Fresh funding for Fife

The University of St Andrews Community Fund has launched its latest round of awards with up to £3000 available for groups and local organisations across Fife.

Designed to increase engagement between the University and the wider Fife community, funds can be used to benefit local groups and registered charities, promote knowledge, diversity and inclusion, widen participation and celebrate heritage.

The University Community Fund has provided more than £130,000 in financial assistance to almost 80 organisations across Fife since its launch in Spring 2020.

Projects to benefit from previous funding rounds include East Fife and Scooniehill Riding for the Disabled, Fife International Forum, Saje Scotland based in Lochgelly, Cupar and District Pipe Band and Fife Employment Access Trust in Leven, well as a number of sports groups, such as Raith Rovers Women and Girls FC and St Andrews Colts Amateurs.

Lucky Ewe, a charity that gives people with additional support needs the chance to build skills in farming and animal husbandry to help them progress towards employment, will use £3000 of Community Funding to make its North East Fife smallholding more accessible. The charity gives people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds the opportunity to work with their flock of dairy sheep.

Freuchie Primary School Parent Council was awarded £2200 to incorporate innovative and modern learning techniques to the school, such as Loose Parts Play, a programme designed to promote and value play and independence, as well as sustainability by gathering recycled items from the local community and using them for imaginative outdoor projects.

The Wave Project received £3000 towards its ‘surf therapy’ project, an evidence based mental health intervention for young people experiencing isolation, poor mental health, domestic violence, depression, anxiety, bereavement or bullying.

Applications for Round 3 of the Community Fund’s second year are now being sought from organisations and groups throughout Fife.

As well as looking for initiatives that specifically increase engagement between the University and the community, many different kinds of projects are eligible to apply for funding of between £250 and £3000, including those which:

• Benefit communities in the local area
• Promote knowledge exchange and widen participation
• Promote environmental sustainability
• Promote diversity and inclusion
• Celebrate Fife’s heritage, whether physical or cultural.

Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and small, grassroots charities and community organisations will be prioritised over larger organisations. Local branches of national charities are eligible to apply if they are financially independent and locally managed, and national charities if they have a distinctive offering to the local community.

University Community Engagement and Social Responsibility Officer, Lesley Caldwell, said: “I am delighted that we are now able to launch this final round of the University of St Andrews Community Fund for 2022. Since the fund launched we have supported a dynamic and diverse range of activities across Fife, helping to make a real difference to so many good causes.”

The deadline for applications to Round 3 of Year 2 is Friday 29 July 2022.