£1.5m fund to support new ideas in rural communities

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.

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.

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.