Essentia large grants

About this fund

The Essentia Foundation is a charity that once operated Health and Social Welfare telephone counselling and information services supported by data processing and analysis in the field of public information.  Their clients included HEBS, the Scottish Government, the Department of Health and the Central Office of Information as well as pharmaceutical companies. When the company was sold, the Essentia Foundation was established.

The Foundation provides financial support to charities and community groups to help achieve the following objectives:

• Improved health and social welfare of children and young people up to the age of 25 years old.
• Increased opportunities for training, enhancing learning, upskilling, and developing career opportunities, and supporting young people up to the age of 25 years old to move towards employment.

To learn more about the Essentia Foundation, please visit their website (note: the small grants programme outlined on their website is now closed and separate to this large grant funding.)

Purpose of this fund

This large grant programme is focused on providing funding to larger charitable organisations that align with the Essentia Foundation's objectives.    

The fund is looking for projects that:

• Support the participation in mainstream society for individuals with learning disabilities or long-term life limiting health conditions  
• Support young people who face long-term challenges living in poverty and inequality.    
• Support those who have been excluded from school to access or return to education or training opportunities  
• Provide skills and training to those who are furthest from the labour market  
• Aim to improve the health and welfare of children and young people (being those under 25)  

Please note the above are all in relation to supporting young people up to the age of 25 only. 

Additional criteria

The trustees have decided to award grants of £250,000. This is a fixed amount, not a minimum or maximum, and all grants will be made at this level.

Organisations can choose to spend the £250,000 in one, two, or three years.

Please note, this fund is only open to organisations with an annual income of over £2 million who are likely to have the capacity to match the grant or be contemplating projects at multiples of the grant size. Those in a position to meet this matching or bettering are more likely to be considered for an award, but the Essentia Trustees have stressed they want to see the maximum benefit to the end beneficiaries as much as possible from the awards made.  

This current funding round has around £2 million for grant distribution. As a result, this is a highly competitive fund, with only 8 applicants going on to receive funding. 

Who can apply?

All applicants must meet Foundation Scotland's Common eligibility criteria. Please check this list before starting your application. 

What can’t be funded?

Please read through our page on What we can't fund, these exclusions apply to all Foundation Scotland funds.

In addition, the Essentia Foundation cannot support the following:

• Projects benefitting those over the age of 25 years old.
• Standalone costs for small capital or equipment costs.
• Applications from individuals or private businesses.
• Organisations with an annual gross income of less than £2,000,000.

How are decisions made?

Funding is allocated based on decisions by Essentia Trustees with support from Foundation Scotland.

For more details on our assessment processes please visit our page on How funding decisions are made.