Types of Funding

Find out more about the funding we offer and browse our available funds.

If you have any communication support needs that make reading our guidance difficult or impossible, please get in touch with us by emailing funding@therobertsontrust.org.uk or calling 0141 353 4321 to discuss alternative ways to find out about the types of funding available.

Funding

Wee Grants

  • For constituted community groups and charities in Scotland with an annual income of less than £30,000.
  • Funding of up to £5,000 for one year only.
  • Unrestricted; can cover revenue or capital costs.

Apply now

Community Spaces Grants

  • Funding to support local communities experiencing poverty and trauma in Scotland.
  • Registered charities with an annual income of between £30,000 and £500,000 are eligible to apply.
  • Can provide revenue funding of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year, for up to 3 years, to support the costs of community centres, hubs or anchor organisations who are delivering and/or hosting a range of services and activities to meet the needs of their community. Applicants should show how the various services they deliver and/or host relate to preventing or reducing poverty and trauma for local people. 
  • You cannot be in receipt of, or apply for, a Community Spaces Grant at the same time as a Large or Small Grant.

Apply now

Small Grants

  • For registered charities with an annual income of between £30,000 and £200,000.
  • Revenue funding of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year, for up to five years.
  • Unrestricted or restricted funding.
  • Can include the costs of equipment to support your work.

Apply now

Large Grants

We are pleased to announce that we will re-open our Large Grants fund on Monday, 14th September 2026.

In May, we paused Large Grants to all applicants who were not already in receipt of our funding and eligible to reapply. Our decision to pause came in the context of a significant and sustained increase in demand for Large Grants, which put pressure on our available budget and our team’s capacity. Alongside rising demand, we saw an increase in applications generated by AI, a decrease in the quality of applications we received, and a resulting drop in our success rate.

In line with our commitment to learning and continuous improvement, we paused Large Grants to enable us to identify ways to streamline our processes, and to work through a backlog of applications.

We have developed a new, two-stage application process, which involves a light-touch first stage, requiring less investment of time from potential applicants and from our team upfront. The new process will enable us to give a clearer steer to applicants early on and to better manage demand.

We look forward to sharing our updated applicant guidance and initial enquiry form on Monday, 14th September. To be kept informed, please check back on our website our sign up to our mailing list.

 

  • For registered charities with an annual income of over £200,000 and up to £2 million.
  • Revenue funding of between £20,000 and £50,000 per year, for up to five years.
  • Unrestricted or restricted funding.
  • Can include the costs of equipment to support your work.

Find out more

Transport Grants - Paused

In line with our commitment to learning and continuous improvement, this Fund is now paused. All applications received by 5pm on 31st March will be fully assessed against our current criteria, however, we will not be accepting new applications after that date. Please check back later in the year or sign up to our mailing list for details of any new funding offer.

 

  • For registered charities working in Scotland, with an annual income of £30,000 to £2 million, that support people who are experiencing (or are at high risk of experiencing) poverty and trauma.
  • Funding of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year, for 1-3 years, to contribute towards the costs of transport to support your work.

Find out more

Funding

Wee Grants

  • For constituted community groups and charities in Scotland with an annual income of less than £30,000.
  • Funding of up to £5,000 for one year only.
  • Unrestricted; can cover revenue or capital costs.

Apply now

Community Spaces Grants

  • Funding to support local communities experiencing poverty and trauma in Scotland.
  • Registered charities with an annual income of between £30,000 and £500,000 are eligible to apply.
  • Can provide revenue funding of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year, for up to 3 years, to support the costs of community centres, hubs or anchor organisations who are delivering and/or hosting a range of services and activities to meet the needs of their community. Applicants should show how the various services they deliver and/or host relate to preventing or reducing poverty and trauma for local people. 
  • You cannot be in receipt of, or apply for, a Community Spaces Grant at the same time as a Large or Small Grant.

Apply now

Small Grants

  • For registered charities with an annual income of between £30,000 and £200,000.
  • Revenue funding of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year, for up to five years.
  • Unrestricted or restricted funding.
  • Can include the costs of equipment to support your work.

Apply now

Large Grants

We are pleased to announce that we will re-open our Large Grants fund on Monday, 14th September 2026.

In May, we paused Large Grants to all applicants who were not already in receipt of our funding and eligible to reapply. Our decision to pause came in the context of a significant and sustained increase in demand for Large Grants, which put pressure on our available budget and our team’s capacity. Alongside rising demand, we saw an increase in applications generated by AI, a decrease in the quality of applications we received, and a resulting drop in our success rate.

In line with our commitment to learning and continuous improvement, we paused Large Grants to enable us to identify ways to streamline our processes, and to work through a backlog of applications.

We have developed a new, two-stage application process, which involves a light-touch first stage, requiring less investment of time from potential applicants and from our team upfront. The new process will enable us to give a clearer steer to applicants early on and to better manage demand.

We look forward to sharing our updated applicant guidance and initial enquiry form on Monday, 14th September. To be kept informed, please check back on our website our sign up to our mailing list.

 

  • For registered charities with an annual income of over £200,000 and up to £2 million.
  • Revenue funding of between £20,000 and £50,000 per year, for up to five years.
  • Unrestricted or restricted funding.
  • Can include the costs of equipment to support your work.

Find out more

Transport Grants - Paused

In line with our commitment to learning and continuous improvement, this Fund is now paused. All applications received by 5pm on 31st March will be fully assessed against our current criteria, however, we will not be accepting new applications after that date. Please check back later in the year or sign up to our mailing list for details of any new funding offer.

 

  • For registered charities working in Scotland, with an annual income of £30,000 to £2 million, that support people who are experiencing (or are at high risk of experiencing) poverty and trauma.
  • Funding of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year, for 1-3 years, to contribute towards the costs of transport to support your work.

Find out more

Advancing Racial Justice Fund

The Advancing Racial Justice (ARJ) Fund tackles systemic racism in Scotland by funding and supporting community groups, charities and CICs led by Black people and People of Colour (BPoC). 

Overview
  • Who it’s for: BPoC led community groups, charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) with an asset lock in Scotland (with at least 50% representation across staff, leadership and board), with an income of £200,000 or less.
  • Funding available:
    - £10,000 to progress your idea through an early development stage.
    - Followed by £10,000–£40,000 per year for up to three years.
  • What it supports: Community-led work that tackles systemic racism. We are especially interested in how racial injustice amplifies the harms of poverty and trauma.
  • Applications close 14th October 2026

Apply now

Big Change That Lasts Fund

The Big Change That Lasts Fund supports organisations working in Scotland to deliver long‑term, systemic change that prevents and reduces poverty and related trauma. We fund work that tackles the underlying causes of poverty - shifting systems, structures and practices so that change lasts beyond individual projects and beneficiaries.

  • Organisations with an annual income of over £200,000.
  • Provides restricted project funding of between £20,000 and £500,000, usually for up to 5 years. Most grants are typically £50,000–£100,000 per year.
  • Projects must demonstrate strong potential to deliver big change that lasts, meaning strategic, systemic or long‑term impact on poverty and trauma in Scotland.
  • Registered charities, asset‑locked CIC limited by guarantee, housing associations and credit Unions can apply. 
  • We accept applications on a rolling basis, with no closing dates.
  • At this time, we are prioritising applications that focus on Financial Security.

Apply now

 

*Definitions:


Revenue funding is used to cover the costs of providing day-to-day services. We can provide revenue funding in two ways:

Unrestricted funding: can be spent on annual running costs of your organisation, such as salaries, heating, lighting, administration, consumables and small items of equipment. We particularly welcome applications for unrestricted funding where the work of your organisation addresses one or more of our four Primary Themes. We can however consider the costs of projects and specific salaries or activities if this will better meet your needs.  

Restricted funding: can only be used for a specific project, activity or designated purpose, as applied for or identified and agreed by us.