Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults Y4

Highland Third Sector Interface are pleased to share details of funding available for third sector organisations in Highland to promote adult mental health and wellbeing.

This is aimed at grassroots community organisations to promote mental health and wellbeing and/or protect against the impact of distress and mental ill health within the adult population.

Our Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund for Adults is divided into two separate funds you may apply for, depending on your plans and eligibility.

Questions and Queries

For any queries relating to your funding application or the process, please contact Marion MacNeil on funding@highlandtsi.org.uk or 07826 821 545.

For any enquiries relating to technical difficulties with the meeting links or the application form, please email enquiry@highlandtsi.org.uk.

Small Grants

Applications for Small Grants are now closed.

Up to £10,000, opens 30 July 2024

1st closing date Monday, 2 September

2nd closing date Tuesday, 8 October

For grassroots activity which aims to address one or more of the following:

Reducing social isolation for people over the age of 26
Unpaid carers and those with a long-term condition
Prevention of crisis and suicide
Rurally distanced
Poverty
Trauma

Small Grants Timeline:

Phase One

Application opens Tuesday, 30 July 2024
1st application deadline Midday, 2 September 2024

Panel One w/c 23 September 2024
Decisions shared w/c 7 October 2024

Phase Two

Application opens 5pm, 2 September 2024
Final application deadline 5pm, Tuesday 8 October 2024

Panel Two w/c 4 November 2024
Decisions shared w/c 11 November 2024

Development and Collaboration Grants

Applications for D&C Grants are now closed.

Up to £50,000, opens Monday, 9 September 2024

1st Stage closes Monday, 28 October

2nd Stage takes place Monday, 20 January 2025 in the form of a presentation and discussion.

Support greater collaboration between one or more organisations in meeting the underpinning priorities or
Provide investment where a community has already consulted with and prepared an action plan against identified needs in their community, to progress activity with particular impact for the mental health and wellbeing of your community.

Development and Collaboration Grants Timeline:
Expression of interest (EOI)

EOI opens Monday, 9 September 2024
EOI deadline Midday, 28 October 2024
Invite to present proposals w/c 25 November 2024
Panel presentations w/c 20 January 2025
Decisions shared w/c 3 February 2025

Intensive Capacity Building Grants - Closed Grants

We have created a targeted fund to assist a small group of communities in enhancing their capacity. These communities will be chosen based on specific criteria, including previous underinvestment and particular demographic characteristics such as deprivation levels

Fund Information

The intended outcome of the whole Fund is to develop a culture of mental wellbeing and prevention within local communities and across Scotland, improving awareness of how we can all stay well and help ourselves and others.

The Fund seeks to contribute to the four key areas of focus from the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan:

Promoting and supporting the conditions for good mental health and wellbeing at population level.
Providing accessible signposting to help, advise and support.
Providing a rapid and easily accessible response to those in distress.
Ensuring safe, effective treatment and care of people living with mental illness.

The Fund also seeks to contribute to the following national outcomes from the National Performance Framework:

We are healthy and active
We will live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe
We tackle poverty by sharing opportunities, wealth and power more equally

The overarching aim of the Fund is to support 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, with a particular focus on:

Tackling priority issues within the Transition and Recovery Plan such as suicide prevention, social isolation and loneliness, prevention and early intervention.
Addressing the mental health inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic and the needs of a range of ‘at risk’ groups locally.
Supporting small ‘grass roots’ community groups and organisations to deliver such activities.
Providing opportunities for people to connect with each other, build trusted relationships and revitalise communities
Supporting recovery and creativity locally by building on what is already there, what was achieved through the pandemic, and by investing in creative solutions

How to Apply - Small Grants

Applications for Small Grants are now closed.

Please consult the relevant Guidance document, available below, before applying.

The Small Grants fund opens Tuesday, 30 July 2024. At each of the two closing dates, an initial assessment will be made against the essential criteria.

If your application is received by MIDDAY Monday, 2 September and meets the essential criteria, it will be assessed by the funding panel w/c 23 September.

If your application is received by 5pm, Tuesday 8 October and meets the essential criteria, it will be assessed by the funding panel w/c 4 November.

How to Apply - Development and Collaboration

Applications for Development and Collaboration Grants are now closed.

Please consult the relevant Guidance document, available below, before applying.

The Development and Collaboration Grant opens Monday, 9 September 2024.

If your Expression of Interest is received by MIDDAY Monday, 28 October and meets the essential criteria you will be invited to present your proposal in January. You can expect to hear from us w/c 25 November.

SG Application Form

D&C Expression of Interest

Important Dates

Small Grants Timeline:
Phase One

Application opens Tuesday 30 July 2024
1st application deadline Midday, 2 September 2024

Panel One w/c 23 September 2024
Decisions shared w/c 7 October 2024

Phase Two

Application opens 5pm, 2 September 2024
Final application deadline 5pm, Tuesday 8 October 2024

Panel Two w/c 4 November 2024
Decisions shared w/c 11 November 2024

An application for the Small Grant will include an application form, including a financial breakdown of project costs and your most recent verified accounts.

Development & Collaborative Grants Timeline:

EOI opens Monday, 9 September 2024
EOI deadline Midday, 28 October 2024
Invite to present proposals w/c 25 November 2024
Panel presentations w/c 20 January 2025
Decisions shared w/c 3 February 2025

An application for the Development & Collaboration Grants will include an expression of interest. If invited to proceed to second stage, you would be required to produce a flyer/leaflet promoting the proposed activity, a slide presentation outlining the proposal, and an interview with the funding panel.

How will funds be allocated?

In Highland we are working in partnership with the Community Planning Partnership to deliver this funding programme. As such a panel of individuals from both Public and Third Sector organisations, including those who have been selected because of their relevant life experiences, will work together to approve applications. In addition, funding will be allocated to initiatives which have a focus on:

Tackling priority issues within the Transition and Recovery Plan such as suicide prevention, social isolation and loneliness, prevention, and early intervention
Addressing the mental health inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic and the needs of one or more of the ‘at risk’ groups locally.

While the Fund can support the expansion of existing activities, it is intended to provide additionality, not replacement funding. Additionally, projects funded through previous years are eligible to apply again but must clearly show how they will develop on previous activity with the active involvement of service users, to improve outcomes and where possible, demonstrate impacts from previous funding.

Questions or Queries:

For any other queries relating to your funding application or the process, please contact Marion MacNeil on funding@highlandtsi.org.uk or 07826 821 545.

For any enquiries relating to technical difficulties with the meeting links or the application form, please email enquiry@highlandtsi.org.uk.

This Fund is for Third Sector organisations in Highland and is specifically looking to support local action and is open to groups no matter how small or new - any constituted Third Sector Organisation who has access to their own bank account and can demonstrate their ability to competently deliver what they set out in their application.

Applications can be accepted from:

Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO)
Unincorporated Associations
Companies Limited by Guarantee
Trusts
Not-for-profit company or asset locked company or Community Interest Companies (CIC)
Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies
Community councils
Parent councils are eligible to apply, but the activities must specifically focus on supporting adults rather than their children.

The Government are anticipating that most applications will come from smaller grass roots organisations, with encouragement to consider projects that put participation and co-design at the heart of an application.

We can consider funding un-constituted groups, either by supporting them to become constituted, or providing small value grants for capacity building purposes.

We actively encourage collaborative approaches, particularly between third sector groups. Collaborative approaches that include participants and organisations from other sectors are not excluded, but a third sector organisation needs to be the accountable and lead member of the collaborative project. If your collaborative project needs £10,000 or less, you can apply for this using the small grants process.

What will the small grants programme fund?

As outlined in the fund aims, these should fund 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.

The maximum grant awarded will be £10,000. This should give you an indication of the scale and scope of the projects appropriate for the small grants process.

You may choose one or more priority groups to work with and focus your activity on addressing one or more of the national and/or local priorities. However, whichever group you choose to work with, your application should demonstrate their involvement in the design and delivery of activities.

You should also define the outcomes you aim to achieve, by engaging with the priority group and co-producing appropriate methods to measure the success of the project.

Please refer to the case studies from previous years to see the type of projects that demonstrated good practice and were subsequently awarded grants.

Support is available from Marion MacNeil, Development Officer (Funds & Fundraising) to prepare relevant evidence for your application. Email: funding@highlandtsi.org.uk.

Small Grants Info Session Recording

What will the development and collaboration grants programme fund?

This fund is aimed at two types of activity:

Development - Organisations who have already engaged with a geographic or thematic community and prepared an action plan based on needs analysis, and need investment to progress activity with particular impact for the mental health and wellbeing of your community, or
Collaborative - Organisations who wish to collaborate with other organisations in meeting the underpinning priorities for a geographic or thematic community.

For a collaborative bid, each organisation must be an active partner in the delivery of the proposed activity but the workload itself does not have to be equally split.

Collaborative approaches that include participants and organisations from other sectors are not excluded, but a Third Sector organisation(s) needs to be the accountable and lead member of the collaborative project.

Support is available from Marion MacNeil, Development Officer (Funds & Fundraising) to prepare relevant evidence for your application.

Email: funding@highlandtsi.org.uk.

Please attend one of two information sessions, to learn more about the rationale behind the fund and our approach in Highland, as well as exploring the essential criteria and guidance on the process for each grants programme. We have scheduled two support sessions for those who would like to explore the application forms in detail and ask questions relating to your application.

Development & Collaboration Grants
Thursday 19 September

10.00am – 12noon

We will fund: