This fund, allocated by Scottish Borders Council is aimed at supporting grassroots projects, while prioritising those tackling social isolation, mental and physical wellbeing and increasing participation in community life.
With a reduced fund of £121,500 compared to previous years available to distribute, we were massively oversubscribed receiving 86 applications totalling over £395,000 in funding requests.
With a maximum award of £5000, there were 31 successful applicants for this fund, who are delivering projects in their communities now.
Border Links Ltd – £265.99
To enhance Thursday sessions by adding a karaoke machine, encouraging broader participation in a fun, social activity that also supports literacy and IT skills, greatly enriching sessions.
Kingsmeadows SCIO – £780.00
To fund a valuation to enable the group to purchase Kingsmeadows woodland for community ownership. This will enable them to hire a land agent for a red book valuation to guide discussions with the seller and funders. Revitalising this accessible green space strongly supports Community Regeneration objectives.
The Lavender Touch – £873.80
Supplementary PAT testing equipment as well as providing online training and accreditation for two part‑time staff and three volunteers. Expanding PAT capacity will help increase income to support people living with cancer in the Scottish Borders.
Eyemouth and District Amateur Swimming Club – £957.60
Project aims to enhance training and competition opportunities for swimmers at Eyemouth pool by purchasing backstroke start ledges.
Bowden Village Committee – £1,022.00
To build on last winter’s successful weekly drop‑in by piloting a wider range of social activities at different times of the week to help residents of all ages connect. Offering varied winter activities in the Village Hall will strengthen social connections and aligns with the Connected Communities theme.
Gavinton Village Hall Committee – £1,567.00
Funding support for Breakfast & Coffee clubs and Film nights, drawing from three villages, helping especially older residents to socialise and stay connected, strengthening community ties.
Kids Innerleithen Cycle Club (KICC) £1,567.00
Making mountain bike trails accessible to disabled riders by purchasing an off‑road, e‑assist hand cycle as a shared community resource. Stored locally, it will enable coaches and clubs to offer adaptive cycling for young people and adults. The project begins with training local leaders to build skills and confidence, delivered in partnership with local clubs and Scottish Borders Disability Sport. This year‑long programme is expected to create a long‑term shift in accessibility over the next decade, fostering a genuinely inclusive riding community.
Friends of Wilton Lodge Park – £2,640.00
Feasibility Study for Potting Shed Community Hub Regeneration. The study will include a measured survey, development drawings, detailed refurbishment costings for the Victorian potting shed, and a structural engineer’s report. Working with Scottish Borders Council’s architectural team, the study will provide robust, expert evidence to support future funding applications and demonstrate clear, realistic plans for the Hub’s development.
Abundant Borders – £3,202.72
Installation of a polytunnel at Kelso Community Garden to enable year‑round food production, overcoming the limits of the current small greenhouses. This will increase yields by around 25%, support volunteers and households who rely on the garden – including those facing poverty, poor health, or isolation. The polytunnel will also act as a propagation hub for hundreds of seedlings to distribute free to the community, helping people grow their own food.
Bright Green Nature – £4,150.00
Working with two Scottish Borders communities to co‑design “Living Hubs” multifunctional green spaces that support biodiversity, climate resilience, and community connection. Over 12 months it will assess potential sites, run community co‑design workshops, create costed plans for at least one pilot, and develop a scalable model for future hubs.
Borders Care Voice – £4,258.89
Supporting Local Citizens Panels for adults with learning disabilities and their families, which meet across five rural locations to collectively address key issues such as health checks, digital safety, community safety, access to support, and social care charges. The grant will fund annual events bringing together up to 50 panel members and other interested individuals to share experiences, strengthen their voice in local decision‑making, and enjoy valuable social connection.
Interest Link Borders – £4,500.00
Supporting 45 socially excluded young people aged 16-25 with learning disabilities in Hawick, Jedburgh, and nearby areas through twelve community and school befriending groups. Around 40 peer volunteers help deliver accessible, enjoyable activities – such as arts, drama, cookery, games, life‑skills and outdoor sessions – building confidence, wellbeing, friendships, and practical skills. The project promotes positive future outcomes, provides vital social connection, and offers respite to around 70 family carers.
Coldingham Primary Parents & Friends Association (PFA) – £4,860.00
12 Forest School sessions for 65 pupils aged 3-11, led by Wilder Outdoor Education, at Bogangreen Woodland. Sessions will run outdoors in all weather and support school and nursery staff to build confidence in delivering curriculum learning outside. Parents and volunteers will be encouraged to join in, strengthening community connections, promoting sustainable values, and ensuring inclusive, hands‑on outdoor learning for all.
Berwickshire Swap – £4,922.00
Mini Swap pop‑up events with early learning centres, baby and toddler groups, and community venues across Berwickshire. These sessions will give families free or low‑cost children’s clothes, toys, and equipment while creating opportunities to meet others locally. The project aims to ease financial pressure, reduce rural isolation, and support perinatal and postnatal mental wellbeing.
One Step Borders – £5,000.00
Strengthening One Step Borders’ ability to provide free mental health support for young people aged 16-25 by funding part‑time staff and establishing a structured volunteer pathway. It will improve supervision, training, and wellbeing support for 14 volunteer trainee counsellors (with more waiting to join) while sustaining frontline services for young people facing challenges such as poor mental health, trauma, isolation, poverty, and limited rural access. The project will deliver over 4,000 sessions to 600+ young people, enhance staff conditions, and support Fair Work.
Stable Life – £5,000.00
This one-year pilot supports neurodivergent children and young people (8-18) awaiting Autism or ADHD assessment. It offers a 10‑week, strengths‑based group programme at Stable Life using Equine Facilitated activities to build emotional resilience, confidence, self-understanding, and social connection. Participants engage in structured outdoor sessions with horses, group discussions, and creative activities in a calm, non-clinical environment.
Hawick Royal Albert Football Club – £5,000.00
To maintain and progress their SFA Accreditation, the club must upgrade the Albert Park floodlights to 300 Lux. Switching from metal‑halide to energy‑efficient LED lighting will cut energy use, reduce costs, lower the carbon footprint, and provide dimmable controls for more sustainable operation. Improved lighting will allow increased midweek training for the club’s four youth teams and enable more access for local amateur clubs, helping them save facility‑hire costs and stay financially sustainable.
The Border Raiders Cycle Speedway Club – £5,000.00
To establish their own track, strengthening opportunities for coaching, development, and competition having for over a decade, delivered free pop‑up sessions to thousands of children and adults, working with local partners to bring the sport into communities that would not otherwise access cycling or competition.
Lauder YFC – £5,000.00
To address structural risk to the on‑site café by clearing invasive plant and root growth from adjacent waste ground, creating hard‑standing storage, and expanding the wildlife garden with new planting and extra seating for park visitors. Also to purchase a new set of 9‑a‑side football goals.
Melrose Rugby Ltd – £5,000.00
A new initiative with Earlston High School and Developing the Young Workforce, offering up to 20 senior pupils structured, sport-related work placements linked to their NPA in Organising Volunteering Events in Sport. Students gain hands‑on experience in areas such as coaching, sports medicine, media, hospitality, groundskeeping, and event management, supported by mentoring from club staff. Completing the placement leads to an SCQF Level 6 qualification and builds confidence, skills, and career awareness.
Duns Football Club – £5,000.00
To install a new timber‑framed, metal‑sheeted roof – matching the high‑quality work completed on the changing rooms in 2022 to safeguard the facilities for years to come and maintain their vital role in community sport and local engagement.
Connect Berwickshire Youth Project – £5,000.00
Digital Cuppa, youth-led planning phase is a 12‑month pilot in Berwickshire where a group of young people, supported by a sessional worker, will design a community-run digital inclusion café for older residents. Through weekly planning sessions, young people will explore how the café should operate, what digital support older people need, and how they can lead delivery in future.
Nurture The Borders SCIO – £5,000.00
Mum Peer Support Groups, CALM Creative Journaling and Baby Massage – to reduce loneliness, improve wellbeing, and strengthen early parent‑baby relationships. Delivered in warm, accessible community venues, the sessions provide practical coping tools, connection, and signposting to further support by fostering belonging and improving mental health.
Hawick Reivers Association – £5,000.00
Towards the running costs of The Hawick Reivers Festival, a key community-led event that brings people of all ages together and delivers significant economic benefits by attracting visitors to Hawick and the wider Borders.
Live Borders Ltd – £5,000.00
To improve its cinema offering at The Heart of Hawick in response to community feedback highlighting the need for an affordable, welcoming, and accessible space – particularly for school groups, teenagers, and older residents affected by the cost of living. By enhancing the cinema experience and delivering inclusive programming, the project will provide a warm, social hub that brings people together, especially during the winter months when opportunities for connection are limited.
Reuse Repair & Share @ Whitmuir CIC – £5,000.00
Support for a Project Development Officer to coordinate the transition to regular four‑day opening and begin establishing a Library of Things, enabling local people to borrow items instead of buying new, built on strong community support and growing volunteer interest, highlighting the need to expand opening hours and move activities inside the barn.
LGBT Youth Scotland – £5,000.00
Creating a safe, inclusive monthly group for LGBTQ+ young people in the Scottish Borders, delivered through a partnership between LGBT Youth Scotland, TD1 Youth Hub, and NSPCC. Participants will learn about healthy, respectful relationships, build confidence and peer support, and take part in creative workshops at the Little Art Hub to produce artwork promoting positive messages. The project will culminate in a public awareness campaign and exhibition, amplifying young people’s voices and encouraging community-wide understanding and inclusion.
Tweeddale Youth Action – £5,000.00
To appoint a fixed‑term volunteer coordinator to develop a supportive, inclusive volunteer programme. The coordinator will recruit youth and adult volunteers, provide induction and training, ensure safeguarding and monitoring, and administer Saltire Awards. By strengthening volunteer support and widening participation, the programme will build intergenerational connections, reduce rural isolation, and ensure young people – particularly those from minority groups, have positive relatable adult role models.
Cheviot Youth – £5,000.00
Strengthen and sustain existing youth work by funding additional hours for the youth work manager and supporting core delivery costs. This will allow a range of youth clubs and activities, currently serving over 40 young people aged 9-24 each week, to continue running effectively. The programme develops key skills such as resilience, teamwork, active citizenship, and positive relationships, with a strong focus on health and wellbeing.
Gordon Community Sports Field Group – £5,000.00
Transforming a dilapidated tennis court in the centre of the village, into an all-weather, multi-use games area. This will encourage participation in a host of different sports, including tennis, pickleball, netball, basketball and five‑a‑side football. With no similar facility in the village, the MUGA will give residents of all ages a local space to exercise, boosting physical and mental health and strengthening community connections.
Escape Youth Services/Denholm Youth Club – £5,000.00
Staffing for a weekly youth drop‑in for P5-S6 young people in Denholm. Re‑established last summer after strong community demand, it has already engaged 71 young people. Delivered by Escape Youth Services, which has over 20 years’ experience in rural youth work, the drop‑in provides a safe, accessible, low‑cost space for socialising, confidence‑building, and positive activities. Young people gain skills through volunteering, fundraising, and leadership opportunities, including Duke of Edinburgh participation. The project strengthens social connections, supports personal development, and enhances community engagement in a rural area where opportunities are limited.
