May Funding Roundup

Welcome to our May funding roundup where we hope to present some relevant opportunities. 

On the 30^th of April, the ESES Communities Team participated in a ‘Meet the Funders’ event in the Scottish Borders. You can learn more about the funders we met here.

The Essentia Foundation mid-sized grants - Application Deadline: 6^th of June 2025

The Foundation provides financial support to charities and community groups to help achieve the following objectives:

• Improved health and social welfare of children and young people up to the age of 25 years old.
• Increased opportunities for training, enhancing learning, upskilling, and developing career opportunities, and supporting young people up to the age of 25 years old to move towards employment.

Please note that grants are for a fixed sum of £50,000 only.

To learn more about the Essentia Foundation, please visit their website. 

Tyne Esk Rural Development Fund: Application closes at Midnight on the 7^th of June

Tyne & Esk Rural Communities Development Fund is part of the Scottish Government’s Community Led Local Development Rural Programme.  It involves the community where decisions are made 'bottom up' by local people who form the Local Action Group (LAG).

The overarching aim of the funding is to increase support to local rural communities, individuals and businesses advancing inclusion, equality and diversity. Tyne & Esk area funding covers all communities in East Lothian and Midlothian including Dalkeith Country Park except for the urban centres of Musselburgh and Dalkeith. CLLD offers:

• Small grants for projects of different sizes and types
• Support during the whole funding process, so you will never feel alone
• Community representatives who ensure funding is spent wisely across the rural communities in East Lothian and Midlothian.

Do you have an idea that you feel will make a difference to people or businesses? Do you feel your idea will support your neighbourhood to grow economically? To learn more, please visit their website.

Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities: Funding will open to applications from Thursday 12 June and will provide up to £26 million from April 2026 to end of March 2029. In this phase, CashBack for Communities partners will deliver early and effective prevention activities for children and young people aged 10-25. By strengthening ties with local communities, we will provide positive activities for young people facing the greatest challenges. This phase will focus on:

1. Providing safe spaces and suitable activities for young people to combat boredom, frustration, and isolation, which can contribute to antisocial behaviours.
2. Supporting young people to understand their own value and become positive influences and leaders within their communities.
3. Delivering holistic support for particularly vulnerable young people which includes their family or care environment. Where a young person may have the potential to come into conflict with the law, support will be extended for family and caregivers.
4. Offering support for young people who are already in conflict with the law to reflect on past behaviours and work towards a more positive future.

To learn more about CashBack for Communities, please visit their website.

Robertson Trust is pleased to share the reopening of its Small and Large Grants.

Their new-look Small Grants offer increased funding of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year, typically for 3 years. This marks an increase from their previous maximum of £15,000 per year.

Meanwhile, their Large Grants now offer funding between £20,000 and £50,000 per year, up from their previous minimum of £15,000.

They will initially focus on funding requests that address one or more of the following themes and their priorities.

• Financial Security: improving income adequacy, income security, manageable costs, financial safety nets and advice for those most at risk of poverty and trauma.
• Education Pathways: preventing and reducing poverty and trauma through access and engagement in early years, education, training and learning.
• Work Pathways: improving access to good and fair work that can prevent and reduce poverty through increased pay, hours and career progression. This also includes employability support, focused on areas or groups with lower employment rates.

To learn more, please visit their website.

Community Access to Rooms offers local community groups and organisations the opportunity to use University rooms free-of-charge during evenings and weekends. Find out more here. 

Micro-grant Scheme: Local organisations can apply for a smaller award of up to £500 through their micro-grant scheme. Find out more here.