Scottish Government pledges £300,000 more to help third sector strengthen communities

The Scottish Government will provide an additional £300,000 this year to support projects that build strong and resilient communities across the country.

The investment, announced by Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart, comes on top of the £7.9 million already allocated to third sector organisations for 2025-26. This existing funding supports anti-racism work, interfaith dialogue, hate crime prevention and asylum and refugee integration projects. The additional funding will focus on building community cohesion across a broad range of local initiatives.

Ms Stewart said:

“Community organisations play a vital role in supporting integration and bringing people together through their projects. The additional £300,000 will help to tackle division and promote the shared values that strengthen our communities, particularly at a time when hostile rhetoric is creating fear and uncertainty.

“I have witnessed first-hand many inspiring projects recently, including the multicultural Pitch-to-Plate meal event at Hibernian Football Club. This demonstrates how local initiatives can successfully unite people from different backgrounds, cultures and faiths through shared activities and mutual support.

“We cannot and will not allow division and hostility to define us – the Scottish Government will continue to invest in building the strong, connected communities that all of us want to see.”