Organisations across Scotland awarded share of £3.2 million fund.

Impact Funding Partners are delighted to announce that more than 50 projects across Scotland have received a share of the Scottish Government’s Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund.

Activities delivered by the organisations include community choirs, walking football, Men’s Sheds and volunteering opportunities.

Equalities Minister Emma Roddick visited Inverness Foodstuff, one of the successful projects, to see the impact of their work and hear how support through the Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund will benefit the local community.

Ms Roddick said:

“Social isolation and loneliness can affect anyone, but especially those most affected by the cost of living crisis such as disabled people, younger people, and those who live alone.

“The Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund is providing support to a range of projects across Scotland which deliver vital services in their communities. Inverness Foodstuff is a great example of how this Scottish Government funding will help to bring more people together, creating stronger social connections and improving public health.

“We are determined to tackle the harm caused by this hidden problem and this Fund is just one of the actions we are taking to help tackle social isolation and loneliness through our plan, Recovering our Connections.”

Inverness Foodstuff has been awarded a grant of £72,000 to deliver their lunch club twice a week in the Hilton area of Inverness. The lunch club will benefit an estimated 2,400 homeless and vulnerable people in the area over the duration of the Fund.

Background

The Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund will deliver £3.2 million to 53 community projects and organisations between August 2023 and July 2026.

The projects have a particular focus on meeting the needs of people most at risk of social isolation and loneliness including young people, disabled people, those with a mental health condition, older people and people living in areas of deprivation or on a low income.

The Fund is being managed by Impact Funding Partners on behalf of the Scottish Government.

A list of the 53 funded projects is available here.