Climate Funding Available

NAME

CLOSING DATE

DETAILS

CARES LET’S DO NET ZERO COMMUNITY BUILDINGS FUND

31 August 2024

Community Buildings Fund, will close on 31 August 2024 or when funding is fully allocated, whichever is sooner

The Community Heat Development Programme will close to new applications on 31 August 2024, subject to the availability of funding.

Funding is now available from the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). The fund aims to support community organisations to reduce their building energy costs and carbon emissions. It is available for many types of community building, including: community cafes, community hubs, faith buildings, public halls, community halls and centres.  Up to 80% of eligible costs up to a maximum of £80,000.

COMMUNITY ENERGY GENERATION GROWTH FUND

Opens: 28th May

Closes: 28th June 2024

This is a £1.5 million fund to support community groups across Scotland to set up renewable energy generation projects.

Funding will contribute to Scotland’s target of 2GW of renewable energy to be community or locally owned.

Help communities participate and benefit from our transition to renewable energy sources.

Support incorporated community groups to progress well-developed renewable energy generation projects or project ideas.

What can be funded?

• Developing and installing community owned renewable energy generation, including wind, solar PV and hydro.
• Projects that sell electricity through a connection to the national grid or supplying a local energy demand.
   Most of the available funding is capital funding. This can be used for costs that support bringing assets to site for installation and construction costs.

There is a small amount of funding available for feasibility studies and options appraisals.

Funding is available for projects that can reach a significant project milestone by 28 February 2025.

 This support will be open to established and incorporated community groups, for example Development Trusts, and Community Energy and Climate Action Groups.

 This funding is aimed at progressing projects through development and/or construction stages in 24/25. We want to work with communities whose projects will be able to achieve this aim and completed a significant project milestone by 28 February 2025.

 If your project doesn’t currently meet this aim but you think you may be interested in funding in the future, please sign up to the Local Energy Scotland newsletter where we will share case studies and learnings to help new community energy projects.

EAT IT UP GRANT FUND 2024

Expression of Interest deadline - 5pm,  14th June 2024

New funding to tackle food waste through innovation.  The Eat It Up Grant Fund 2024 aims to fuel innovations that reduce edible food waste, ensuring food serves its purpose – to be eaten. 

The Eat It Up Fund is aimed at innovators with creative solutions to tackle edible food waste. Hubbub is offering six transformative grants of up to £60,000 each to organisations with ground-breaking ideas to cut down on food waste. It is looking for applications that: 

• Address pre-farmgate waste 
• Prevent food from being wasted at manufacturing and processing stage 
• Minimise food waste from retailers 
• Find ways to reduce or prevent food waste in communities or at home. 

Expression of Interest deadline - 5pm 14th June 2024

Online Q&A webinar - Tuesday 4th June 11am to 11.45am. Sign up to attend here. 

Full Application Submission - 5pm 13th September 2024, for those invited post-expression of interest phase*

Grant Award Announcement - November 2024

HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS COMMUNITY CLIMATE ACTION FUND

The Climate Hub is delighted to offer small grants to community groups for community engagement or seed funding for a community climate action project. This grant is available to existing and emerging community groups. If you need any help or assistance with our funding application form, please get in touch with us.  

 Funding is awarded on a rolling monthly basis as we receive it. If demand for funding is heavy within a one-month period, we may roll your application into the next month but will keep you updated. Groups can apply for up to £500 for a single project or £1000 for a collaboration project: https://www.nhclimatehub.co.uk/highlands-and-islands-community-climate-action-fund 

NEW ⭐ discretionary funding available for larger innovative projects, think pilot projects, feasibility.

INSPIRING SCOTLAND  - NEIGHBOURHOOD ECOSYSTEM FUND

12pm Wednesday 3rd July 2024

The aim of the Neighbourhood Ecosystem Fund is to help communities develop their ideas for nature restoration into a pipeline of deliverable projects with a whole ecosystem approach.  Funding will be administered by Inspiring Scotland and supported by the Carman Family Foundation, the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund (managed by NatureScot) and other funders.

Community groups can apply for up to £13,500 which can contribute to nature development activities, specialist consultancy, new staff posts and core costs. They will also receive £1,500 in professional fundraising support in addition to their grant.

To apply for this funding, you must be a not-for-profit community-led organisation based in a specific geographic area in Scotland. Your project must focus on one (or more) parts of ecosystem restoration. These are:

• Connecting nature corridors
• Habitat and species restoration
• Freshwater and wetland restoration
• Coastal and marine initiatives
• Control of invasive non-native species impacting on nature
• Enhancing and connecting nature within villages, towns, or cities

NATIONAL LOTTERY COMMUNITY FUND - CLIMATE ACTION FUND - NEW FUNDING STREAM

Opens 27 March 2024

We want to involve more people in climate action. And we want to inspire bold and exciting change.

From Wednesday 27 March 2024 you can apply for funding from the Climate Action Fund to help do this.
 We’ll fund projects that reach more people by either:

• linking climate action to the everyday lives and interests of local communities. And inspiring them to take action.
• influencing communities at a regional or national level. Like linking up groups across locations. Or a campaign that inspires change across one country, or the whole UK.
   You should be in a partnership with
• a mix of organisations and sectors
• smaller groups that represent the people you’re working with.

 You do not have to be a climate or environment-focused organisation to apply

 We want to reach people who are new to climate action by funding other types of organisations too. And by using people's everyday activities and interests as a starting point for climate action.  The minimum you can ask for is £500,000. We expect to fund most projects for between £1 million and £1.5 million over 3 to 5 years. We may fund some exceptional projects up to £3 million, and for up to 7 years. We aim to fund up to 25 projects.

For more information, you can attend one of our webinars:

• Thursday 16 May 2024 – register for webinar (English and Welsh)
• Tuesday 21 May 2024 - register for webinar (English)

SEA-CHANGERS 

Sea-Changers gives one-off grants (i.e. not continual funding) to UK-based charities and other organisations (including schools) carrying out marine conservation related activities.

Main grants - For grants between £500 and £2,500, Two grant rounds per year.  Deadlines for applications are 31st March and 30th September each year.

Small Grants - For grants of up to £500. Apply any time and get a quick decision.

SP ENERGY NETWORKS’ TRANSMISSION NET ZERO FUND

The SP Energy Networks’ Transmission Net Zero Fund, which aims to help communities develop their net zero plans, is approaching its funding support stage. Eligible organisations that have projects meeting the Net Zero Fund criteria will be able to apply for funding support. 

We have launched our Transmission Net Zero Fund to help vulnerable communities develop their net zero plans to ensure that no one is left behind on the Scotland’s journey to Net Zero.

Net Zero means we need to decarbonise buildings, electrify transport and rethink how we power and heat our homes. We want to enable our communities' decarbonisation plans and a just transition for all, so this fund will help them develop robust routes to achieving Net Zero. We're looking forward to supporting them to be well underway with delivery of their plans by 2030 (#FutureFor30) which will in-turn, support Scotland's ambitious Net Zero targets.

The fund will operate in three phases - initially delivering community workshops, secondly, supporting development of formal plans and finally, providing funding support.

VOLUNTEERING MATTERS ACTION EARTH: GRANTS TO HELP LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO RESPOND TO OUR NATURE AND CLIMATE CRISES

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Funded by NatureScot, these nature grants support volunteers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities in practical outdoor activities.  Any group of volunteers are able to apply for Volunteering Matters Action Earth nature grants of between £50 and £250 to run environmental activities in Scotland’s green spaces. Activities should emphasize local nature enrichment and biodiversity improvements. This could include creating or improving community gardens, shared spaces, wildflower meadows, ponds, woodlands and other wildlife habitats. We cannot support applications for activities which are primarily about food growing. 

For more information and to register for an Action Earth grant please visit the Volunteering Matters: website, or you can email robert.henderson@volunteeringmatters.org.uk