Who can apply?
Any charity or not-for-profit organisation working in Edinburgh with an annual turnover of no more than £2million can apply.
This includes:
- Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO)
- Unincorporated Associations
- Trusts
- Companies Limited by Guarantee
- Not-for-profit or asset-locked company or Community Interest Companies (CIC)
- Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies
- Community Councils
- Constituted community groups
- Parent Councils (subject to conditions)
- Un-constituted Groups
My organisation has a turnover of £1million. Can we still apply?
- Yes – but you will be subject to additional checks.
We are a small community group and don’t have a bank account or a constitution. Can we still apply?
- Yes – please get in touch with us to discuss your project before applying to discuss what support EVOC can provide: [email protected]
- If you don’t have a bank account, you might consider working with a ‘host’ organisation that can hold the funds on your behalf, but please get in touch to discuss this with us: [email protected]
We are a registered company/CIC. Can we apply for funding?
- You may only apply if your company has a governance document which clearly states you have an asset lock in place.
- If your company is ‘for profit’, you are not eligible for funding.
We are a national organisation. Can we apply?
- Yes – if your annual turnover is less than £2million.
- Your project should be solely focused on delivery in the Edinburgh area.
Please note, you will be required to evidence your locality focus, along with clear evidence of need built from engagement within the communities you plan to serve.
What size grant can I apply for?
- A small grant of up to £5,000 for a new project (1 year)
- A small grant of up to £5,000 for a new project (2 years)
- A large grant of up to £20,000* for a new project (1 year)
- A large grant of up to £20,000* for a new project (2 years)
*To support a breadth of projects across all localities in the city, we expect most grant awards will be in the region of £10,000 or less.
I applied to the fund in Year 3 (2023/24) or Year 4 (2024/25). What type of grant can I apply for?
- We are contacting existing grant holders directly to outline the different options available.
If you have not heard from us, please get in touch: [email protected]
How long should our project run for?
- 1-year applications – projects should run between 12 and 18 months.
- 2-year applications – projects should run between 24 months and 30 months.
Can we apply for funding for capital costs?
- Yes – you can apply for up to £5,000 of capital costs.
– These costs must be directly related to the project you plan to deliver.
– Capital costs must be fully funded before they can be considered, so any match funding agreements should be in place.
– The project site must also have a lease agreement for a minimum of 5 years.
– In a partnership project application, each organisation may apply for up to £5,000.
Can we submit more than one initial proposal?
- No – you can only submit one proposal and hold one grant.
Can we be a partner on one project and submit our own expression of interest?
- No – you can only receive one grant award.
However, you can hold your own grant and be a referral partner on a partnership project. Please note that you cannot hold your own grant and be a financial partner in another project.
Can we apply for funding for a new project and for the continuation of an existing project?
- No – organisations can only hold one grant at a time.
Can we apply for funding for counselling*?
- No – the Scottish Government has stated that projects should be focused on early intervention and prevention activities rather than the delivery of therapies like counselling.
* If counselling is only a small aspect of a larger project and you can demonstrate that counselling is not available for your group elsewhere, your application may be considered.
Can we apply for funding solely for food provision?
- No – while we recognise that the cost-of-living crisis is negatively impacting people’s ability to afford food and essentials, food banks and pantries do not fit with the criteria of this fund.
We would like to run a community café – can this be considered?
- Yes – but only if it is part of a wider project to support people’s mental health and wellbeing, rather than purely focusing on food provision.
Can we work with people under 16?
- No, this fund is only to support people aged 16+.
We’d like to run a citywide project – will this be considered?
- Yes – but you must be able to demonstrate the need for working across all localities, and how you will support people to access your activities
We would like to apply for funding towards a national project. Can we apply?
- No – we will only accept applications for activities solely delivered to residents of Edinburgh.
Can we apply for a grant to support a joint or partnership project with another organisation?
- Yes – we strongly encourage partnership working, so we would happily accept a partnership project application.
How do we apply for a partnership project?
- One organisation should apply as the lead partner and will receive the grant payment.
- If you are applying as part of a partnership, the maximum grant amount still applies per organisation – up to £20,000.
- We would expect any grant award to be divided fairly between partners and clear reasoning to support a proposal of more than £10,000 per organisation.
- Before any grant payment can be made, there must be a memorandum of understanding in place detailing the distribution of funding between the partner organisations.
We are applying for a 1-year small grant. Should we still come along to the collaboration event?
- The collaboration event is designed to help you connect with others and contribute to the decision-making process, so we would be delighted if you could attend.
Will our application still be considered if no one from our organisation can attend the collaboration event?
- Yes – your application will still be considered. We would encourage you to come along if you can, but understand that other commitments might get in the way.
Will you be sharing initial proposals with everyone at the collaboration event?
- Yes – we will share all the initial proposals to help identify collaboration opportunities between organisations and to map projects/activities against identified needs.
When will we know the outcome of our application?
- We are planning to make all funding decisions at the start of 2026 and inform applicants by early March 2026.
