Future development of the fund
We need your help to decide how we can make fairer and more transparent decisions about how we allocate funding through the Community Grants Fund (CGF).
Stakeholder engagement so far
In 2024, we asked panel members and applicants what they thought did and didn't work well about the CGF and that helped us to identify areas for improvement. Read the Community Grant Fund Evaluation Report here, which went to Culture and Communities Commitee in August 2024.
In 2025, we worked with a wider range of stakeholders to find better ways of making funding decisions that were fairer for applicants, involved more people from local communities, and more transparent for everyone involved. This included a development day drop in, a series of focus groups and a 'Future of the CGF' survey. Through this stakeholder engagement, we came up with three future funding model options and submitted a report to the Culture and Communities committee to progress future changes.
Read an overview of all stakeholder engagement to date in more detail.
February 2026 Culture and Communities committee report
The CGF report with the recommendations that emerged from the stakeholder engagement and participation was presented in February 2026.
Read the Culture and Communities committee report
The key recommendations asked in this paper were
- Note this report is informed by ongoing stakeholder engagement to improve efficiency and governance in allocating community grants
- Note the current grant model is compromised by significant inefficiencies in the process, inconsistency across neighbourhood areas and a lack of capacity to administer the CGF process
- Agree to receiving a further report, presenting an Options Appraisal for a new funding model with recommendations and a timeline for committee to consider
The different funding model options that we presented to Culture and Communities committee, based on our engagement were
- Option A: refreshed funding panels
- Option B: officer-led participatory budgeting
- Option C: community led participatory budgeting
Download the funding model options
Next steps
Amendments from the February Culture and Communities committee members asked that officers consult more widely on the funding models before committing to any option. In response to this officers have prepared a further survey, which asks which model option is the preferred one.
Complete our survey by 4 May 2026 and get in touch with the team know if you have any questions
Once the survey has closed, our team will prepare another report that is due to go to the Culture and Communities committee on 13 August 2026 outlining the top funding model option as determined by the outcome of the survey. Officers will share this report here once it is available ahead of the August committee date.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss in more detail email communitygrantsfund@edinburgh.gov.uk.