity.

Can I apply for more than £10k?

The panel will have some discretion to award grants above £10K but this is likely in only a few cases. Applicants must contact us as early as possible to discuss your reasons for seeking a higher-than-average grant amount before submitting an application.

Application Form

Applications for the fund have now closed.

Application Deadlines

Applications will be open between 9am, Friday 29 September 2023 and midday, Tuesday 9 January 2024.

Applications received by midday, Friday 27 October will be assessed in November
Applications received by midday, Wednesday 29 November will be assessed in December
Applications received by midday, Tuesday 9 January will be assessed late January

Projects must start before the end of April in the financial year 2024/25.

Any constituted Third Sector Organisation who has access to their own bank account and can demonstrate their ability to competently deliver what they set out in their own application.

The Government are anticipating that most applications will come from smaller grass roots organisations, with encouragement to consider projects that put participation and co-design at the heart of an application.

Organisations that are eligible to apply are:

Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO)
Unincorporated Associations
Companies Limited by Guarantee
Trusts
Not-for-profit company or asset locked company or Community Interest
Companies (CIC)
Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies
Community councils

Parent councils are eligible to apply, but the activities must specifically focus on supporting adults rather than their children.

If you are an un-constituted group who would like to apply, please contact us to discuss how we might be able to support your group. We can support you to become constituted or provide small value grants for capacity building purposes.

Can a Larger Third Sector Organisation Apply?

Yes. Large organisations undertaking local initiatives are not excluded but are also not the main focus of the fund.

This means we would not expect to see Highland-wide service delivery applications except where they apply to a specific and distinct thematic community (e.g. women from a BAME community).

The fund doesn’t stipulate the size of organisations that can apply but rather the size and focus of the work that will be commissioned.

A larger organisation may be the most appropriate to deliver the work but what won’t be considered are applications working across large geographic areas or populations in one proposal.

The range of activities you could undertake to meet your locally identified needs is quite broad but is only aimed at reaching adults over 16 within the Highland area (starting by end of April 2024). The fund is aiming to invest in new initiatives, but we can fund existing projects if you are improving or developing the original project and are clear how you plan to reach more people (especially seldom heard, at-risk groups).

The key thing is to make sure the proposed activity is driven by evidence of need, to promote mental health and wellbeing and/or protect against the impact of distress and mental ill health within your community.

We will fund: