Funding Opportunities

Youth Activities Small Grants Fund —Aberdeen

This fund offers young people opportunities to contribute to the life of the city and to their communities. Successful applicants are likely to benefit in terms of gaining; experience, confidence and skills. Applications will be considered by a small funding group made up of some members of the YAC (Youth Action Committee) and local councillors who will make recommendations to a council committee for ratification. The criteria have deliberately been left very open so that your application will be bound only by your own imagination.

Aberdeen City Council—Equal Opportunities Grant

Community Groups or other non-profit making organisations involved in initiatives that promote equal opportunities in Aberdeen may apply for an Equal Opportunities Grant.Small grants (usually between £200-£500) are available for many kinds of projects that benefit the communities of interest – women, minority ethnic communities, Travellers, people with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens of Aberdeen.

The Council is particularly keen that the grant budget, carried over from the Women’s Festival, is focused on events/projects for women, who would have benefited previously from the International Women’s Festival held around International Women’s Day on the 8th March.

For more information/application forms please contact Shimei Fan on (01224) 522506 or e-mail her at shimeifan@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Government Encourages Financially Excluded Consumers to Seek Help and Support

The Government has a strategy to promote financial inclusion, but many of the most excluded people may be unaware of the help available to them. The Government strategy is committed to making it easier for people facing financial exclusion. For further information, please contact the campaign team by e-mailing them at newcastle.nowletstalkmoney@dwp.gsi.gov.uk or visit the website, which offers practical information and advice on how intermediaries can help, with links to useful partner organisations at www.direct.gov.uk/nowletstalkmoney

Community Regeneration Fund (CRF)

CRF in Aberdeen

The CRF was established by Communities Scotland in 2005 and its principle purpose is to achieve regeneration of the most disadvantaged communities and improve quality of life. The CRF ends in 2008, and the latest Newsletter details some of the successful work that has taken place over the last year.

The Fairer Scotland Fund

The CRF and Community Voices are being replaced with a new fund to tackle poverty and disadvantage in Scotland, called the Fairer Scotland Fund. The Fund will be deployed by the Community Planning Partnership, The Aberdeen City Alliance (TACA). The key principles for the fund will be:

A clear focus on investment to address the causes of poverty, not its symptoms;

A strong emphasis placed on making early interventions for vulnerable individuals, families and disadvantaged communities;
Promotion of joint working between local partners;
Focused action on improving employability as a key means of tackling poverty;
Empowering communities and individuals to influence and inform the decisions made by TACA.

Although this is a new fund TACA will be able, if they wish, to continue any of the effective work carried out under the CRF. All funded initiatives will be evaluated against the outcomes to be achieved with the Fairer Scotland Fund.

If you would like any more information please contact Susan Thoms, CRF Co-ordinator Tel: (01224) 523833 or e-mail sthoms@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Community Voices Fund

The Community Voices Fund (CVF) is a separate fund from the CRF and focuses on community engagement within the 15% most deprived communities in Scotland. The funding is used to ensure that community representatives and residents have the means of support to undertake a variety of activities, which include:

visiting conference, workshops and seminars
promoting and raising awareness i.e. through newsletters, web sites and publicity materials
Developing support – providing venues for communities to meet and consult and providing relevant means of communication
Training and Personal Group development
Meeting management costs and expenses i.e. transport, childcare etc.

Please contact your local project within the regeneration neighbourhoods to access more information on the Communities Voices Fund or Click here for more information.

Voluntary Sector Grants

In financial year 2005/06 Learning Connections offered voluntary sector grants to each CLD Partnership to support projects that would enhance the voluntary sector's involvement in community learning and development (CLD) partnerships.

The key objectives against which CLD Partnerships could make an application for the voluntary sector grants were:

To help raise awareness and understanding of CLD within the voluntary sector.
To increase involvement and representation of the voluntary sector within CLD partnerships.
To encourage productive communication and relationships within CLD partnerships.

Details of how partnerships used their grants to meet these objectives can be found in this Evaluation Report.