Programmes

Update – change to grant programmes

Our current strategy and grant programmes were put in place five years ago, before either the covid pandemic or the cost-of-living crisis.

As the needs of charities and their communities have changed so much, we are currently working hard behind the scenes to refresh our strategy, which will see a set of new grant programmes launched in 2024 that are tailored specifically to meet the unprecedented challenges charities face due to the current economic landscape.

As a result, we have temporarily paused our grant programmes while we work through the detail of our new programmes, but opportunities to apply for new grant funding will be available towards the end of 2023.

We understand that funding is critical to the long-term sustainability of charities across Scotland, and we want to do our part to support you in the best way possible. We will be releasing further details on our new grant programme as soon as possible, so please keep an eye out for updates on our website and social media platforms.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during these challenging times. We look forward to continuing to support you and your communities in the years to come.

Before applying, check out our Hints & Tips PDF guide to help you complete your application.

Our PDF covers off what documents you need to send in and what information could help with your application.

Grants programmes Hints & tips eligibility

Reach

Charities with an income of £1m or less can now apply for funding between £1,000 - £25,000 over one year.

 

 

Invest

Charities must have an annual income of between £50k and £1m and have at least 3 years of Annual Returns lodged and checked by OSCR. Eligible charities can apply for funding of between £10,000 - £50,000 per year over 2-5 years.

 

Change

Change will have a large-scale, long-term, positive impact on charities and communities. Charities with an income of between £500k and £5M can apply for capital costs or project costs of £50,000-£100,000 per annum over 1-2 years to ensure they can provide continued, reliable support for people across Scotland.

Mentoring

Our flagship Enhance Charity Mentoring Programme offers all Foundation funded charities the opportunity to be matched with a Scotland based colleague mentor from our sole funder, Lloyds Banking Group, and receive individual, tailored business support.

To be eligible to apply for a grant

 You MUST  You cannot apply if
Be a charity registered in Scotland, operational for more than one year You are a newly registered charity operational for less than one year with no accounts lodged at OSCR

Have all your regulatory returns up to date at OSCR and Companies House

You do not have all your regulatory returns up to date at OSCR and Companies House

Supply the latest Annual Accounts with your application that have been CHECKED by OSCR and Companies House (if a Limited company) and SIGNED by both an independent examiner and a member of the Board. The balance sheet must also be signed. Signatures that are blacked out will not be accepted.

You are a charity whose SOLE purpose is

  • Political organisation

  • Animal welfare

  • The advancement of religion

  • Medical research

  • To make grants, donations, loans, gifts or pensions to individuals. This includes distributing vouchers

Submit an application that falls within the criteria for the relevant funding programme and demonstrate you are addressing social exclusion or social disadvantage

You are a charity that redistributes funding for subsequent grant-making to other organisations and /or individuals.

Your charities record on OSCR must state ‘It carries out activities itself’.

You are applying for donations to

  • individuals

  • advertising

  • sponsorship

  • foreign trips

  • overseas projects

You must only submit one application for a programme.

If you are currently in receipt of a grant from any of our programmes or have not yet returned your Evaluation form for your most recent grant. If you would like to apply again please ensure we have received a satisfactory evaluation prior to the closing date of the new programme.

You must include an A4 (PDF format) page that describes how you plan to spend any funding award and explains how your community will benefit from it.

You cannot apply for multiple grants at the same time, you must choose one programme and await the outcome of that application before applying again.

Programme Opens to applications Closes to applications Charities notified
Reach End of August

Programmes

Charities with an income of £1m or less can now apply for funding between £1,000 - £25,000 over one year.

Charities with an income of between £500k and £5M can apply for capital costs or project costs of £50,000-£100,000 per annum over 1-2 years.

Charities with an income of between £50k and £1m can apply for £10,000 - £50,000 per year over 2-5 years.

Lloyds Bank Colleagues in Scotland can claim UP TO £1,000. Up to £500 is available for fundraising events as well as up to £500 for voluntary time given.

Our Charity Mentoring Programme offers all Foundation funded charities the opportunity to be matched with a Scotland based colleague mentor.