What is the Community Fund?
Our Community Fund supports groups and organisations that encourage people to use woods more.
Am I eligible?
Eligible applicants need to support the above objectives. Applicants can include:
- community groups
- voluntary groups
- development trusts
- social enterprises
- charities
- local authorities
Please note, the Community Fund is not available to private individuals.
Funding can support activities on Scotland’s national forests and land.
The minimum requirement is that the applicant has a bank account, and for community-based groups, a basic constitution.
Visit the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) for more information on constitutions.
Eligible activities
These include activities associated with woodland-based:
- school care clubs and play schemes
- schemes that promote physical activity such as walking, safe routes to school, natural play and adventure play
- volunteer group establishment and the induction of volunteers
- volunteering facilitation focused on skills training, health improvement and community development
- projects promoting Gaelic
They also include activities such as:
- providing resources to involve communities in the decision making process of managing their local woodland
- costs incurred by community bodies (such as valuation costs) when developing Community Asset Transfer Scheme applications – funding will not normally cover legal fees
- developing materials (in appropriate languages e.g. English, Scots, Gaelic, Polish, Urdu etc.) that promote the health and well-being benefits of using woodlands
Funding is not suitable for:
- land-based and infrastructure spending that can be supported by the Scotland Rural Development Programme
- formal education, including forest schools and forest kindergarten – advice and support for these activities can be accessed via Outdoor and Woodland Learning Scotland
- continued professional development activities for staff
- funding staff who work for public sector organisations such as local authorities
- capital funding for the acquisition of fixed assets such as land and buildings, or mobile assets for public sector organisations
How do I apply?
There are 2 separate application processes:
- for applications up to £1000 via an application letter
- for applications above £1000 via an application form
The level of funding will be on a sliding scale as follows:
- up to 100% for projects with a total cost of up to £1,000
- up to 90% for projects with a total cost of between £1,001 and £5,000
- up to 75% for projects with a total cost exceeding £5,000
Contact
Contact your local office if you have any questions or you need an application form.