Unlocking Community Climate Action in the Northeast of Scotland

The fund has supported 86 community groups with more £815,000 awarded to date. Funding supports the delivery of projects focussed on environmental sustainability. 

Applications are open for the latest round of funding, with a deadline of the 12th of May 2025. The fund will be active for the lifetime of the Aberdeen Bay Offshore Wind Farm, reflecting Vattenfall’s commitment to the communities where it operates.

Community groups can apply for up to £20,000 to support projects which will reduce the carbon emissions of their services and activities. This can include things like energy efficiency measures and renewable energy generation for community buildings, purchase of electric vehicles to deliver valued community services, and projects which support local food growing and waste reduction. 

Previous projects include insulating and installing solar panels on a community hub, repairing and refurbishing a greenhouse for organic food growing, horticulture training, and therapeutic gardening and the creation of a community and food growing garden to regenerate an outdoor space and improve health and wellbeing. 

A local panel of community champions has been established to make decisions about the fund, with Foundation Scotland support as fund administrator.

Steven Wares, Site Manager for Vattenfall’s Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm said: 

"The Unlock our Future fund has shown how communities can get stronger, in the face of climate change, by investing for the long term in their local projects and facilities. As the fund has grown, so have the hopes of people and local groups to help each other use the fund to make their part of Scotland a better place to live. We are really excited to see the next projects and organisations we will be funding”

Guy Haslam, Chair of the decision making panel, said:

"We are delighted to be announcing the start of the 7th year of The Vattenfall Unlock the Future programme, in which the panel will awarding around £190,000 of grants to support organisations in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire in order to improve the quality of life for local people, reduce their carbon footprint and improve their sustainability. The fund continues to be very impressed by quality and range of the applications which have received and are looking forward to seeing more examples of the brilliant work that people are doing to improve their communities in this new round of applications.”

Notes to Editors:

Support for potential applicants will be available via an online seminar on 17th March 2025 and bookable online surgeries with a Foundation Scotland Fund Adviser on 24th and 25th March 2025.

For further information, contact Marion McDonald, Community Fund Adviser at Foundation Scotland: marion@foundationscotland.org.uk, 07912 759524.

Or you can visit the fund page. 

About Foundation Scotland 

Foundation Scotland helps communities create positive change and deliver lasting impact. They support philanthropists to help their personal giving make the most difference. They work with donors to invest in community action that enables people and places to flourish. They work in partnership with communities to maximise opportunities from place-based funds. Foundation Scotland offer social investment opportunities to enable social enterprises, community organisations and charities to grow and deliver positive social impact. They have distributed more than £200 million to grassroots organisations across the country since the Foundation launched in 1996. For more information visit www.foundationscotland.org.uk.