Charity is on the lookout for Scots good causes

The Foundation, which seeks to promote excellence in four categories - science and medicine; health; education; and the arts and humanities - is London-based. But it has a strong Scottish connection, as founder Sir Isaac Wolfson was born in Glasgow in 1897.

The son of a Russian Jew, his father had fled his home country and set up a cabinet making business. Isaac was a whizz with figures and after coming top of all his classes at Queen's Park School he moved to London where he set himself up as a merchant, importing fancy goods. By the time he was 34 he secured a top job with Great Universal Stores, Ltd, which he was running four years later. These days the company owns household names including Homebase and Argos.

Since 1955, the foundation the then Lord Wolfson set up has distributed more than £750m, largely to scientific, medical and educational establishments.

Recent beneficiaries in Scotland include the National Museums of Scotland, which reopened in 2011 with a spectacular new Animal World gallery paid for in large part by £1.25m from the Wolfson Foundation. Earlier this month Paul Ramsbottom, the foundation's chief executive was at the opening of the Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre (WWCRC) at Glasgow's Beatson Institute, with which the charity has a long relationship.

Despite this, the board sometimes struggles to allocate enough of its funding in Scotland, Mr Ramsbottom says.

"The WWCRC is about taking basic research and making it translational - so that it is something deliverable to patients at the bedside. Glasgow is one of the best places in the UK to do this," he says.

Although the Foundation does a lot of funding of Scottish Universities and cultural institutions such as the NMS, and puts "a couple of million a year" into schools doing outstanding work with pupils in areas of deprivation, there is the prospect of more, he adds.

"Perhaps because of the London address we get fewer applications than we would expect from Scotland, or would like to get.

"There is a lot of money coming into the country from Wolfson, but there are areas where Scotland punches slightly below its weight." This includes other areas of health, disability and mental health issues, he adds.

The foundation is keen to hear from good grassroots charities working in the field of disability, he points out. Very few applications are currently received from the Highlands and Islands.

Funding is usually available for capital costs - such as infrastructure, equipment, building refurbishments, and vehicles. It can help with initiatives such as new builds.

One organisation in the Outer Hebrides that has benefited is Tagsa Uibhist, a non-profit making company which provides free care from trained staff for carers, people with dementia and vulnerable people living in their own homes in North and South Uist.

A £68,000 grant helped renovate the centre to transform what was on offer for carers in terms of overnight respite.

Other charities funded include the Camphill Community at Loch Arthur, near Dumfries, where residents with disabilities have set up a shop as a social enterprise.

While universities or museums (Glasgow's refurbished Kelvingrove has also been supported) have to supply a considerable degree of information and detail when applying for multimillion grants, smaller charities looking for lesser sums may be surprised how accessible the fund is, Mr Ramsbottom suggests.

"The first stage is just a really straightforward short form, which people could fill out in less than half an hour on our website," he says.

Grassroots organisations need only outline what the project they want funded is and justify why they are doing it, he says.

"It would be a shame if people without professional fundraisers and the like miss out, so we pride ourselves on being quite light touch."

l More information on the four funding streams and how to apply for them can be found at www.wolfson.org.uk