The following grants schemes are managed by North Ayrshire Council.
They offer a financial boost to:
- community and voluntary groups
- other organisations
- individuals
Please make sure that you attach the following documents with your application:
- bank statement
- income/expenditure sheet or balance sheet
- constitution or articles of association
- quotes/estimates for items required by funding
North Ayrshire Venture Trust (NAVT)
The NAVT fund enables voluntary, community and social enterprises in North Ayrshire to:
- explore opportunities for growth
- improve sustainability
- increase their impact
Grants range from £10,000 to £30,000 over 1 to 3 years.
Find out more about NAVT.
Town Charitable Trusts
The council holds charitable trusts for the relief of poverty, the relief of those in need, and the provision of recreational facilities and activities for disadvantaged groups.
The Beith and Gateside Fund also provides for the advancement of education.
Applications will be considered from individuals and organisations living or assisting residents within these towns:
- Kilbirnie and Glengarnock
- Dalry
- Kilwinning
- Largs
Guidance can be found in the Town Charitable Trust guide (PDF, 175kb).
Apply
Complete and return an application form:
Common Good Fund
North Ayrshire Council administers Common Good funds for:
- Ardrossan
- Irvine
- Largs
- Millport
- Saltcoats
- Stevenston
The criteria for the Common Good Fund is that the application must benefit all, or a significant group, of the inhabitants of the area to which the Common Good relates.
Apply
Complete and return an application form:
Participatory Budgeting Funding - Shaping North Ayrshire
Each year, a Participatory Budgeting event is held in each locality:
- Arran
- Garnock Valley
- Irvine
- Kilwinning
- North Coast
- Three Towns
Residents are invited to decide which projects to fund from a short list of applications made by local individuals and groups. They vote for the projects that they believe will most benefit their community and support their local priorities. Voting is open to anyone aged 8 and over who lives, works, studies or volunteers in the area.
For more information email Participatory Budgeting.
Community benefit fund
An annual community benefit payment made by Infinis, the operators of the Ardrossan Wind Farm, and administered by North Ayrshire Council.
Grants vary by location and range from £1,000 to £4,000. Applications can only be accepted from constituted community groups located within:
- Ardrossan
- Saltcoats
- Stevenston
- the Isle of Arran
Community benefit fund criteria
- applications can only be accepted from constituted community groups located within the towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston, and from the island of Arran
- applications for environmental projects will have a priority in grant funding, but the fund will continue to support applications which do not have an environmental perspective
- the funding criteria will be the same in all the localities
- there is no maximum limit of grant funding from the Fund (grants will not normally exceed £4,000 and any award above this figure will be the exception)
- there is no minimum limit of grant funding from the fund
- grant awards will be treated as one off contributions, except in exceptional circumstances
- local groups will be given a priority, national organisations will only be considered if their application demonstrates a direct benefit to the communities of Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Stevenston and Arran.
Apply
Complete and return a Community benefit fund (PDF, 606kb) application.
For any enquires email rosemaryramsay@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
Scottish Landfill Communities Fund
North Ayrshire Council contributes some of its landfill tax towards environmental improvement projects. This is administered on behalf of the council by The Land Trust.
Margaret Archibald Bequest
A trust for the charitable purposes of persons in need who have reached the age of 65 and live in the Parish of Dalry.
The Trust is administered by North Ayrshire Council as Trustee through the Garnock Valley Locality Planning Partnership who approve any awards for funding.
Apply
Complete and return an application form:
Ayrshire Visual Artist and Craft Makers Award Scheme
South Ayrshire Council, South Ayrshire Arts Partnership SCIO, North Ayrshire Council and East Ayrshire Leisure in partnership with Creative Scotland run a local combined Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) Scheme.
The scheme offers 2 routes through the standard application form. You should apply for the one that best suits your situation:
- grants between £500 and £1,500
or
- £500 bursaries available to new graduates/emerging artists.
Applicants must have less than 3 years’ track record outside of education or training or graduated since 2016.
For information, please contact Laura Kerr: 01292 616421, laura.kerr@south-ayrshire.gov.uk
Community-based Adult Learning Recovery Fund
The Community-based Adult Learning Recovery Fund has been set up to help improve engagement of adult learners in community-based learning opportunities, with £1.7 million funding from the Scottish Government.
Community-based adult learning (CBAL) covers a variety of learning opportunities, targeting learners (aged over 16) with multiple barriers to participation.
Find out more about the CBAL Recovery Fund.
Applications are closed.