Year of stories 2022 - Community Stories fund 

Organisations and groups working with communities can apply for up to £5000 to take part in and celebrate Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022, with new, creative events, activities and programming, spotlighting stories inspired by, created, or written in Scotland.

The Community Stories Fund will support organisations and community groups to take part in and celebrate Scotland’s Year of Stories, spotlighting the unique stories that matter to them with new, creative events, activities and programming. 

Applicants are invited to respond to any of the five, cross cutting Year of Stories 2022 (YS22) programme strands:

ICONIC STORIES AND STORYTELLERS

Across literature, screen and entertainment, YS22 will celebrate and showcase Scotland’s wealth of treasured and iconic stories and storytellers from classics to the contemporary.

NEW STORIES

We want to shout about Scotland’s new and untold stories. YS22 will shine a light on emerging, fresh and forward-looking talent and highlight the innovators that break boundaries across all forms of storytelling.

SCOTLAND’S PEOPLE AND PLACES

Our people and places have inspired the widest range of stories and storytellers across the world. YS22 will promote how Scotland’s diverse culture, languages, landscapes and ways of life, urban and rural, provide a source for all types and forms of stories, encouraging visitors and audiences to find out more. 

LOCAL TALES AND LEGENDS

Every community has its distinct tales to tell, stories of now and those passed through the generations. These are the stories we tell ourselves and share with others to make sense of time and place. YS22 will provide the opportunity for every part of Scotland to tell its story. 

INSPIRED BY NATURE

Our encounters with nature are an unfailing source of stories, old and new. Whether by the sea or land, along rivers or through woods, in city and country, we discover stories of birds, insects, animals and plants. Stories that connect us to the natural world can help create a more sustainable future for Scotland, and a greener planet.

This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, to enable the themed year to have an increased impact throughout the country and support local attractions, museums, venues, artists, creatives and tourism networks.

Museums Galleries Scotland is administering the fund on behalf of the partnership.

Following awards made from the first round of funding, we will be particularly interested in seeing the following types of application in order to balance the overall programme:

Activity taking place in Clackmannanshire, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde or North Ayrshire
 

Events that focus on the theme of iconic stories and storytellers
 

Projects that represent a diversity of voices, including those from multicultural, disabled or LGBTQ+ communities

You can apply if you are an organisation or group working with communities providing you:

Are not for profit AND

Are formally constituted, with some form of governing document AND

Have a bank account in the name of the formally constituted organisation.

You will be asked to supply information with your application, such as your constitution document and a copy of a recent bank statement, to enable us to verify your eligibility for funding.

Please click here for more details.