Community Sports Hubs
Grant funding for Community Sports Hubs
Midlothian Mental Health and Wellbeing Community Sports Hub – Micro‑Grants
The amount of people in Scotland self-reporting a long-term mental health condition more than doubled from 2011 to 2022. By working in partnership with sports clubs, activity providers, local government, charities and third sector organisations and other relevant groups and networks, the Midlothian Community Sports Hub – Mental Health and Wellbeing, aims to help provide residents with a variety of opportunities to improve their mental health and wellbeing through sport and physical activity. We are looking to fund up to four projects in this initial round of micro-grant awards.
Funding Available: Up to £500 per project.
Micro-Grant Scheme Purpose: To support small‑scale sport and physical activity initiatives aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing for people living in Midlothian.
Who can apply?
- Community sports clubs
- Voluntary or community groups
- Charities or social enterprises
- Partnerships between different organisations will be considered favourably
Applicant groups must have:
- a constitution or articles of association, (which describes the group’s aims, members and details of how decisions are made)
- a bank account in the name of the group, requiring at least two signatures for cheques, transactions or cash withdrawals.
What can be funded?
- Mental health and wellbeing‑focused projects with sport or physical activity-related themes
- Taster sessions, pilot projects or new additions to existing projects
- Coaching costs, coach and volunteer training costs, venue hire, equipment, etc.
- Inclusive activities for under‑represented groups
What can’t be funded?
- Retrospective costs
- General running costs not linked to a mental health-focused activity
- Large capital purchases
- Activities not delivered in Midlothian
Example projects could include:
- Sporting memories social group for elderly aimed at tackling social isolation
- Mental Health awareness training for coaches and volunteers to support your club members
- ‘Play & stay’ sports/physical activity sessions featuring social elements aimed at sparking light-touch mental health conversations
How to apply:
- Complete the short application form which will be uploaded shortly.
- Applications are accepted up until 11pm on 16 March
Decision Timescale:
- All applicants will be contacted week commencing 23 March to inform them of the outcome of their application
- All successful applicants will be required to collect a small amount of information for our evaluation and monitoring process.
For more information, or an informal discussion to see if your project might meet our criteria, please contact Keith Smith, Midlothian Community Sports Hub Officer on keith.smith@midlothian.gov.uk
As well as funding, the Community Sports Hub may also be able to provide additional support to help any sport or physical activity-themed mental health and wellbeing projects get off the ground. Contact Keith Smith on the email address above to discuss further.