Support with your application is available from your local Community Development Officer at supportingcommunitiesfund@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Alternatively please call 01436 658881.
Overview Page
Please read through the information selecting the hyperlinks for more details. You must read through Argyll and Bute Council Privacy policy, confirm that you have read and agree to the terms outlined in this privacy notice by selecting yes.
Data protection
The information supplied will be used for the purpose of assessing your Supporting Communities Fund Application, and appropriate measures are in place to protect your personal data. A full privacy notice, which provides information about your rights under current data protection legislation and details about what will happen to your personal data can be found in our full privacy notice.
If you need this in an alternative format, please contact Community Development on 01436 658881.
Please note that your application will not be saved until you complete the section Project Details.
Organisation Details – Page 1
Please complete your organisations details in this section.
Project Details – Page 2
- Please use this section to provide a summary of your project/activities, with evidence to support your application and how you meet the criteria for the fund, including the key priorities: fairer communities,resilient communities, cleaner, greener communities and creative communities. Please also include information on community impact and how your project can deliver on the following: developing skills, promoting health and well being, tackling social exclusion and inequalities.
Please note: there are limits on some types of spending, specifically on ‘capital spend’, which is limited to up to £500. ‘Capital spend’ is purchase of ‘assets,’ the useful economic life of which is greater than one financial year. The term 'assets' does not include items that are, bought, used, and replaced, such as: office stationery, small tools and equipment, clothing, and toys, so there is no specified limit for spend on these items
- Please tick the category(ies) that your project/activities align with, please see below for further information.
Fairer Communities – tackling poverty by sharing opportunities
Projects funded under this criteria will remove financial barriers for people in communities, particularly children and young people, to provide opportunities for learning, sports, activities, or employment. For example, this may include funding of transport costs, sports equipment or musical instruments.
Resilient Communities – capacity building and organising a response to community demands in times of need
This includes building recovery and resilience, in areas such as: community safety; resilience to unusual events, such as extreme weather; economic or other conditions impacting on communities, including community-led inclusive economic development; costs associated with Community Actions Plans, local place plans, feasibility studies; supporting communities to take over assets in communities, as well as the many ways communities want to upskill and increase their capacity to improve their places.
Greener, Cleaner Communities – environmental action to support addressing climate change
Projects funded under this criteria could be concerned with a range of activities to improve impact on the environment including energy efficiency measures for both organisations and community members, enhancement and restoration of the natural environment, making the countryside more accessible, decarbonisation activities –walking projects, sharing of facilities and resource efficiency initiatives such as community transport[SM1] .
Creative Communities - creativity for health and wellbeing
Projects funded under this criteria would deliver activities related to music, art, theatre, Gaelic, history and heritage and in particular where participation in creative projects improves health and wellbeing.
- Please select yes/no for the following questions. If selecting yes to ‘Are you working with any other community groups or organisations to deliver the project?’ Please provide details of the organisations in the box.
- At this point you will now be able to save the form and return to it later. To save your current progress please use the button which appears on the bottom of each page from page 3. Enter your email address if it has not automatically appeared.
- Select a 4-digit pin number, please do not use a pin number you already use, create a new pin.
- Click save and continue.
- You will be given a case reference number, please take a note of this.
- An email will be sent with a link to your application.
- Click the link and it will take you to a page requesting your pin number,
- Put in your pin and click submit.
Now, you will be back at your saved application. You will be able to return to Active forms at any point by using the link provided in the email sent.
Please note until the above steps are completed you application will not be saved.
Who is the activity for and what is the evidence of need? – Page 3
Please complete details below of who you feel this project/activities will benefit with your community.
Next Please select and targeted groups by clicking yes/no. Please note you will be asked to report on this at the end of your project/activities.
Finance: Activities – Page 4
In this section tell us how much money you need to fund your project, to add another item/activity click this button on the screen.
Finance: Banking – Page 5
Please add details for each bank account held, you can add more than one bank account by clicking this button on the screen.
Next, provide bank account details of where any funding award would be paid.
Finance Funding – Page 6
Please detail any funding any or pending applications for this project. Please highlight any Service Level Agreements you may already have. Please, also detail any other funder in this section. Add more than one by clicking this button on the screen.
Checklist – Page 7
Based on the information in your application you are required to upload the named documents.
Files can be dragged and dropped in the box or click anywhere in the box to open your files and select the document to upload. Please complete the description box, naming each document as it is uploaded. E.g “Annual Accounts”, “Constitution”, “Bank Statement”
Declaration – Page 8
Please name another person from your organisation that is aware of this application. This must be different from the main contact on this application.
What happens after I apply?
After an application is submitted, a Community Development Officer will contact you for more details. Please note that Council Officers do not make decisions on funding awards. They will assess the application and give recommendations to Councillors, with a decision made at a formal meeting in September 2025. Assessments and recommendations will be based on the scoring matrix which is available on our Link to new matrix[JF2] .
There are four separate funds, one in each of the administrative areas of the council. These areas are Bute and Cowal, Helensburgh and Lomond, Oban, Lorn and the Isles and Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands. If your project covers more than one area please tick multiple boxes, to reflect this wider reach.
You will be sent these if your application is successful. If your project is successful, we may ask to share photographs of your project on our website and we will contact you regarding this
What happens if my project is successful?
After the Area Committees September 2025, you will be contacted to inform you if your grant application has been successful. A contract will then be issued to you, which you will need to sign and return before funds can be released.
Funds awarded will need to be spent within 18 months (by end of March 2027 at the latest). Groups funded will be required to evidence how they have spent the funds by completing an End of Project Monitoring Report, further details on this will be provided. Funded projects are required to use the Argyll & Bute Council logo on any promotional / advertising material.
We may ask to share photographs of your project on our website and we will contact you regarding this. We may also ask about evidence of the success of your project from your social media. We encourage you to use the hashtag: #abplace2b and the Council logo (which will be provided).
What happens if my project is unsuccessful?
You will be notified of the decision and will receive a follow up call from a Community Development Officer to offer support and advice.
Contact
If you would like to discuss your project proposal with your local Community Development Officer, before submitting the final application, you can contact. supportingcommunitiesfund@argyll-bute.gov.uk or call 01436 658881.
Additionally, if you have not heard from an officer within 3 weeks of the closing date, please contact us.
