Climate Engagement Fund

Who can apply

Eligible applicant organisations for the Climate Engagement Fund (CEF) must be ‘trusted messengers’.

A trusted messenger has existing links to their audiences, as defined below:

Place-based messengers, for example:

• local community or voluntary groups
• community trusts
• local government/community planning partnership

Sectoral and institutional messengers, for example:

• education (such as colleges and universities)
• culture (such as libraries, museums, sports and leisure clubs)
• science (such as science centres, festivals)
• environment (such as eNGOs)

Equality-based messengers, for example:

• disability representatives (such as physical or mental disability)
• minority ethnic groups/communities
• LGBTQ+ community
• faith/belief groups
• age advocacy groups (including children and young people)
• gender groups

Applications from the following groups will not be considered:

• private sector businesses
• individuals or influencers (such as social media influencers, celebrities, national figures)

Organisations that have recently been funded by the Scottish Government may be asked to show how they are diversifying their funding.

Eligible applicant organisations must also be one of the following:

• incorporated i.e. the organisation holds legal status with corporate liability for finances and assets evidenced through registration with a regulatory body such as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) or a charity based in Scotland that is also either registered with Companies House (as a company limited by guarantee) or is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• a Community Benefit Society regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• a Community Interest Company (CIC) where the organisation continues to meet the Regulator of Community Interest Companies’ community interest test and asset lock provisions

Eligible applicant organisations must be all of the following:

• have a registered address in Scotland that is rooted in the geographic community or community of interest they serve and operates on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of the community
• where involving and engaging with sections of their community or communities, this must be consistent with the National Standards for Community Engagement and the principles of the Public Engagement Strategy for Climate Change
• are solvent, hold a UK bank account, with annual accounts that have been approved by their management committee or board, or current projected annual accounts, and control over all project income and expenditure

If your organisation does not meet the eligibility criteria then we will be unable to consider an application from you. But you may wish to consider working in partnership with an eligible organisation to access support from the CEF. This may have the additional benefit of strengthening the proposal and service for your community.

Any partnership or consortium will require a lead organisation who is responsible for the administration and delivery of the grant. If forming a partnership application all parties involved need to be fully sighted on the application. If you do not have one, it may be helpful to develop a partnership agreement or memorandum of understanding so that all partners understand their role and what is expected of them. This will not be a requirement of the funding application, but may help avoid any issues later on.