Current Funders

Feeling Better Making Better Communities

Previous Funders

Feeling Better Making Better Communities

Our Funders

Thank you to our funders, past and present, for their fantastic support and guidance which allows us to work with our neighbours to enhance their wellbeing and that of their communities. Please know that you are making a difference in the lives of many young children and families. Thank you.

Better Views

Since 2016 The National Lottery and the Robertson Trust has supported the delivery and development of our core Better Views activity. As a result, they have increased access to practical self-management tools for all residents who wish to improve their well-being or that of the communities we live in. We are very grateful for their continued support giving us the time to learn and improve what we do. This has led to the expansion of our support and activities across a number of communities.

With CSGN funding, our participating Alexandria residents have taken ownership the delivery and development of their social activities resulting in the creation of Alexandria Community Food Growing Network route: a Community led and based, local gardening network. The network provides well-being themed social gardening workshops increasing physical activity, reducing social isolation and building resilience for participating residents. Access is open to all residents within and outside office hours.

This has enabled us to establish new and regular social gardening activity in Dalmuir and Clydebank, based on learnings from our Alexandria activities; and to test and document a legacy approach which will form the basis for our future community engagement work. .

Learn and Grow Project

We are incredibly grateful to the support of our funders, Heritage Lottery, West Dunbartonshire Council and Scottish Natural Heritage for enabling our community to make Learn and Grow a reality. As a ‘Better Views’ Community participation project, it is delivered by our community of residents, volunteers, local authority and national organisations. Our Learn and Grow: Past, Present & Future project increases the use and development of our community’s natural heritage, providing regular activities for all our residents using the natural heritage resources within and adjacent to schools and nurseries.

Our SNH funding enables us to run a specific pilot called Outdoor Learning in Nature Fund. The aim of this Fund is to support more young people to have regular, frequent, structured and progressive outdoor learning experiences.

Previous support

YPI Scotland


The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) is an active citizenship programme that raises awareness amongst young people about philanthropy and their local community. Each participating school, each year is responsible for directing a £3000 YPI grant to a local charity through a unique programme of teamwork, research and competition. YPI is all about creativity and passion, leaving the four walls of the classroom behind, and supporting the issues young people care most about.

We are very grateful to the pupils of Vale of Leven Academy, who adopted our Better Views project as their recommended charity, Having presented their recommendations, our young ambassadors achieved the £3,000 award our Better Views activities. As a result, we were able to support our residents desire for an additional weekly activity.

WDC Community budgeting

Additional support was provided by WDC’ Community Budgeting which allowed us to work with Inclusive Images to deliver a 8 week community development activity which supported the communities ongoing support to the local community food growing project in support of our Better Views aims.

Voluntary Action Fund

Now called Impact Funding Partners, they manage funding on behalf of the public sector, private companies and donors. Working with organisations their main aim is to tackle inequality in all its forms to create a fairer future for all. VAF support allowed us to undertake a community survey to establish residents needs of a peer led activity in their community.

Carbon Sprouts

The Scottish Government's Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) provides grants and support for community-led organisations to tackle climate change by running projects that reduce local carbon emissions. Our Carbon Sprouts project was supported from 2015 to 2018 helping to establish community growing spaces in central Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire. Additional carbon cutting activities included workshops to help the local community reduce food waste and the promotion of local and in season food, reducing the carbon emissions associated with our food choices. Funding enabled us to:

Establish three community growing groups and a Social cooking group in Central Alexandria and Bonhill.

Working with the most wonderful friends, neighbours and partner groups, we established the Growing West Dunbartonshire network and an annual Spring event which is entering its 4th year.

Build relationships with local schools and nurseries which lead to the establishment of a legacy project, Learn and Grow. Our final report can be viewed here

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