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New funding for whole family wellbeing & creative youth employability projects

Fri 07th November 2025

Impact Arts is delighted to have received new funding to support our work with whole family wellbeing in our parent-and-child therapeutic art programme Art Wise and our work with young people in our creative employability programmes.

Art Wise Falkirk: Falkirk Council

A huge thank you to Falkirk Council for their 100% funding of Art Wise in Falkirk, totaling £25,600.

This continuation of funding will allow us to continue our evidence-based and innovative assets-based approach to whole family wellbeing, focussing on the needs of individuals as well as the other family members, meeting local priorities in and around Falkirk. The programme seeks to support the whole family through an arts-based learning approach to parenting children who have experienced trauma, poor mental health, social difficulties and/or behavioural difficulties.

In Art Wise, we focus on removing barriers to accessing services, and improving parents/carers mental health. With this funding, we will continue to deliver a combination of parent-only sessions, whole-family sessions, alongside one-to-one family support, with participants attending for up to 8 weeks at a time.

One of the blocks will be delivered from One Parent Families Scotland premises in Maddiston.

Impactful Starts Edinburgh: National Lottery Community Fund

We’d like to thank the National Lottery Community Fund for their generous contribution of £10,000 in youth employability funding towards Impactful Starts in Edinburgh.

NLCF funds community projects that help people connect, grow and build a better future. They focus on supporting people who are experiencing poverty, disadvantage, or discrimination. By 2030, they’ll share over £4 billion to create stronger, fairer communities across the UK.

Impactful Starts supports young people aged 16-24 years who are from deprived communities and at risk of long term unemployment. The programme helps improve their wellbeing and make a positive progression in life.

Community activities in this programme are tailored towards Edinburgh’s growth sectors of culture and tourism, for example previous projects created community murals, transformed community gardens, collaborated on creative projects in heritage spaces and created new signage/sculptures. This funding will enable us to support up to 30 young people to overcome individual barriers, connect with each other, build trusted relationships, identify progression opportunities, and set personal goals. We will support young people with disabilities, those who have poor mental health, those who are neurodivergent, or are new Scots.

Impactful Starts Glasgow: The Gosling Foundation & The Murgitroyd Foundation

A huge thank you also to The Gosling Foundation for their contribution of £5,000 and Impactful Starts in Glasgow.

This foundation funds units, establishments, and ships of the Royal Navy & Royal Marines as well as youth groups (e.g. Sea Cadets, Scouts, Girl Guides, performing arts).

In more good news for Impactful Starts in Glasgow, we’d like to thank The Murgitroyd Foundation for their contribution of £2,500 towards the project.

In the year January to December 2026, Impactful Starts will benefit around 72 young people aged 16-24 who are affected by poor life chances and at risk of anti-social behaviour. The project delivers 2 days a week in Edinburgh and 3 days a week in Glasgow, with one day at Kelvin College for Glasgow participants. During the course of the programme and with the support of a Wellbeing and Opportunities Worker, participants identify their barriers to progression, develop their core and soft skills, and co-create a personal activities plan which helps them to work towards achieving a positive destination.

We use creative engagement as a ‘hook’ from which to establish relationships of trust with young people. Once established, these relationships of trust provide an opportunity for young people to able to share their often-hidden feelings, vulnerabilities, goals and aspirations, enabling us to meet the expected outcomes and achieve transformational change.

The Wellbeing and Opportunities Workers provide employability support on a one-to-one basis, supporting young people to overcome individual barriers, identify progression opportunities, and set personal goals.

Our partner networks then provide opportunities for participants in further education, training and
volunteering, as well as options beyond education such as apprenticeships and self-employment, with many young people interested in the Creative Industries.

As always, a huge thank you to our funders, partners, and donors who make our work possible. Let’s continue to transform lives through creativity in Scotland.

Impact Arts is a community arts charity based in Scotland. Since 1994, we’ve been delivering creative arts and support programmes for children, young people, adults, families, and older people who are facing disadvantages or barriers to progress in life. Our mission is to tackle inequalities, address poverty, and transform lives through art and creativity.  

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