More first-time organisations funded through support for diverse communities

More than half of the 73 grassroots organisations funded through the latest round of the programme are either receiving National Lottery funding for the first time or have not received funding in the past 3 years. In total, 42 organisations are new to the programme.

Together, the organisations will share more than £863,000 through the fund, which is delivered in partnership with the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations Scotland (CEMVO).

Daniel McCallum, Funding Manager at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We're delighted to support so many new ethnic minority-led organisations through the Ethnic Minority Development Fund. It's encouraging to see so many new groups accessing funding, while also enabling previously funded organisations to continue their fantastic work.

"We were keen to support organisations that are rooted in their communities and understand the strengths, challenges and opportunities that matter locally. Together, they are bringing people together, building strong relationships and improving the places and spaces that matter, helping more people from ethnic minority backgrounds thrive in communities across Scotland."

The Ethnic Minority Development Fund supports ethnic minority-led organisations to build confidence, skills and experience, helping them overcome barriers, strengthen local leadership and create opportunities for people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Since 2023, the fund has awarded more than £1 million to 107 organisations across Scotland, supporting communities to take forward their own ideas and ambitions while building a stronger foundation for future funding opportunities.

CEMVO's 23 years of experience supporting ethnic minority-led groups ensures the fund is grounded in lived experience and is accessible.

Padam Singh, Funding Capacity Consultant at CEMVO, said: “The Ethnic Minority Development Fund (EMDF) is proving to be a valuable starting point for new and developing ethnic minority-led organisations across Scotland. We hope that the fund will help many groups build their confidence, capacity and experience, and provide a stepping stone towards securing larger and more substantial funding in the future.”

By investing in organisations that are rooted in and led by their communities, the fund is helping more people take forward their ideas, respond to local priorities and create lasting opportunities for the future.

Read more about the Ethnic Minority Development Fund on the CEMVO's website

October 2026 update

This list includes organisations receiving funding from the Ethnic Minority Development Fund in October 2026.

Aberdeen City

Afristyle Dance Club SCIO

Afristyle Dance Club SCIO will use their £8,284 grant to deliver weekly African dance classes and after-school activities for children, young people and families in the Braehead and Kingswells areas of Aberdeen.

Black and Scot

Black and Scot will use their £9,350 grant to deliver a one-year programme of structured technology and cybersecurity awareness sessions for up to 40 young people aged 12 to 24 years from Black and ethnic minority communities in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.

Elegant Initiatives SCIO

Elegant Initiatives SCIO will use their £6,850 grant to deliver a 10-month community skills and wellbeing programme for ethnic minority children and young people aged 7 to 17 years in Aberdeen.

MindLink Multicultural Counselling & Psychological Services

MindLink Multicultural Counselling & Psychological Services will use their £14,560 grant to deliver low-barrier, culturally responsive mental health support, including subsidised and free one-to-one counselling and group psychoeducation workshops for people from ethnic minority and migrant communities.

Ndi Anambra Aberdeen

Ndi Anambra Aberdeen will use their £4,800 grant to deliver a free Community Christmas Cultural Dinner for ethnic minority individuals and families living in Aberdeen who are far from home during the festive period.

Pillar of Hope

Pillar of Hope will use their £9,430 grant to deliver a one-year community health and wellbeing initiative supporting vulnerable male adults from BAME communities in Aberdeen.

Sereniti

Sereniti will use their £14,682 grant to deliver a weekly after-school transition support programme for young people with additional support needs who are starting or are in Year 11. The one-year project will benefit 25 young people from a range of ethnic minority backgrounds in Aberdeen.

City of Edinburgh

Alfonj Scouts

Alfonj Scouts will use their £11,902 grant to deliver scout meetings, outdoor camps and skills workshops for children and young people from the Sudanese and wider ethnic minority community in Edinburgh.

Bihari Community of Scotland

Bihari Community of Scotland will use their £10,000 grant to support the development of connections among people from the Indian state of Bihar who have settled in Scotland.

Black Scottish Adventurers CIC

Black Scottish Adventurers CIC will use their £15,000 grant to take 200 ethnic minority Scots on 8 adventure hikes covering Loch Lomond, the Cairngorms, Perthshire and the Highlands.

Edinburgh Polish Community Group

Edinburgh Polish Community Group will use their £6,970 grant to celebrate World Teachers' Day and Polish National Education Day through a conference and running event in Edinburgh, bringing together members of the Polish and wider ethnic minority communities in Scotland.

ESEA Creatives CIC

ESEA Creatives CIC will use their £5,000 grant to deliver creative arts workshops over one year for the East and South East Asian community in Edinburgh.

Exhale DOT Group CIC

Exhale DOT Group CIC will use their £14,970 grant to train 10 QTIBPOC+ people in event planning and facilitation and support them to deliver their first events in Edinburgh for the QTIBPOC+ community.

First Step Robotics CIC

First Step Robotics CIC will use their £10,000 grant to deliver free weekly STEM and AI learning sessions over one year for children and young people in North Edinburgh.

Kairali UK

Kairali UK will use their £7,620 grant to deliver a one-year community programme for Malayali adults, families, children and young people living in Edinburgh.

Kulturalnik Polish Books & Culture Centre CIC

Kulturalnik Polish Books & Culture Centre CIC will use their £6,600 grant to establish and develop a permanent cultural community hub in Edinburgh, the Polish Books & Culture Centre, alongside a year-round programme of inclusive cultural and literacy activities.

KWISA Women of African Heritage

KWISA Women of African Heritage will use their £15,000 grant over one year to research and scope the support needs of new African migrants to Scotland, primarily benefiting African women in Edinburgh.

Latin American Community Association of Edinburgh

Latin American Community Association of Edinburgh will use their £10,000 grant to strengthen and expand their work by creating administrative capacity to coordinate activity, improve communication and support wider participation among Latin American people and families across Edinburgh.

POLSKI MOST

POLSKI MOST will use their £10,340 grant to run a one-year outreach project supporting Polish-led groups in rural and underserved areas of Scotland, enabling them to connect with others and build their capacity.

Dundee City

Nzuko Ndi Igbo Dundee CIC

Nzuko Ndi Igbo Dundee CIC will use their £5,600 grant to run two monthly sessions and a day trip for people aged 16 years and over, reducing social isolation and providing access to opportunities for the Igbo community in Dundee.

East Dunbartonshire

Apna Ghar Womens Project

Apna Ghar Womens Project will use their £12,340 grant to bring together around 100 older, first-generation migrant Pakistani women with second- and third-generation Pakistani women and girls from Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire to explore lived and inherited culture, identity and belonging through a 12-week programme.

Indo Scot Hindi Connect (SCIO)

Indo Scot Hindi Connect (SCIO) will use their £14,708 grant to offer a year of free weekly Hindi language classes in Bishopbriggs for adults and school-age children, primarily from South Asian backgrounds.

Fife

Fife Community Sports

Fife Community Sports will use their £15,000 grant to offer subsidised, accessible sport and recreation sessions in Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and nearby areas, primarily benefiting Black and minority ethnic individuals and families who face barriers to participation.

Glasgow City

African Social Workers Scotland

African Social Workers Scotland will use their £13,000 grant to deliver culturally informed workshops for ethnic minority families on engaging with social services systems in Scotland, addressing fear and improving parents' confidence with statutory services.

Afroscots United Fc

Afroscots United Fc will use their £15,000 grant to deliver weekly community football sessions, group activities and community events for people from ethnic minority backgrounds in Glasgow and surrounding areas.

Bowling Green Together CIC

Bowling Green Together CIC will use their £13,000 grant to bring people from South East Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds together through food, activity groups and shared experiences to address social isolation, poverty and health inequalities over one year.

BUTA - Balgrayhill Ukrainian Tenants Alliance

BUTA - Balgrayhill Ukrainian Tenants Alliance will use a £14,200 grant to deliver a one-year programme of English classes, children's art workshops and community events for Ukrainian families and the wider community in Springburn.

Central Mel Milaap Centre

Central Mel Milaap Centre will use their £14,860 grant over one year to support the delivery and development of a social meeting centre for elderly Sikh people.

Common Thread Vision (SCIO)

Common Thread Vision (SCIO) will use their £14,538 grant to run a weekly activity and lunch club for ethnic minority people aged 58 years and over, mostly women from Pakistani and Indian backgrounds, in the south side of Glasgow.

Darfur Foundation

Darfur Foundation will use their £14,328 grant to deliver activities for the Sudanese and asylum-seeker communities in Glasgow.

Drumchapel Friendship House

Drumchapel Friendship House will use their £14,650 grant to support migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Drumchapel. More than 30 families each week will be able to access food, clothing, baby and household items, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, outings and peer support.

Emmanuel Christian Ministries

Emmanuel Christian Ministries will use their £9,896 grant to deliver weekly sewing classes for women from ethnic minority, asylum-seeker and refugee backgrounds in Glasgow.

EmpowerHer SCIO

EmpowerHer SCIO will use their £9,500 grant to deliver regular community wellbeing and support activities that bring African women together, reduce isolation and improve mental health.

Fountain Trust

Fountain Trust will use their £13,000 grant to continue their Men's Shed community sessions and begin similar sessions for women, providing a culturally sensitive space and wellbeing activities for older women at risk of social isolation.

Glasgow Chinese Recreation Centre

Glasgow Chinese Recreation Centre will use their £14,966 grant to deliver a one-year programme of activity sessions and social events for older people in Glasgow's Chinese community.

Global Unity (SCIO)

Global Unity (SCIO) will use their £5,263 grant to host 4 community events celebrating cultural diversity among minority ethnic communities in the south of Glasgow over 12 months.

Goodwill International (SCIO)

Goodwill International (SCIO) will use their £2,000 grant to deliver 2 information events for disabled South Asian students in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Happiness comes First

Happiness comes First will use their £14,767 grant to deliver free wellbeing activities for ethnic minority and migrant families, women and young people in Glasgow Southside. The one-year project will engage at least 400 people through culturally appropriate, neurodivergent-inclusive activities that foster social connection and peer support.

Hillview Islamic & Education Centre (Shettleston)

Hillview Islamic & Education Centre (Shettleston) will use their £11,850 grant to deliver development and wellbeing sessions and purchase environmentally friendly supplies for community celebrations, meals and social events. The project will benefit participants of more than 15 nationalities in Shettleston, East Glasgow.

Integravia Foundation

Integravia Foundation will use their £14,782 grant to deliver a 6-month, trauma-informed therapeutic and empowerment programme for displaced Ukrainian women living in Glasgow.

Josephine Oboh-Macleod CHARITY (SCIO)

Josephine Oboh-Macleod CHARITY (SCIO) will use their £14,960 grant to create safe spaces in Glasgow and Milngavie for up to 80 people from African, Asian and other minoritised ethnic backgrounds to share migration stories and express their experiences through art, music and dance.

Maryam Empowering Futures

Maryam Empowering Futures will use their £13,830 grant to continue a one-year community education programme for ethnic minority women, children and young people across Scotland.

Mina Muala Non (SCIO)

Mina Muala Non (SCIO) will use their £14,935 grant to deliver culturally responsive menstrual health and dignity workshops over one year for adversely racialised communities across Glasgow.

Najwa New Scots Carers Centre (SCIO)

Najwa New Scots Carers Centre (SCIO) will use their £15,000 grant to continue a wellbeing hub in Maryhill for ethnic minority women, including those affected by isolation, disability, long-term health conditions or cancer.

North East Glasgow Framework for Dialogue

North East Glasgow Framework for Dialogue will use their £10,250 grant for a 12-month project featuring summer and Christmas gatherings alongside monthly educational sessions.

Nzuko Ndi Imo Glasgow

Nzuko Ndi Imo Glasgow will use their £6,220 grant to deliver 2 community cultural events over one year for around 90 people from the Imo community, the wider African diaspora and the wider Glasgow community.

PATH (Scotland)

PATH (Scotland) will use their £11,997 grant to provide a weekly support and relationship-building group over one year for 24 racially minoritised, migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women, mainly living in the Glasgow area.

Paws4Humanity (SCIO)

Paws4Humanity (SCIO) will use their £14,970 grant to deliver 26 social and environmental trips over one year for 50 to 60 South Asian adults aged 30 to 65 years in Pollokshields.

Polish History & Heritage Club

Polish History & Heritage Club will use their £8,069 grant to deliver 12 monthly community meetings, creating a welcoming social space to build connections and learn about Polish history and heritage in Scotland.

Punjabi Sahit Sabha Glasgow

Punjabi Sahit Sabha Glasgow will use their £13,300 grant to deliver 4 Punjabi cultural events and 4 creative workshops over one year, including activities focused on Punjabi literature, creative writing, open-mic performance and improvisation.

Representing Our Origins Together in Scotland

Representing Our Origins Together in Scotland will use its £9,390 grant to deliver 4 specialist training sessions, 2 online follow-up sessions and 2 networking events for African and Caribbean charity leaders. The one-year programme will support around 15 to 20 people per session.

Scottish Inter-Cultural Association (SIA)

Scottish Inter-Cultural Association (SIA) will use their £14,995 grant to provide a one-year programme of community hub activities for people from a range of ethnic minority communities in central Glasgow.

Seham & Najma

Seham & Najma will use their £12,600 grant to deliver a 12-week programme of creative arts, sports and peer-support activities for asylum seekers and refugees living in Glasgow.

Sharpen Her: the African Women's Network

Sharpen Her: the African Women's Network will use their £14,999 grant to deliver weekly, culturally and trauma-informed sessions over one year for more than 260 migrant African women in Glasgow and Rutherglen, building resilience, integration, skills and self-empowerment.

Stronger Together Enterprise

Stronger Together Enterprise will use their £13,848 grant to empower minority ethnic young people aged 8 to 18 to create positive change in their local communities over 12 months.

The Feel Good Women's Group

The Feel Good Women's Group will use their £14,948 grant to deliver free, culturally accessible environmental workshops for ethnic minority women in Govanhill, Glasgow Southside.

The Friend's Community House

The Friend's Community House will use their £15,000 grant to deliver a 10-month programme of wellbeing workshops, peer-support sessions and cultural events for ethnic minority communities in Glasgow City and Glasgow Southside.

The General Wladyslaw Sikorski Memorial House Polish Social & Educational Society in Glasgow

The General Wladyslaw Sikorski Memorial House Polish Social & Educational Society in Glasgow will use their £14,884 grant to deliver Polish dance performances to Polish groups around the country over 12 months, promoting and protecting Polish heritage.

Turkish Intercultural Society in Scotland

Turkish Intercultural Society in Scotland will use their £15,000 grant to support Turkish-speaking women across Glasgow to overcome cultural, linguistic and structural barriers to employment.

Highland

Highland Multicultural Friends

Highland Multicultural Friends will use their £11,200 grant to provide women and children with a safe place to meet, socialise and develop art and craft skills, benefiting ethnic minority women and children in Inverness.

Midlothian

Edinburgh Tamil Sangam

Edinburgh Tamil Sangam will use their £8,000 grant over 3 months to deliver a one-day Deepavali festival in Edinburgh, with a diverse programme of cultural and community events benefiting the Tamil community and wider local population.

North Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire Polish Community Group

Lanarkshire Polish Community Group will use their £11,200 grant to deliver 20 free community meetings and establish and maintain an online community forum, improving access to information, communication and connections within the North and South Lanarkshire Polish community.

Perth and Kinross

Sri Lankan Community in Perth and Kinross

Sri Lankan Community in Perth and Kinross will use their £11,200 grant to run a one-day Sri Lankan Sinhala and Hindu New Year Festival in Perth in 2027, bringing together the Sri Lankan community and other communities for a celebration of culture and tradition.

Renfrewshire

Bring Unity to Communities (BUC)

Bring Unity to Communities will use their £15,000 grant to deliver a one-year, youth-led programme offering minority ethnic families and young people opportunities for connection, socialising and mental health peer support.

Ethnic Construction Skills Development CIC

Ethnic Construction Skills Development CIC will use their £14,950 grant to deliver a 12-month training programme for ethnic minority people in introductory carpentry, plumbing, painting and decorating, alongside essential health and safety knowledge.

My Baby and I

My Baby and I will use their £12,742 grant to provide one year of early-intervention and community-based support for 50 ethnic minority women aged 20 to 40 years across Renfrewshire and Glasgow.

South Lanarkshire

African and Caribbean Community in South Lanarkshire

African and Caribbean Community in South Lanarkshire will use their £10,105 grant to deliver free monthly workshops focused on nutrition and physical activity, alongside social gatherings, for people from African and Caribbean ethnic minority backgrounds.

Ember and Oak Women's Club

Ember and Oak Women's Club will use their £13,400 grant to deliver financial literacy, resilience and community food-growing workshops for women from Black African and Caribbean communities.

Lanarkshire Chinese Association

Lanarkshire Chinese Association will use their £7,849 grant to deliver free monthly workshops and community events for people from Chinese backgrounds in Lanarkshire.

Soul of the Junction SCIO

Soul of the Junction SCIO will use their £14,000 grant to deliver a free, year-long programme of activities and events for people from ethnic minority backgrounds living in rural and semi-rural parts of South Lanarkshire.

West Dunbartonshire

African Women Support Network

African Women Support Network will use their £15,000 grant to deliver a culturally sensitive monthly gathering, conference and Christmas event over 12 months for African women living in Glasgow and Clydebank who are experiencing isolation, culture shock and underemployment.

West Lothian

West Lothian Milan Group

West Lothian Milan Group will use their £14,952 grant to run a social group for older ethnic minority women aged 50 years and over in West Lothian.