Frequently Asked Questions

The overarching aim of the Fund is to support community-based initiatives that are ideally designed and delivered within Aberdeenshire for the benefit of Aberdeenshire residents; projects 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), with a particular focus on prevention and early intervention are specifically encouraged.

It should be noted that Sole Traders and profit generating businesses are not eligible to apply for to this fund.

The Scottish Government has identified that evidence shows the pandemic has exacerbated existing mental health inequalities and has had a disproportionate impact on the mental wellbeing of a range of groups in society. Applications are strongly encouraged from groups and organisations that are delivering projects which are inclusive of (but not necessarily exclusive to) the following priority ‘at risk’ groups:

• Women (particularly young women, and women affected by male sexual violence).

• People with a long-term health condition or disability.

• People from a Minority Ethnic background.

• Refugees and those with no recourse to public funds.

• People facing socio-economic disadvantage.

• People experiencing severe and multiple disadvantages.

• People with diagnosed mental illness (applications that support people who have a Dementia diagnosis are particularly welcome).

• People affected by psychological trauma (including adverse childhood experiences).

• People who have experienced bereavement or loss.

• People disadvantaged by geographical location (particularly remote and rural areas).

• Older people (aged 65 and above).

• People with neurological conditions or learning disabilities, and from neurodiverse communities.

• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) communities.

• Young people aged 16-24

Additionally, Aberdeenshire-based applications that seek to support men at risk of suicide, and the mental health and wellbeing of carers and unpaid carers are particularly welcome

The focus of the Fund is on the adult population and on projects which help organisations to make a difference to the lives of adults in communities across Aberdeenshire with a focus on mental health and wellbeing. For the purposes of the Fund, the adult population is defined as being people aged 16 years and over.

Through the assessment process, AVA and the external assessors will ensure that funding is allocated to initiatives which have a focus on delivering directly against the aims and principles of The Fund as described previously. Whilst the Fund will support applications for the expansion of existing activities (including for projects that have been supported previously), emphasis will be placed on applications that provide additionality (i.e. new and innovative projects) and not on simply providing replacement funding.

AVA understands that much of the work carried out by groups within the community, voluntary and third sectors contributes in some way to supporting people in their communities, with outcomes that can loosely relate to promoting better mental health and wellbeing outcomes for people. However, because of the anticipated demand based on previous rounds, it is unlikely that projects designed to benefit organisations internally will be supported (e.g. upgrading facilities for staff and volunteers).

Additionally, projects that tangentially support mental health and wellbeing (e.g. replacing planters or delivering ‘Community in Bloom’ type activities) are also unlikely to be supported.

Because of the broad nature of community-based work, the Fund is not intended to support delivery of specific clinical treatment services such as counselling or other therapy-based interventions.

To enable groups and organisations to manage any grant that they secure, and to facilitate access to smaller grants for small groups and organisations, the following levels are being applied to The Fund:

• Level 1 (inc. unconstituted groups): £0 to £3,000

• Level 2 (constituted groups): £3,000.01 to £12,000

• Level 3 (constituted groups): £12,000.01 to £45,000

Due to the ambition of The Fund being to support local community activity, it is anticipated that the majority of applications will be considered under funding levels 1 and 2. However, we understand that organisations and partnerships of similarly minded organisations may wish to apply for grants, so we do expect a smaller proportion of bids, for example, up to the maximum value of £45,000 (for 2 year funding applications, the maximum allowable size of application is £90,000 over the two round period).

Grants in the level 2 and 3 categories will not normally be available to newly formed groups. For clarity, financial information should be supplied for the most recent financial year based on your organisation’s filing cycle. If this is not available, or if your previous financial year ended more than 6 months prior to the submission of your application, operational/management accounts for the year-todate must be supplied.

Please note that an organisation can only apply to the fund once per round. It is anticipated that organisations who have applied for two years of funding will not be able to apply again to round 6

For projects of one year duration, the fund will be open for applications from Monday 18th August to Friday 10th October 2025 at midday.

For projects of two years duration, the fund will open for Expressions of interest on Monday 18th August 2025 and close at midday on Friday 12th September 2025. For projects that fit closely with the fund criteria, the full application period will open on Monday 29th September 2025 and close at midday on Monday 27th October 2025.

• Read the full guidance documents below (separate documents for projects of one and two years duration).

• For one year duration projects, complete and submit an application form by 10th October 2025 at midday (see below)

• For two year duration projects, complete an Expression of Interest form and submit it by 12th September at midday. All expressions of interest will be reviewed by the AVA team and feedback provided within 10 working days.

  A link to the application form will be sent to

  eligible applicants only following a successful Expression of Interest. Applications will only be accepted online using the

  designated application form.

• A PDF version of the application form will be available simply as a guide

  to enable you to prepare your application form; do not complete this pdf version of the form and

  expect to be able to submit it.

• If you need help from an AVA Development Officer, please complete the support request form. During the application phase, and specifically for equalities purposes, a team of AVA’s Development Officers will be available to provide support to groups who, for legitimate reasons require additional help to complete the application form. They will be available to discuss applications with groups and organisations, although engagement in those discussions will not form any guarantee that applications will be successful during the assessment process. This team of Development Officers will not be involved in assessing applications.

• Full Guidance - One year funding

• Eligibility Checker - One year funding

• Full Guidance - Two years funding

• Expression of Interest form - Two years funding

• Budget Spreadsheet - Two years funding

• Mock Application Form - please note, this will not be accepted as an application and is intended purely as an example of the questions you will be asked

• Hosting Bank Account Template