Who can apply?
This funding is for organisations in Scotland that are based in the local area they serve and are run by local people.
Your organisation should have a governing body, such as a committee or board which includes at least three unrelated people and a written governing document, such as a constitution. This governing document should make it clear that your organisation has:
- a social purpose – your organisation must have a clearly stated purpose which benefits the local area in some way
- open membership – everyone living in the area should be able to get involved in your organisation and the work that it does
- community control – the majority of people serving on your governing body are from the local area and make the decisions.
If your organisation doesn’t meet the above criteria but you feel it is representative of the people in your area we are still interested in hearing from you.
Existing National Lottery Community Fund grantholders can apply but you can usually only have one Community Led grant at a time.
What can you apply for?
We want to support community-led organisations to deliver longer term work as well as shorter term activity such as supporting communities deal with the impact of COVID-19. You can apply for funding for up to three years to improve or continue existing services, or to develop new activity.
We welcome some level of match funding but we can fund up to 100% of the costs of your activity including staff, equipment, premises costs and overheads. We refer to these types of costs as 'revenue costs' and would expect these to be the main focus of your application. However, you can also include up to £50,000 of minor capital costs as part of your overall activity for items such as building refurbishment, adaptations or landscaping.
The National Lottery Community Fund is a Living Wage Friendly Funder. This means that we encourage our applicants to pay their staff the UK Living Wage.
Visit the Living Wage Foundation to find out more about the Living Wage.
