Scotland: National Rural Network
Connecting Rural Scotland - Promoting Rural Growth

Local groups across Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire will find out how they could benefit from a share of £400 million of National Lottery money when the Big Lottery Fund comes to town on 2 September.

The Big Lottery Fund team will be on hand at Paisley Town Hall, Abbey Close between 10am and 4pm to provide practical advice and support for local groups who want to explore an idea for funding, need advice on how to make a good application or simply want to find out more about the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland. The event is part of a three month tour of Scotland between August and October, during which BIG will deliver over 40 information sessions in partnership with local authorities and Scotland's CVS network.

Over the next five years, the Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has £400 million to invest in Scotland's communities with the majority of that funding flowing through its multi-million pound fund, Investing in Communities. Through Investing in Communities Scottish organisations can apply for up to five years of funding for projects designed to help communities and individuals most in need. The target areas for investment include supporting local communities to acquire or develop their own assets, supporting vulnerable adults back into work and improving the quality of life for disadvantaged Scottish families.

On 2 September, groups in Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire will be able to find out how to apply to Investing in Communities as well as all of the Big Lottery Fund's other grant schemes including its popular small programmes: Awards for All, 2014 Communities and Investing in Ideas. As well as presentations on all of BIG's funding programmes, groups will also be able to speak to Big Lottery Fund funding advisors about project ideas and get further advice. Any local group wanting to book a place can contact their local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) as follows: East Renfrewshire groups call 0141 876 9555, Inverclyde groups call 01475 791679 and Renfrewshire groups call 0141 587 2487 or email info@rcvsweb.co.uk before 26 August.