Scottish Welfare Fund

The Scottish Welfare Fund¹⁾ helps people in times of crisis and those who need support to live on their own.

It offers two types of grants:

crisis grants
community care grants

These grants are for people who can't pay for what they need on their own and have no other avenue of financial assistance available to them. Awards made are grants and are not repayable.

The Scottish Welfare Fund is overseen by the Scottish Government but is administered locally by Scotland’s 32 local authorities (councils) and each local authority has its own preferred application route. Some councils ask applicants to apply online and others require an application be made over the telephone with a member of their staff.

How to apply

If you want to apply for a grant you’ll need the contact information for your local council - you can find this information here.

If you don’t know which council area you live in, you can enter your postcode at Write To Them and it will advise you which local authority area you live in.

We don’t have any role in the Scottish Welfare Fund and all queries should be directed to the local council in the area you live.

¹⁾

The Scottish Welfare Fund is a Scottish Government initiative which is managed locally in each local authority area by each of Scotland’s 32 unitary local authorities. While the fund is nationwide, priorities and payment methods vary from council to council. Check with your council how the scheme operates in your area.