NESCAN Hub’s Seed Funding in the UK

Deadline: 28-Feb-24

Are you ready to take action on climate change within your community, but unsure where or how to start? You might be in Right Place!

NESCAN Hub seed funding has returned for 2023. Small grants are available for community groups, organisations and individuals within Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire to set up projects aiming to mitigate or adapt to climate change, increase biodiversity and work towards a fairer, healthier, more sustainable future.

The NESCAN Hub have a small pot funding for community climate action and biodiversity projects within Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.

The Seed Fund is designed for small community projects that are ineligible for other forms of funding and cannot be used to part-fund larger projects.

Priorities 

• To help achieve NESCAN Hub’s vision and objectives, they will priorities projects that:
  • Aim to create long-term change.
  • Build the skills and capacity of groups or organisations and communities.
  • Support and encourage collaborative working across groups or organisations, communities and areas.
  • Encourage sustainability through reusing, recycling and up cycling goods and products.
  • Encourage climate action and a just transition
  • Mitigate climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce environmental impact
  • Help communities adapt to and build resilience to climate change
  • Protect or enhance local biodiversity through conservation and promotion.

Funding Information

• Unless there are exceptional circumstances, grants are a maximum of £500 per organisation to enable them to fund as many organisations and projects as possible.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any organisation (with income of less than £50,000 per annum), group or individual working on projects that meet the criteria can apply. You don’t even have to be a NESCAN member!
• You, your group or organisation must be based in Aberdeenshire or Aberdeen City and your project should be run by local people under their direction and for the benefit of their community and the environment.

Other Things to Consider

• The ethos is sustainability, please consider this when designing your projects.
• Physical goods and products should be locally sourced, locally made, recycled, second hand or reusable where possible.
• Please ensure that you have sourced the best price for these before making your application.
• Please consider the manufacture, materials and lifespan of products, how they will be disposed of after their use and that you have sourced the best price for these before making your application.
• The cost of sustainable travel can be included, for example, train and bus tickets. NESCAN Hub will not fund flights, but in exceptional circumstances they may consider the cost of taxis or petrol for private vehicles.
• This fund will not cover salaries or staff wages.
• NESCAN Hub understand the importance of campaigning and peaceful protests, and support the positive difference these actions can make. They provide funding for non-violent direct action, however actions must not prevent freedom of speech, incite or promote violence or aggression, or promote or facilitate illegal activities.

They don’t fund projects that?

• Promote or support negative attitudes, inequality, discrimination, racism, prejudice, oppression, harassment, violence or victimisation of people or groups
• Coerce or force others to change their beliefs or prevent freedom of speech
• Promote or support any illegal activities
• Involve the cruelty, subjugation, captivity or destruction/culling of animals (including farming, captive breeding, testing or research)
• Involve any environmentally damaging activities or who have no made every effort to be environmentally responsible
• Directly or indirectly harms, threatens, or negatively affects biodiversity
• Support market-based solutions to climate change such as carbon trading or carbon offsetting.

For more information, visit NESCAN.