Poverty Prevention Third Sector Grants Programme
Overview
We’d like your views and ideas to help shape a new £2.5m Council grants programme for third sector organisations working to prevent and mitigate poverty in Edinburgh.
This call for views will build on the findings we are gathering through a series of workshops held during October and November 2026.
Who can take part?
Everyone is welcome to share their views. We are particularly keen to hear from third sector organisations working in Edinburgh, but will also welcome the views of individual citizens, local community groups, community councils, businesses, and public sector partners.
More information
Background
In February 2026, the Council agreed to establish a new £2.5m per annum grant programme to support third sector organisations working on prevention, early intervention and mitigation of poverty and its associated harms.
The programme will aim to support third sector organisations respond to the calls to action made in the Edinburgh Poverty Commission’s 2025 update report and ensure that third sector organisations critical to the city’s mission to eradicate poverty can survive and thrive.
A steering group of Council officers and third sector leaders has been established to lead the design of this grants programme. The role of the steering group is to build on this direction set by Council and co-design a detailed grant specification to be taken to Council elected members for final approval. Elements to be considered in this co-design process include:
- Eligible costs and organisations,
- Application forms, assessment criteria and processes, and
- Grant management procedures.
Fit with other Council funding programmes
One £2.5m programme will not be sufficient to cover all the activities needed to prevent poverty in Edinburgh. Indeed, this fund is part of a broader c£20m annual investment the Council makes in third sector grants. These include grants covering services such as:
- Early years support
- Youth work
- Whole family support
- Employability and skills
- Volunteering opportunities
- Income maximisation
- Homelessness prevention
- Community Transport
- Access to culture
One aim of this consultation is to seek views on how to make sure that this new fund:
- Complements, but does not duplicate existing programmes
- Provides additional resource to areas where there is unmet need
- Provides resource in a way that helps the sector thrive
Timeline
Work on the design of this grants programme is taking place between August and December 2026
A specification will be presented to Council elected members in March 2027 for approval
Subject to that approval the programme will open for applications in Spring/Summer 2027
A recommendation on grant allocation decisions will be presented to Council elected members for approval in Autumn 2027.
Grant funding through this programme will begin from 1st April 2028.
Further reading
- Edinburgh Poverty Commission 2025 update
- 2025 End Poverty in Edinburgh annual report
Areas
- All Areas
Audiences
- Voluntary sector/volunteers
Interests
- Access to information
- Adaptation
- Adult and community learning & development
- Adults and Older People
- All interests
- Archives and local history
- Area regeneration
- Arts and culture
- Biodiversity
- Births, marriages and deaths
- Budgets and spending
- Building warrants
- Business rates
- Carbon emissions
- Carers
- Children and Families
- Climate Change
- Commercial bins and recycling
- Community planning
- Community safety
- Conservation
- Council and housing association homes
- Council homes
- Councillors and committees
- Crime & Antisocial behaviour
- Cycling and walking
- Disabilities
- Economic development
- Elections and voting
- Emergency planning
- Enforcement
- Fairtrade
- Flooding
- Food safety
- Funding opportunities
- Health and safety
- Health and Wellbeing
- Homeless or at risk
- Housing benefit
- Housing support
- Jobs and training
- Jobs and training for young people
- Land and property
- Landscape designations
- Libraries
- Licences and permits
- Local plans and guidelines
- Looked after and accommodated children
- Museums and galleries
- Nature
- Net Zero
- Noise
- Non-commercial bins and recycling
- Nurseries and childcare
- Offenders
- Offline
- Parental engagement
- Park and ride
- Parking permits
- Parking spaces
- Parking tickets
- Parks and green spaces
- Paying for Care
- People with addictions
- People with mental health issues
- Performance and statistics
- Permissions for development
- Pest control
- Planning applications
- Policies, plans and strategies
- Pollution
- Poverty and Inequality
- Private housing
- Procurement
- Protect someone from harm
- Public space
- Public Transport
- Road safety
- Roads and pavements
- Schools
- Scientific services
- Severe weather
- Sport, activities and dance
- Support for businesses
- Sustainability
- Trading standards
- Traffic regulation
- Trams
- Travel in Edinburgh
- Volunteer
- Welfare reform
- Youth clubs and participation
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