FOCUS ON – FUNDING

Firstport: apply, grow and make an impact
Build It supports early-stage social enterprises on their journey to financial sustainability. It offers up to £40,000 in grant funding for salary costs, helping organisations create jobs that grow income, reduce reliance on grants, and strengthen long-term social impact. To successfully secure Build It, we seek evidence that the award will allow your enterprise to establish new, permanent roles while increasing income generation and measurable social impact during the funding period (12 months). The next Build It deadline is Thursday 24 September 2026. Access the fund

Charles Hayward Foundation-Social & Criminal Justice
The overall aims of the funding are to prevent people entering the criminal justice system and to support those already in the system to move on and rebuild their lives. Funding projects in the following categories: Targeted early intervention programmes aimed at reaching the most troubled and vulnerable families in a community; Preventative and diversionary projects for young people at risk of offending, particularly girls and young women; Programmes with a focus on young offenders, combining prison based and community interventions dealing with the rehabilitation of offenders. Access the fund

The Pear Tree Fund for Music
The fund supports work in the following fields: The promotion of classical music and/or the appreciation of classical music; Working with children and young people in relation to their appreciation of music; the promotion and/or research the benefits of music to health and mental wellbeing and the support of musicians based in Scotland. Access the fund

Small Eco Awards
The climate and nature emergency affects us all. But local action can make a real difference. TNL Community Fund want to fund projects that have environmental sustainability as their main aim. They’ll fund projects that meet at least one of their priorities: 
– help people connect with and care for nature in their area
– make a positive difference to the environment
– help people tackle pollution in their communities
You can use their funding to: 
– start a new activity or continue an existing one (if it meets our priorities)
– help your organisation or community (or both) adapt to new challenges
– run one-off events that have a clear environmental benefit
Access the fund

To Absent Friends
To Absent Friends is a people’s festival of storytelling and remembrance that takes place across Scotland 1-7 Nov each year. The festival was started by Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief. To Absent Friends offers an opportunity for communities to get together to remember people who have died, whether recently or long ago. This strengthens community connections and reduces the isolation that often comes with bereavement. The festival exists to encourage participation. Groups, communities, and organisations are welcome to plan events, and these become the To Absent Friends event programme. The small grants scheme offers grants of up to £275 to support organisations to participate in the festival. The deadline for applications is 2 September 2026. Access the fund 

The Learning Through Making Fund
Visual arts organisations whose work benefits the public or has a charitable purpose can apply for grants of up to £25,000. The funding is for hands-on visual arts education projects taking place in the UK between 1 January and 31 December 2027. Eligible applicants include charities, local authority galleries or museums, charitable organisations based within universities, CICs and Community Benefit Societies that meet the fund’s eligibility rules. Funding can support materials, transport, specialist expertise, access to facilities, research that tests new ideas through hands-on activity, workshops, events, learning activities, or new hands-on making activities added to existing programmes. Applications are submitted via a one-stage email form. The deadline is 12pm on 11 September 2026. Access the fund