The Spagan Community Fund

About this fund

• Standard Grant size: £1,000 - £15,000
• Large Grant of £50,000 

The Spagan Fund has been supporting community initiatives on Barra and Vatersay since 2018. The Board of Coimhearsnachd Bharraidh agus Bhatarsaidh Ltd has now engaged Foundation Scotland to help develop the approach to distributing the community fund.

A total of £60,000 in funding was available to the community in 2025, with funding requests accepted between £1,000 to £15,000. Round 1 was open exclusively to applicants who did not receive Spagan funding in 2024. 

Open for Applications 2nd of February 2026

The Spagan Community Fund will open for funding applications on Monday the 2nd of February 2026. As part of the 21st anniversary celebrations, CBaB have increased the amount of funding available from £60,000 to £120,000. One project will be awarded up to £50,000, while funding for other projects will be capped at £15,000 per award.

The £50,000 award is open to all eligible organisations; however, applications up to £15,000 will only be accessible to organisations which did not receive funding in 2025. This helps ensure equal distribution of funds across community organisations. The Spagan Community Fund is open to constituted community groups based in Barra and Vatersay and offers grants for eligible projects that align with our charitable objectives.

As the Board of CBaB and Foundation Scotland continue to review the funding process, further improvements will be introduced over time.

Purpose of this fund

The purpose of the Fund remains to support the work of community organisations serving the community of Barra and Vatersay.  

Grants may support a wide range of costs, such as equipment, events, running costs and the maintenance or refurbishment of community facilities. 

Who can apply?

Groups wishing to apply for funding must be registered members of Coimhearsnachd Bharraidh agus Bhatarsaidh Ltd. Please contact them directly if you need to register or would like to check your status before applying to the fund - marina@barra-vatersay.org.uk.

The application form for membership can be found here.

Community groups and organisations working to benefit people in the area of benefit and which meet Foundation Scotland’s standard eligibility criteria can apply. Applicants must have a constitution and be set up on a not-for-profit basis. They do not need to be a registered charity but the activity or project they are requesting funding for must be charitable/for community benefit. 

What can’t be funded?

Foundation Scotland maintains a standard list of exclusions which cannot be funded.  This includes anti-renewable energy activities, including activities contrary to the interests of Coimhearsnachd Bharraidh agus Bhatarsaidh Ltd, and any activities likely to bring them, Foundation Scotland or the community into disrepute. Please note this fund does not support applications from individuals. In addition, it currently does not support multi-year applications. 

How are decisions made?

Foundation Scotland undertakes thorough due diligence and conducts comprehensive assessments of all funding requests prior to making grant awards. Please ensure you allow sufficient time to apply before your event or activity is scheduled to take place, as we cannot provide funding for things that have already taken place.

Funding decisions are final, but applications that do not receive funding awards can receive feedback an,d where possible,be signposted to other sources of funding or advice. 

The grant award summary for 2025 can be found here.