Volunteer Centre East Lothian (VCEL) is pleased to administer the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults in East Lothian on behalf of the Scottish Government. The Fund supports grassroots, community-based initiatives that help improve mental health and wellbeing, reduce social isolation and loneliness, prevent suicide, and address poverty and inequality through local community action.
Applications Open: Thursday 17 September 2026
Application Deadline: 5:00pm on Monday 02 November 2026
Funding Decisions: By 31 January 2027
Funding Distributed: By 31 March 2027
Project Delivery Period: April 2027 to March 2028
For Year 6, VCEL has funding available for new projects through one-year grants:
- Minimum grant: £1,000
- Maximum grant: £10,000
- Project duration: 12 months
- Activity must principally benefit people living in East Lothian
Applications should clearly demonstrate how their project addresses at least one of the following priorities:
Social Isolation and Loneliness
Activities that help people connect, build trusted relationships, reduce loneliness and strengthen communities.
Suicide Prevention
Projects that promote emotional wellbeing, develop life skills, encourage early identification of concerns, and provide community support.
Poverty and Inequality
Initiatives that reduce the impact of poverty and the cost-of-living crisis on mental health and wellbeing.
In addition to the national priorities, applications should support one or more local priorities:
- Improving mental health and emotional wellbeing
- Reducing loneliness and social isolation
- Tackling poverty and inequalities
- Supporting prevention and early intervention
- Building stronger, more connected communities
- Developing community-led solutions
- Working collaboratively with local partners
- Demonstrating clear community need and impact
The Fund particularly welcomes projects supporting:
- Women, including those affected by gender-based violence
- People with disabilities or long-term health conditions
- Minority ethnic communities
- Refugees and people with no recourse to public funds
- People experiencing poverty or disadvantage
- People affected by trauma
- People with diagnosed mental illness
- Older people (50+)
- Rural communities
- LGBTQ+ communities
- Young people aged 16-24
- People experiencing bereavement or loss
Funding can support:
- Equipment and materials
- Volunteer expenses
- Training and development
- Community hall and venue hire
- Transport and travel costs
- Participation and accessibility costs
- One-off fixed-term staffing costs
- Community activities and events
- Project running costs
- Small capital expenditure (up to £2,000)
The Fund cannot support:
- Political or religious campaigning
- Profit-making activities
- Statutory services
- Overseas travel
- Alcohol or tobacco
- Redundancy costs
- Contingency funding
- Activities that do not contribute directly to the approved project
- Recoverable VAT
Partnership working is strongly encouraged.
Strong applications will demonstrate:
- Awareness of other local services
- Collaboration with community organisations
- Evidence of local need
- Avoidance of duplication
- Shared delivery arrangements where appropriate
- Clear community benefits from working together
Funded organisations will be required to provide information demonstrating:
- Activities delivered
- Number of participants reached
- Achievement of project outcomes
- Participant feedback
- Examples of impact and learning
- Financial reporting on grant expenditure
VCEL may also request interim progress updates throughout the delivery period.
Louise Bluett
VCEL wants the application process to be accessible to all organisations, particularly smaller and first-time applicants. If you would like to discuss your project idea, check eligibility, request an accessible format, or access capacity-building support, please contact us as early as possible.
