Henry Duncan Grants

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This year’s Henry Duncan Grants will fund community-based support for mental health in very remote rural areas of Scotland. We recognise that living in the most remote or sparsely populated areas in Scotland can bring distinct pressures that influence both the prevalence of mental health issues and the ability to seek help.

We are interested in supporting organisations who are providing mental health support to people experiencing mental ill health or who are in a mental health crisis in very remote rural areas of Scotland.

Further information around what we mean by ‘people with mental ill health’ and ‘very remote rural areas of Scotland’ can be found in our Programme Criteria document.

The Henry Duncan Grants Programme 2026 is open to charities and registered not-for-profit organisations with an annual income of under £500,000 in each of the last three years.

Organisations can apply for funding of up to £50,000 across five years (no more than £10,000 in any one year).

We anticipate making grants of up to a total of £500,000. Approximately 10 organisations are likely to receive funding.

This round of Henry Duncan Grants will involve a two-stage application process. The closing date for Stage One applications is Thursday 23 July at midday.

Can I apply?

You can apply if you are:



Scottish charities registered on OSCR

OR

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A Community Interest Company (CIC), social enterprise or other registered not-for-profit entity (such as private company limited by guarantee without share capital) registered on Companies House. Your Companies House information needs to clearly show that:

Your organisation is not for profit or has a clear clause in your governing documents ensuring that all income is applied to the organisation’s purposes and not distributed to members, shareholders or owners.
There is a dissolution clause/asset lock in place requiring assets are distributed to an organisation with similar charitable aims in the instance of closure.
No director has more than 50% control or voting rights.
There is a minimum of three unrelated people on the Management Committee or Board.

You must also:



Operate in very remote and rural areas of Scotland.



Have an annual income of under £500,000 in each of the last 3 years.



Be an organisation with a majority of its work focused on supporting people with mental ill health.

If you are a Henry Duncan Grant grantholder working in a very remote rural area who was funded in 2021, we would encourage you to get in touch with us as you may be eligible to apply to this fund.

Please Note: We expect to receive a high volume of applications. We are unlikely to fund organisations that have more than 12 months of unrestricted reserves or have a significant deficit or are carrying a sizeable sum of money as debt.

What can I apply for?



Grants up to £10,000 per year, across five years – a total grant of £50,000. You can apply for fewer years or a smaller amount per year if you prefer. We understand that every organisation has different needs and ideas. We encourage you to think about how much your organisation needs and to apply for that amount.



The Henry Duncan Grants Programme will provide unrestricted funding for up to five years – that means you can use the money to deliver any aspect of your work that supports people with mental ill health, including contributing to your organisation’s core costs.



A Henry Duncan Grant can fund new project idea, help you continue an existing project, or support your general running costs, for example paying staff, rent or overheads. The way you use the grant can change from year to year.

Chat to us before you apply

If you would like to talk through your organisation’s work or any aspect of the application process, please get in touch by calling us on 0131 444 4020 or email henryduncan@corra.scot.

However, we’re not able to look at draft applications so it’s best to chat to us before you complete the form.

Information Session

A recording of the online information session is available here

Apply now

Stage One of the Henry Duncan Grants Programme 2026 closed to applications on Thursday 23 July at 12 noon.

Decision making process

All of the stage one applications will be reviewed by staff from Corra’s grant’s team to determine their eligibility and fit with the fund. Part of this process will be to ensure that there is a mix of organisations based on location, annual income and the types of support offered who are invited to Stage two of the application process.

All stage two applications will be assessed by a member of Corra’s grants team and peer reviewed by other Corra staff. During the assessment process, you may be contacted by a member of Corra’s grants team to discuss your organisation’s application further.

Applications are reviewed by an independent panel made up of people from remote and rural communities with lived or professional experience around mental ill health. The decision makers panel meet to discuss applications and decide which organisations to fund.

The main contact listed on your application will receive an email advising them of the outcome of the application, including any grant amount and payment information.

When are decisions announced?

We aim to let you know the outcome of your application by the week commencing 19 October 2026.

Can I get feedback if my application is unsuccesful?

We provide written feedback to all applicants and are happy to discuss this further with you once you’ve received your result.

What are the reporting requirements if my application is successful?

Successful applicants are asked to give us a yearly report about your work. This will be an easy process to tell us about how you spent the money, how this helped your work and the people you support. We may contact you with questions or just to hear more about your story. Once we have read and understood your report, we will send you the next year’s funding.

Previous rounds of Henry Duncan grants

In 2019, Henry Duncan Grants were reviewed to understand how we could design a funding programme that met the needs and provided the support that Scotland’s voluntary sector needed.

Read about Henry Duncan Grants Review.

In response to the review, Henry Duncan Grants now provides 5 year unrestricted or project funding. Each year there is a different theme. Since 2021, 30% of the fund has been ring-fenced for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic led organisations.