Applications will open in spring 2025. If you have not currently submitted an expression of interest for this funding call you can do so by going to the CARES project portal log in page and selecting ‘Begin a new project’ (please select ‘Community Buildings’ for the funding call). We will issue an update via our newsletter as soon as the CARES Community Buildings Fund is open to applications.
The CARES Community Buildings Fund provides grants to help community organisations reduce their building’s energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It does this by funding the installation of renewable technologies like heat pumps, battery storage, and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, as well as some energy efficiency measures.
The fund will be open to applications until the end of October 2025, or until funding is fully allocated, whichever is sooner. This will allow projects time to complete and draw down funding before the end of the financial year.
Approved projects must be completed and all funding claimed by the end of February 2026. CARES funding is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis once a fully completed application with all required supporting information is received, and any queries resolved.
Please read this guidance carefully to find out if your organisation, building and improvements are eligible for CARES funding. We’ve also put together some answers to frequently asked questions to help you decide if the fund is right for you.
Who and what is it for?
- Eligible organisations include charities, community groups or faith groups based in Scotland.
- You will need to install approved measures like air source heat pumps, solar PV panels, and energy-saving improvements, and be committed to decarbonising your building’s heating.
- The building you improve must be one you own or lease, that is used often and therefore has high energy costs. See the frequently asked questions for more information on what this means.
- You’ll need backing from your Board/Trustees and should have identified match funding.
CARES Community Buildings Fund – guidance
The following information sets out the recommended process and key criteria for applying for the CARES Community Buildings Fund.
What improvements will CARES fund?
Applying with independent advice
Applying without seeking independent advice
Measures not eligible for funding?
Other help and support from CARES
Resources to help you deliver your project
CARES funding available
Up to 80% of eligible costs can be funded up to a maximum grant amount of £80,000.
CARES funding can be used to develop your project and install renewable measures in your community building. Examples include:
- Development costs like building warrants, planning permission and grid connection applications
- Installation costs: the costs to install the ‘core’ renewable energy measures and the ‘add on’ energy efficiency and energy storage measures (see ‘What improvements will CARES fund?’ below for more information).
The fund is primarily for renewable measures so the ‘development costs’ and ‘add on’ measures must be a minority part of the total requested costs.
If your project can’t proceed without support from CARES, you can get up to 80% funding. Apply only for the funding you need from CARES to move your project forward. Asking for less than 80% helps fund more community projects.
Local Energy Scotland reserves the right to ask for additional information and to reject applications where eligibility or need is not demonstrated.
Funding isn’t guaranteed and depends on available budget. Your application may be put in a queue or rejected if insufficient budget is available.
The funding percentage rate and maximum grant may be subject to change. If funding is available, the eligible grant intervention rate for your application will be the rate published in this section, on the date when a fully completed application with supporting information is received.
How to apply for funding
Please note: The CARES Community Buildings Fund is not yet open for applications and will open in spring 2025.
- Read the guidance below.
- Fill out an expression of interest form on the CARES project portal by clicking the ‘Begin a new project’ button.
- If you’re eligible, we’ll send you a link and you can start your application.
- Evidence your technology choices.
- Seek quote(s).
- Submit your application along with your preferred supplier quotation(s).
If you haven’t had CARES funding before, please click the ‘Begin a new project’ button on our CARES project portal. Submit an expression of interest form with information about your organisation and project so that we can check eligibility before you submit a full application.
If you already have a CARES portal account, you can apply for a new project or update the information on an existing project using your account.
Key criteria for funding
Eligible applicants
Applicants must be constituted, non-profit distributing community organisations, including organisations with charitable status, that are set up and operating across a geographically defined community or faith group.
Eligible community organisation structures:
- Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO)
- Private Companies Limited by Guarantee (CLG)
- Community Benefit Societies (BenCom)
- Community Interest Companies (CIC).
Organisations that are constituted but unincorporated may also apply but must provide additional information.
To be eligible applicants must demonstrate:
- A minimum of three unrelated persons on the organisations’ management committee or board that are local to the area served by the community building.
- Their area of benefit is in Scotland.
- A commitment to demonstrating the low carbon technologies in the building and raising awareness among building users and the wider community. This includes promoting support available from Home Energy Scotland to help people with energy at home.
- A commitment to create a maintenance plan prior to the final grant claim that ensures good documentation management, warranty information, insurance & renewal plans, and a succession strategy to ensure the ongoing management of the energy saving equipment.
Eligible buildings
The funding will decarbonise existing self-managed community buildings. Eligible community buildings include, but are not limited to:
- village halls
- community centres
- community hubs
- sports facilities
- faith buildings.
CARES funding is not available for new builds.
For the purposes of this guidance the term “new builds” includes buildings under construction and any building first constructed under a building warrant granted after 1 April 2024.
The building must be used by the local community or charitable organisation. Applicants must show:
- How the building is used, or if it’s a change of use, extension or refurbishment, how it is planned to be used by the community or charitable organisation.
- through your constituting documents, that either:
- anyone in the community can use the space or
- that no-one is explicitly excluded from being able to use the building or
- building access is purposefully restricted to protect specific building user groups noted in the charitable objectives, for example children, women and refugees.
- o the building is used for activities which must have a clear social objective.
- good levels of building utilisation/occupancy.
The building must be owned or leased by the applicant and, if you are a tenant, you must have:
- A valid and viable lease in place for at least five more years after the project is completed and/or the right to extend it for the equivalent period.
- Evidence of permission from the building owners (or the rights stated in the lease) to carry out all proposed works.
- If the building has previously been a government or local authority building, there must be evidence that the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) agreement is complete.
What improvements will CARES fund?
CARES funding supports communities to decarbonise their buildings. Your project must either already meet the heating requirements as set out below or meet them as part of the project.
1. Heating requirement
You’ll be installing one of these measures:
- a heat pump (including air-to-air, air source, ground source or water source units)
- connections to a heat network.
Or your building already has:
- a heat pump (air source, ground source or water source)
- a connection to a heat network
- direct electric heating (including storage heating or electric boilers)
- biomass heating.
If applying for CARES funding to install a heat pump to replace an existing direct electric heating system, the current system must be broken or ineffective. See our frequently asked questions for further information on eligibility requirements.
2. Core measures eligible for CARES funding.
You must install at least one of the following:
- a heat pump (air source, ground source or water source)
- a connection to heat network
- solar photovoltaic (PV) panels
- solar water heating.
3. Add-on measures.
In addition to installing a core measure(s), you can also apply for funding to install one or more of the following:
- energy storage – heat/thermal or electrical
- insulation – any loft, underfloor or cavity wall insulation
- secondary glazing
- draught proofing
- appropriate energy saving controls that are linked to new installations to ensure they operate efficiently.
Note: Add-on measures must be a minority element of the overall funding requested. In all cases, you must meet the heating requirement and install at least one core measure to be eligible for funding. Please see examples of heating requirements, core measures and add on measure combinations in our frequently asked questions.
Your choice of measures
Good design and choosing the right measures for your building and its use are crucial for success. Do your research and talk to the team at Local Energy Scotland. Where you’re clear about the right measures to install you can progress without seeking independent advice on measure choice. However, unless you are clear on this, we recommend getting independent advice before seeking quotes.
Applying with independent advice
If you have already sought independent advice on the technologies suited to your building, please provide this information alongside your application.
If you are unsure about which measures to include, we recommend that you seek independent advice, ie:
- If your project is part of a larger renovation, the project’s professional advisors should confirm the reasons for your technology choices.
- A recommendation from an independent advisor registered with an appropriate professional institution such as CIBSE.
- An energy report from Business Energy Scotland.
- An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) that includes the appropriate recommendations.
- A feasibility study or options appraisal completed by an independent energy consultancy.
Applying without seeking independent advice
If you already know the measures you’d like to install, and these are included in the following list, you do not need to seek independent advice before applying.
- An air source heat pump and hot water heating system.
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and battery storage, installed at the same time and by the same installer.
- Cavity wall, loft, and underfloor insulation, where these can easily be installed.
- Appropriate energy saving controls that are linked to new installations to ensure they operate efficiently.
We will review your choice of measures as part of the appraisal process. If required, we will ask you or your contractor to provide additional information, or we will request that you get independent advice to evidence your choice.
Measures not eligible for funding?
CARES will not fund the following:
- Measures that do not result in carbon savings, or that would result in carbon increases.
- Intrusive energy efficiency measures – for example new double glazing, fabric-integrated roof insulation, external wall insulation or internal wall insulation that require wider renovation/significant access and/or reinstatement work.
- LED lighting – funding may be available through the Scottish Government’s SME Loan Scheme available from Business Energy Scotland or other funding sources to support this.
- Costs related to wider building renovations – if your building requires a major refurbishment, you must ensure you have sufficient funding for that project, including all design costs, preliminaries, and an adequate contingency budget.
- Community buildings with gas, oil, coal or LPG heating where the heating is not being decarbonised as part of the proposed CARES-funded project.
- Retrospective work – for example, if the work has already started or has been completed.
- Funding to replace an existing direct electric heating system with a heat pump is not available where the existing system is working effectively, is affordable, controllable and comfortably heats the community building for the intended uses.
Match funding
Match funding of at least 20% is required. You cannot use grants provided from other Scottish Government funds or in-kind contributions as match funding. Common sources of match funding include:
- Community reserves or fundraising.
- Community benefit funds – for example, from local wind farms or power utilities (search our map of community benefits for potential funding sources).
- Grants – for example, from trusts, lottery, local authorities, or enterprise agencies. Funding Scotland can be a useful resource.
- The Scottish Government’s SME Loan Scheme available from Business Energy Scotland for an interest-free loan, provided you do not claim the cashback on this loan. Please note that although you can apply for this interest free loan, you cannot receive a grant (the cashback element) if you are already receiving a grant from CARES.
- Bank loans.
CARES grants are claimed in stages as the project progresses, and claims must be submitted as contractor invoice(s) are received. Each claim should be submitted at the CARES funding percentage stated in your grant offer letter, so you must have match funding in place before contracting and drawing down the funding.
Choosing an installer
Your chosen contractor(s) will design the system. They may also support you in applying for permissions and will then install your chosen renewable and energy efficiency measure(s) in your community building. You must supply the quotation(s) from your preferred supplier for the main renewable energy measures as part of your application.
There must be a proper selection process to appoint your contractor/installer to ensure best value. We recommend that you ask sufficient installers to receive at least three quotations to make sure you are getting the right choice of contractor for you.
If it’s not possible to get three quotes, you must provide evidence of seeking additional quotes. You can submit the single quote to Local Energy Scotland for a value-for-money assessment.
All quotes should:
- Separate costs for each technology, confirming the size of each technology and details of equipment that will be installed (ie make and model numbers, kW, kWp or kWh capacity, or area (m2) and depth of insulation).
- State the applicant’s name and the address of the building benefiting from CARES funding.
- Confirm the rate of VAT payable.
We will not undertake a full technical review of your quote(s).
Where measures are being installed as part of a wider renovation process, the procurement may be completed by your design team. Where this is the case, you must demonstrate to Local Energy Scotland that a fair procurement process has been undertaken. An example process is set out on our frequently asked questions webpage.
Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified installers and products should be used for all installations of renewable technologies.
- Where the proposed technology is covered by MCS, accredited installers must be used. You can use Energy Saving Trust’s Renewables Installer Finder to find accredited installers near you or the CARES capital works supplier list for contractors who have expressed an interest to work on CARES projects. For most projects, it’s best to choose contractors early on so they can help with any necessary consents and permissions.
- MCS-certified products should be installed wherever they are available to ensure the best consumer protection. The installation of non-MCS certified products must be approved in writing by Local Energy Scotland and generally only applies to products outside the scope of MCS and air-to-air heat pumps.
Where possible, energy efficiency measures should be installed by contractors certified to install the measures against the relevant Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) standards. These may vary according to the work required and the building to be upgraded, but may include PAS 2030, PAS 2035 or PAS 2038. Where certified contractors aren’t available in your area, applicants should set out the relevant experience of the contractor/trade person. For more significant energy efficiency measures such as cavity wall insulation, you’ll need to use a specialist energy efficiency contractor who we expect to be accredited.
Any controls and other electrical work must be compatible with the installed systems and should be undertaken by a qualified electrician.
We’ve put together some text that you can use when contacting installers for quotations – see our guidance on obtaining quotes from installers.
Timescales
The CARES Community Buildings Fund will close to applications at the end of October 2025, or when funding is fully allocated, whichever is sooner. Funds will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis on receipt of fully submitted applications, where any queries have been resolved, and with all supporting information including your selected quotation and evidence of building use and ownership/lease.
All work related to this funding must be completed and all funding claimed by 28 February 2026.
Please note your funding isn’t allocated to you until you have submitted a full application and have received, signed and returned a grant offer letter. To be approved you will need to submit your quotation(s) showing an indicative installation date from your preferred supplier(s) – please prioritise getting a quote and see our guidance on requesting quotations from installers.
Subsidy control
Please read our guidance on subsidy control. It is important that you read and understand this and consider whether a CARES grant should be considered a subsidy.
Fair Work First
From 1 July 2023, the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First guidance requires all organisations that receive any public sector grants to meet the Fair Work First criteria. All applicants that receive funding through CARES must meet the criteria which include paying at least the real living wage and providing appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice.
Read our guidance about Fair Work First and how this applies to CARES funding.
Other help and support available from CARES
As well as funding, CARES provides free and impartial advice and support in other ways too. For example:
- We can help you progress your enquiry from expression of interest stage through to funding application submission, helping you to plan your project in the process.
- For complex projects, or where a more technical assessment is required, we can fund one of our technical consultants to support you.
- Our website is packed with resources including reports and downloadable guides, and case studies.
Resources to help you deliver your project
These are some of the resources available to help you deliver your project:
- Energy options for community buildings site guide – this short guide can help you with ways to reduce energy use in your community building.
- Project model: solar PV installation on a community building – this short guide focuses on the approach to installing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on community buildings and provides guidance on things you should consider.
- Energy Saving Trust’s in-depth guide to heat pumps – this guide provides information about heat pumps and issues you should be aware of. Heat pumps aren’t suitable for every building and your installer will help assess suitability for your site. You can also watch our recent webinar here.
- Renewables Installer Finder – this free online tool helps you find local installers and might help you shortlist contractors to invite to tender. Local Energy Scotland can provide additional support to help you specify the work and select contractors to complete the work.
- Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) – MCS certifies installers and products and provides standards for microgeneration installations.
Webinar: Optimising your heat pump
Watch our webinar to learn how to optimise the performance of your heat pump after it has been installed. We'll discuss heat pump maintenance, monitoring performance, common challenges and more.
Watch our webinar