Trust offers two bites at the charitable funding cherry

November 3rd 2025

Two grant funds have opened up to local community groups this week.

Shetland Charitable Trust is offering its long-running Small Grant Scheme with awards of up to £5,000 and, for its second year, the Innovation Grant Scheme has grants up to £3,000 for groups that fancy trying something a bit different.

All those seeking funding are expected to show how their projects help SCT achieve its quality of life goals for Shetland. These are to improve the wellbeing of individuals and the community, recognising that everyone matters and promoting fairness between the generations.

The Small Grant Scheme 2026/27 is accessible to community groups with a turnover of up to £100,000. Applications are welcome for one-year or multiple-year funding.

The grants are intended to help with running costs, equipment or adapting buildings. Up to 90 per cent of project costs can be covered.

The Innovation Grant Scheme is open to community groups and registered charities in Shetland which have a new idea for a service that they would like to experiment with or perhaps wish to try a fresh way of working. They can make one application a year to cover costs.

The closing date for applying to either scheme is Friday 23^rd January 2026.

Full details and forms are available from the Apply for Funding section of the SCT website, by emailing grants@shetlandcharitabletrust.co.uk or telephone 01595 744 994.

Testimonials

The funding COPE Ltd receives from the Shetland Charitable Trust supports us in many ways. It allows us to develop and maintain a strong foundation to our core business and assists us to provide on-going employment skill development opportunities to people with disabilities living within Shetland. COPE Ltd highly values the support provided to our organisation by The Shetland Charitable Trust.

“The substantial grant made to us by Shetland Charitable Trust every year allows us to provide first-class facilities and dedicated staff to underpin sporting success among people of all ages and abilities in the islands.”

Having this core funding from the Charitable Trust means that we can use that money where we need it at any given time. It's multi-year funding which really takes the pressure off. To have the funding to keep going is really important as it is improving the lives of disabled folk in Shetland.

The funding that we get from the Charitable Trust pays for part of staff support and matching with other funders. Without local funders we wouldn't have national funders, and without either of those funders, we wouldn't be able to do this, so funding from the Shetland Charitable Trust is incredibly important.

The funding Shetland Arts gets from Shetland Charitable Trust is about making sure the organisation can thrive, access other funds, and deliver on behalf of the community of Shetland. Our funding from the Shetland Charitable Trust really helps us with our conversations with national funders because it shows that we're working on behalf of what the local objectives and priorities are.

The Access to Leisure scheme was introduced to allow folk to be able to get access to classes and activities for a lower cost. I feel that the SRT play a critical role in every community across Shetland and that's all down to the funding of the Shetland Charitable Trust that we're able to maintain that.

Unpaid carers do an amazing job looking after people 24/7 in their own homes, keeping them living at home safely, and they really need help to do that. Thanks to the funding from Shetland Charitable Trust, we've been able to employ a deputy manager, recruit more care attendants, and provide overnights. We're also really grateful for the funding because it means that everybody can get the service for free.