The Awards for All scheme has made a highly significant contribution to community development across Scotland. It offers sums from £500 to £10,000 has supported all sorts of community projects, developing access to sport, arts, heritage and promoting interest in education, the environment and community health.
The Heritage Lottery Fund, partner with Big Lottery Scotland, sportscotland, and the Scottish Arts Council in this valuable funding programme, has withdrawn its £500,000 per annum contribution from the partnership. It will now administer its own small grants funds – Your Heritage and Young Roots – separately.
There is also uncertainty about the future involvement of the Scottish Arts Council which contributes £750,000 annually to the fund and which is to go out of existence with its functions taken up in the new Creative Scotland.
In these circumstances, Big Lottery Scotland has moved to reassure applicants to Awards for All that, along with sportscotland, it will continue its support for the funding scheme from April 2009. These two organisations together have provided 90% of the funding for Awards for All over the past year so the departure of the other partners will hardly be noticed by applicants.
Information on the new Awards for All programme is to be available in the new year.
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