In the last round of funding, nine successful charities from across Scotland were chosen to receive grants to the collective value of more than £30,000 to support their good cause.

Scottish Building Society created the initiative in partnership with Foundation Scotland to give back to communities up and down the country and support the good causes.

The Scottish Building Society Foundation, launched in May 2023 to align with the organisation’s 175th anniversary, with an initial £175,000 that will be invested into local charities, causes and organisations across Scotland.

The second round of funding saw applications from 11 local authority areas of Scotland, with successful applicants in line to receive individual grants of up to £5,000 to help their cause.

Applicable to a range of community groups, the Scottish Building Society Foundation particularly welcomed applications that support:

• Community facilities and services, transport, open spaces, affordable housing, community development, reduction of poverty, and care for the elderly
• Local community events
• Youth and education, providing training opportunities and support for vulnerable youngsters
• Foundation Scotland is now assessing the applications and will help to allocate funding to successful groups with input from Scottish Building Society Foundation Advisers, with a final decision to be made at the end of November.

The first round of awards saw grants provided to charities across Edinburgh; Glasgow; Aberdeen; Inverness; Wick; Glencoe; Eyemouth; Grantown-on-Spey; and Peebles.

Paul Denton, CEO at Scottish Building Society, said: “As part of our 175th anniversary celebrations, we wanted to mark the occasion with an incentive that upholds our core value of giving back to the communities.

“We’re encouraged at the volume of interest from a variety of inspiring community groups and charities across Scotland and look forward to seeing how they use the funding to make positive impact. The Scottish Building Society Foundation whilst in its infancy, we hope will make a big difference to many people across the country and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Foundation Scotland to grow the incentive in the years ahead.

“By investing in good causes, we are building stronger communities.”

The third round of funding is set to launch in Spring 2024.