Neurological Conditions

The RS Macdonald Charitable Trust aims to provide £2.5 million in grants every year to Scottish charities. We believe in the importance of wider networks and support services that involve families, carers and communities and encourage participation for people who are often excluded.

About Neurological conditions: The care and welfare of individuals suffering from neurodevelopmental or neurodegenerative disorders of genetic or other aetiology (cause) or from disorders affecting the nervous system resulting from specific incidents of trauma, poison or infection, which result in damage to motor control, behaviour, communication or personality or from a combination of these.

Neurological conditions can affect children, adults and older people. We fund projects that empower people to lead better lives and be involved in their communities. We are aware of the importance of wider support networks and are interested in services that also support carers and families. Particular attention is given to lower incidence conditions and neglected groups, and programmes that address limited service provision in rural and remote areas. We are also keen to support those services that meet needs across multiple conditions.

Funding is also available for medical research into neurological conditions.

We provide around £2.5m in grants every year to charities working in Scotland. The Trust will consider applications for: *revenue or capital costs *project funding or core funding *one off awards (small and main grants) *multi-year awards for up to 3 years (main grants only)

Small Grants: - There is no deadline for our small grants programme, and you can apply for up to £15,000 at any time of year. Note that multi-year applications are unable to be considered under this programme. We are open to discussing small grant opportunities which you think will support recovery from the impact of Covid-19.

Main Grants: - We award our main grants twice a year. These are grants of more than £15,000, with an average award of around £35,000. This average is for the whole award (so multi-year grants are on average £12,000-£18,000 a year for two or three years). The next deadline for your application depends on the theme of your work. It is advisable to speak with us before you submit your application, but this is not essential and we are happy to give advice prior to an application being made by email.

Medical Research Grants: - We accept applications for research into neurological conditions, visual impairment or sight loss. If you’d like to apply for a research grant, we suggest contacting our Director to discuss your ideas. *Universities can apply for seedcorn for specific academics, research groups or centres who will carry out research in one of our areas of charitable concern. *Charities can apply for specific research projects that have completed a peer review process.

You can apply for our grants if: *Your organisation is a registered charity. *You are based in, or operating in, Scotland. *Your work addresses one of our funding themes. *We can also fund universities through our medical research theme.

We will not fund: *Individuals. *Organisations that are not registered charities. *Projects that do not deliver a benefit in Scotland. *There are no restrictions on the size of the charity that can apply for funding but please be aware that the Trust will take account of a charity’s level of reserves when assessing applications.

Small grant applications can be submitted at any time.