Current Programmes

Project Viability Grant (PVG)

Maximum: £10,000 - Average Offer: £6,000

Project Viability Grants (PVG) are to fund studies to look at potential uses for a building and at its current condition, and usually produce a Viability Report to a standard template. Successful completion of this will be used to judge whether applicants can then apply for the AHF’s Project Development Grant funding, and can be used to secure further funding elsewhere. This grant is administered on a monthly rolling basis. We aim to let you know whether you have been successful within six to eight weeks.

This grant programme is supported by funding from Historic Environment Scotland.

Project Development Grant (PDG)

Maximum: £40,000 - Average Offer: £15,000

The Project Development Grant (PDG) scheme is intended to assist an organisation to cover some of the costs of developing and co-ordinating a project and taking it towards the start of work on site.

To qualify, an organisation must have established that the end use of the project is likely to be viable and have decided to take the project forward.

This grant programme is supported by funding from Historic Environment Scotland.

William Grant Foundation
Tailored Support Fund (TSF)

Maximum: £10,000 - Average Offer: £7,500

Thanks to funding from the William Grant Foundation, projects in Scotland may be eligible able to apply to the Tailored Support Fund. This is intended to help organisations and projects that may not fit will within the criteria for our other grant programmes.  

Projects applying to this fund will generally be characterised by:

• a strong community-led ethos;

• a desire to give new purpose to a building valued locally for its architectural heritage;

• plans that demonstrate strong social, economic or environmental benefits that help meet local need.

We’re particularly keen to hear from projects that might be aiming to create something unique and exceptional; or which will contribute more widely to enriching Scotland’s built environment fabric through trying new and better ways of doing things, i.e. innovative approaches with potential for replication and wider learning.

Example of situations we would welcome a discussion about potentially supporting with this fund include:

• emergency repairs/urgent capital works/mothballing:

• to prevent deterioration whilst developing longer term plans for a building;

• to enable a ‘meanwhile use’ or testing of proposed longer-term use(s);

• other costs involved in enabling meanwhile uses;

• uplifts needed to existing funding due to unexpected situations/increased costs;

• projects involving unlisted buildings that are highly valued by local communities for their historic interest;

• assisting in building the capacity of a community to deliver a project;

• any other areas where our other grant funding programmes cannot currently assist.

Enquire and Apply

Once you have checked your eligibility, please read through our Application Help Notes and then complete our short online Expression of Interest form.

If your organisation and project are eligible and appear to be a good fit with our priorities, we will then invite you to submit a full application, and send you a link to the online application form. You can complete and submit this to us when you are ready, but for grant applications please check our deadlines here.

Please ensure you read the relevant grant programme guidance before starting your application.

We normally take 6-8 weeks to assess applications for smaller awards and up to three months to assess applications for larger awards. We will tell you when your application will be considered once we receive your application, and you will hear the outcome within one week of the grant meeting. If your application is unsuccessful, we will provide feedback.

[If you have already started working on an application and have an online draft saved prior to 28th April, the older version of the application form can be accessed here. For all new applications, please complete the EOI form instead to begin the process.