Funding for businesses in rural Ayrshire, Arran and Cumbrae

Ayrshire Rural and Islands Ambition Fund

Applications are now open for the 2024-2025 session for the Ayrshire Rural and Islands Ambition (ARIA) Fund.

What is the fund?

The Ayrshire Rural and Islands Ambition (ARIA) Fund is part of the Scottish Government's Community Led Local Development (CLLD) programme.

The programme gives local rural communities the power to tackle their own, local challenges. By building knowledge and skills, supporting new ideas and encouraging cooperation, CLLD helps to create viable and resilient communities.

The applications for the ARIA Fund are now open and over £400,000 is available for both revenue and capital projects.

Applications can be made to two funding streams:

• The Main Fund - open to businesses, social enterprises, community groups and farms
• The Community Asset Maintenance Fund - open to community groups who are managing a community building or asset 

The fund is led by the ARIA Local Action Group (LAG), a group of representatives from the local area. It is administered by South Ayrshire Council.

How to apply

Before being able to apply for the fund, potential applicants must first submit a short Expression of Interest form on the South Ayrshire Council website. You will not be able to apply for the fund without first completing this step.

• The deadline for the Expression of Interest form is 30 June 2024
• The deadline for applications for the Main Fund is 9 August 2024
• The deadline for applications for the Community Asset Maintenance Fund is 15 September 2024