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Keeping your charity’s information up to date in OSCR Online
Earlier this year, OSCR began publishing the names of charity trustees on the Scottish Charity Register, along with the accounts documents for all charities. It’s therefore vital that charities keep their details up to date in OSCR Online. Accurate information supports effective regulation and a reliable Scottish Charity Register. They have a variety of guidance and how-to guides on their website to help you understand what information you need to provide, and how to update your charity’s information using OSCR Online.

Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund
The Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults opens for applications on Tuesday 1st September.  The overarching aim of the Fund is to support grassroots, community-based initiatives that promote and develop good mental health and wellbeing and/or mitigate and protect against the impact of distress and mental ill health within the adult population (aged 16 or over). If your organisation is interested in applying, we highly recommend attending one of our online awareness sessions which take place on a Friday and offer guidance prior to applying. Find the session dates here

Chief Medical Officer for Scotland publishes annual report
The Chief Medical Officer for Scotland has published his annual report for 2025-26, Our Path Ahead, framing the road map for the country’s health and care system.

Professor Sir Gregor Smith argues that Scotland is facing both “long-standing” and “rapidly emerging” challenges and called for a move to “careful and kind care”.

British Heart Foundation-Defibrillator Programme
The British Heart Foundation are giving out a limited number of free defibrillators to community groups in the UK. To be eligible you must: Keep the defibrillator in the provided cabinet, unlocked and uncoded; Make sure the cabinet has a constant electricity supply; A clear need for the device; Authorisation from the property owner to install; Register the defibrillator on The Circuit and be committed to promoting BHF’s RevivR Training. Read more here 

2026 SURF Awards now open for applications
The SURF Awards are widely recognised as the most prestigious in the field of Scottish community regeneration. This year the 5 categories are: 
– Community Led Regeneration 
– Removing Barriers to Employability
– Improving Scotland’s Places
– Housing and Regeneration
– Creative Regeneration
The SURF Awards are delivered each year by SURF, a regeneration forum with over 300 cross-sector member organisations across Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Government. The purpose is to highlight, celebrate and share the achievements of initiatives that address physical, social and economic challenges in communities across Scotland. So, if you know of or work with a great project or you think the area that you live/work in is worthy of an Award then get applying! It is a straightforward application form! Feel free to share with those you think might be interested. Alternatively, you can nominate a project by completing an application form on their behalf as a nominating party. Read more here

Grief and Loss Training for Your Team
Did you know that Cruse Scotland regularly delivers a wide range of bereavement and loss training directly to workplaces across Scotland? Every day, their experienced training facilitators are out and about, upskilling teams from Alness to Annan and from Fort William to Fife. But it’s not just their geography that’s wide-ranging — so are their range of training topics on offer.  

– Introductory-level training to help employees feel more confident having conversations about death, dying, and bereavement 
– Specialist training focused on supporting children and young people with grief 
– Sessions exploring topics such as Neurodiversity and Grief, Cultural Differences in Death and Dying, and Grief in Older Age 
– Advanced training for those already working within the therapeutic field, offering in-depth learning to enhance existing practice. 

Find out more here