Funding finder

The Project Development Grant 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.

• Grant size: Up to £45,000
• Length: Up to one year
• Organisation type: Charities and not-for-profit organisations, including social enterprises
• Funding covers: Project costs and overheads
• Project stage: RIBA Plan of Work stage 2 - 4
• Match-funding: Minimum 10% match funding is required

Please note that the average grant is likely to be c.£20,000.

Apply

Check you are eligible here. 

Read our Programme Guidance.

If you think your project is a good fit for this programme, complete our short online Expression of Interest form. You can submit this anytime and will hear the outcome within about 6 weeks.

If your organisation and project are eligible and appear to be a good fit with our priorities, we will invite you to submit a full application and send you a link to the online application form. Our Application Help Notes will help you to complete this.

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.

• Grant size: Up to £15,000
• Length: Up to one year
• Organisation type: Charities and not-for-profit organisations, including social enterprises
• Funding covers: Project costs and overheads; emergency repairs and meanwhile uses; uplifts following increased costs; other
• Project stage: RIBA Plan of Work stage 0 - 7

Please note that the average grant is likely to be c.£10,000.

Apply

Check you are eligible here. 

Read our Programme Guidance.

If you think your project is a good fit for this programme, complete our short online Expression of Interest form. You can submit this anytime and will hear the outcome within about 6 weeks.

If your organisation and project are eligible and appear to be a good fit with our priorities, we will invite you to submit a full application and send you a link to the online application form. Our Application Help Notes will help you to complete this.

The Heritage Impact Fund is designed for charities and social enterprises that are looking to make a positive social impact by acquiring, reusing, or redeveloping buildings of historic or architectural importance. 

You can use our loans for various purposes, including:

• Redeveloping a building
• Buying a building (freehold or leasehold)
• Bridging finance
• Smaller scale improvements to your building
• Supporting the development of new activities or services

We typically support buildings that are listed or located within a conservation area. However, we will consider unlisted buildings outside of conservation areas if the applicant can demonstrate their historic and architectural significance.

The Heritage Impact Fund is a joint initiative with contributions from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Cadw, Department for Communities Northern Ireland and the Architectural Heritage Fund itself. 

Additionally, Rathbone Greenbank Investments is pleased to provide investment management and loan facilities to the AHF.

• Loan Amount: £25,000 to £500,000
• Interest Rate: Typically 6.5% - 8% fixed rate
• Repayment Term: Up to 5 years, with potential for capital and interest repayment holidays
• Security: Secured and unsecured
• Arrangement fee: Typically 2% of the loan amount
• Availability: UK-wide
• Eligibility: Incorporated charities and other not-for-profit organisations, including social enterprises

We tailor our loan terms to fit each project’s unique needs. We offer full capital and interest repayment holidays, where required, and loans may be drawn in stages. 

In addition, we can offer additional free expert support, advice and mentoring to clients through our RePlan capacity building service. This service can support sustainable business change and to help drive long-term social and economic impact.

Please read our programme guidance for further information.

Apply

To get started, please fill out our short online Expression of Interest form.

Our Investment Team will contact you to discuss your needs and answer any questions you might have. We’ll ask about your project to see if you’re eligible for our funds and if repayable finance is a good fit for you. If we feel you meet our funding criteria, we’ll invite you to submit a full application. Our Application Help Notes will support you in preparing your application.

There are no deadlines for applying. We strongly encourage applicants to submit an Expression of Interest as early as possible.

Full support will be provided by our Investment Team throughout the application process.

If you'd like to speak to us about a loan for your project, please email us at invteam@ahfund.org.uk and someone from our Investment Team will contact you.

Our General Funds are available to invest in heritage-led projects. For example, loans can be used for building preservation projects, including where the intention is to sell the restored building after completion.

You can use our loans for various purposes, including:

• Redeveloping a building
• Buying a building (freehold or leasehold)
• Bridging finance
• Smaller scale improvements to your building
• Supporting the development of new activities or services

We typically support buildings that are listed or located within a conservation area. However, we will consider unlisted buildings outside of conservation areas if the applicant can demonstrate their historic and architectural significance.

• Loan Amount: Usually up to £500,000, with flexibility to lend more in exceptional cases
• Interest Rate: Typically 6.5% - 8% fixed rate
• Repayment Term: Longer terms, dependent on available funds
• Security: Secured and unsecured 
• Arrangement fee: Typically 2% of the loan amount
• Availability: UK-wide
• Eligibility: Incorporated charities and other not-for-profit organisations, including social enterprises

We tailor our loan terms to fit each project’s unique needs. We offer full capital and interest repayment holidays, where required, and loans may be drawn in stages. 

Please read our programme guidance for further information.

Apply

To get started, please fill out our short online Expression of Interest form.

Our Investment Team will contact you to discuss your needs and answer any questions you might have. We’ll ask about your project to see if you’re eligible for our funds and if repayable finance is a good fit for you. If we feel you meet our funding criteria, we’ll invite you to submit a full application. Our Application Help Notes will support you in preparing your application.

There are no deadlines for applying. We strongly encourage applicants to submit an Expression of Interest as early as possible.

Full support will be provided by our Investment Team throughout the application process.

If you'd like to speak to us about a loan for your project, please email us at invteam@ahfund.org.uk and someone from our Investment Team will contact you.