National Lottery Community Fund Scotland Young Start Programme Pause

The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland (TNLCFS) has announced that its Young Start programme will pause to new applications at 12pm on Friday 19 December 2025.

In 2023, The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland launched a 2 year participatory research and development project to explore how Young Start can better centre the voices and ideas of children and young people. Since then, its Young Start Development Team has spent time with over 130 children and young people, hearing directly from them and taking on board their ideas for change. The team has also gathered input from grantholders, other third sector organisations, and funders to help shape the future of the programme.

TNLCFS is now ready to implement these changes, and will be pausing Young Start to allow its team to open a refreshed funding offer in Spring 2026.

Please note that the other funding programmes – National Lottery Awards for All, Fairer Life Chances, Community Action, and Scottish Land Fund – are not part of this refresh and will remain open for applications as normal.

TNLCFS will open the new Young Start funding offer in Spring 2026.

What This Means for Groups

• If they have already submitted an application to Young Start, it will be assessed as usual.
• If they already have an application form but haven’t applied yet, TNLCFS advises they apply as soon as possible. If they are unsure about timing or no longer plan to apply, they should contact their local Funding Officer.
• If they were considering applying to Young Start but haven’t discussed this with TNLCFS or requested an application form yet, they should contact TNLCFS as soon as possible so the Funding Officer in their area can advise them.
• If they have an existing Young Start grant that is due to end before May 2026, which they wish to continue, they should speak to their Funding Officer if they have not already done so.

Further Information

For further information, please visit the TNLCFS blog (linked for your convenience). Alternatively, visit the dedicated Scotland funding programme page.