Community Grants Fund opens for 2026-2027

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You may have seen notices in the press about the Community Grants Fund (CGF)  opening for 2026-2027 and inviting applications for grants of up to £5,000 for community projects.

Just to clarify – this is the same fund of money that underpins Leith Chooses. In our area, CGF grant applications are funneled through the Leith Chooses process, rather then being made directly to the council. This allows the local community the opportunity to vote for what people see as the most needed projects (rather than these being decided by a small ‘panel’).

NO IMMEDIATE RUSH, BUT START GETTING INTO GEAR….
Applications to Leith Chooses will open in August 2026, and we will keep you posted  between now and then about ‘Theme(s)’ for the coming year, and how to get Application Forms and Guidance Notes. You can certainly start thinking already about new projects that are needed in the community, that your organisation might wish to develop.

If you have any views about the type of project needed as a priority in Leith, or ideas for a suitable Theme for the coming year, please get in touch withthe Steering Group, as planning is starting. leithchooses@edinburgh.gov.uk

GREATER LEITH
Please Note – ‘Leith’ for the purposes of Leith Chooses refers to ‘Greater Leith’ which is the area shown within the black border line on the map below, that encompasses not just Leith Walk and the heart of Leith, but also the Links and Seafield, and ‘fringes’ of Leith such as parts of Lochend, Calton / Hillside and parts of Abbeyhill, parts of Broughton, Bonnington and the eastern edges of Trinity and Newhaven.

Changes are coming – please have your say

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The City of Edinburgh Council is currently reviewing how it distributes the Community Grant fund monies. There is a survey to be completed by 4 May (Yes – tomorrow! – please fill it in NOW!).  We are told that “the status quo is not an option”. There are basically 3 options offered, but there is also space for you to say what other issues you think are important and changes you might like to see made to the options currently on offer.

If you don’t like the Leith Chooses model (participatory budgeting), then it’s easy – choose Option A. But if you DO like (even just some aspects of) the Leith Chooses model (even though it may not be perfect), please fill in the survey to say so. It is quite hard to figure out all the implications of Option B and C. NEITHER of them reflect exactly what happens at the moment, and choosing either of them would see Leith Chooses  – if it continues at all – lose a significant amount of support (financial and in terms of Council staff input), and possibly also lose the live Voting Day event. So please use the free text boxes to write in what you think is important about the current situation and what would make it better –  rather than just ticking the council’s questions and options.

Here is the link to the survey (it’s pretty short):  https://forms.office.com/e/E0PWGzEXFL

These are the options on offer

Option A
Who decides the funding criteria (what is most needed in the local area): Local ward councillors, community councillors and a funding panel of local residents.
Who decides which projects receive funding: A funding panel of up to 10 local residents (including young people and other underrepresented groups in the area). Every 3 years we will try to involve new voices so more people get a chance to have their say over time. 
How do they decide who receives funding: The panel members individually score funding applications based on what is most needed in the area, before coming together to discuss their scores and reach an agreement. 

Option B
Who decides the funding criteria (what is most needed in the local area): Local ward councillors and community councillors. 
Who decides which projects receive funding: Everyone who is part of the community. 
How do they decide who receives funding:  Everyone can vote online or by placing their votes in a ballot box in their nearest library. The projects with the most votes receive funding.

Option C
Who decides the funding criteria (what is most needed in the local area): Everyone in the community gets a say. 
Who decides which projects receive funding: Everyone who is part of the community. 
How do they decide who receives funding: Everyone can vote online or by placing their votes in a ballot box in their nearest library. In areas where there is interest, a local community group can receive support to run an in-person voting event similar to LeithChooses. The projects with the most votes receive funding.

The LeithChooses 2025/2026 results are in!

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The results are now in for LeithChooses 2025/2026.

Following the voting day and the online voting period, and after totting up all the votes cast by the Leith community, the groups that have been successful in receiving funding for their community projects are now revealed  (in no particular order):

  • Milan Senior Welfare Organisation
  • Dr Bell’s Family Centre
  • Living Memory Association
  • Leith Community Growers
  • Water of Leith Conservation Trust
  • Edinburgh Community Food
  • Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council
  • Pilmeny Development Project
  • Mustard Seed Edinburgh
  • Kin Collective Family Wellbeing

Congratulations to all of them, and wishing them the very best of luck in getting their projects up and running.

Commiserations to all those who were not successful on this occasion. We wish you well in all your other undertakings.

Warmest thanks to ALL who took part.

 

Remember to vote online before 10 February!

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Online voting for this year’s £eithChooses is LIVE NOW and waiting for you!
Here is the link: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/voteleithchooses

Even if you voted in-person at the Community Centre on 24 January, you can still vote again online. To be eligible to vote, you must live in Leith, work in Leith, or volunteer or study in Leith and be able to give the post code. The details of all the projects applying for funding are laid out for you to read and you then click to vote for three different projects, plus one (optional) ‘boost’ vote for an ethnic minority project.

Do it now! And please be sure to share this info and get all your Leith friends, family and workmates to vote too!

Online voting closes on 10 February

Vote! Vote! Vote! Online is open now!

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Online voting for this year’s £eithChooses is now OPEN and LIVE and waiting for you! Here is the link: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/voteleithchooses

If you missed out on Saturday’s voting day, all is not lost, you can vote online. To be eligible to vote, you must live in Leith, work in Leith, or volunteer or study in Leith and be able to give the post code. The details of all the projects applying for funding are laid out for you to read and you then click to vote for three different projects, plus one (optional) ‘boost’ vote for an ethnic minority project.

AND – woo-hoo! – even if you voted in-person  at the Community Centre on Saturday, you can still vote again online – you get an extra vote for having turned out in the rain (only joking, it still works even if it is good weather).

Do it! And be sure to share this info and get all your Leith friends, family and workmates to vote too!

Online voting closes on 10 February

Leith Chooses Voting Day is here!

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Voting Day is here!

  • Do come to the Leith Community Centre between 11 and 3 pm to cast your votes.
  • It is fun, you will learn all about great community groups, charities and projects in Leith.
  • Free Refreshments
  • Free face-painting for kids, also a smoothie bike

Please note that the lift at the Newkirkgate shopping centre is unfortunately out of order and will not be available for the LeithChooses event. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Volunteers in branded t-shirts will be on hand to support and redirect any voters who need step free access to either access the event in Leith Community Centre via the ramp in Lidl car park, or to vote in the Utilita hub on the ground floor of the Newkirkgate (volunteers, a hot drink and information about how to vote will be available at Utilita). If additional help is required on the day, you can also call the event team on 07718569916.

 

Who will YOU vote for?

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We are getting very excited as £eith Chooses Voting Day approaches – only one more week to go!
You can vote if you are 8 years or over, and you live in Leith, work in Leith, or volunteer or go to school or college in Leith. Please DO vote! You will be voting for funding for projects that can improve well-being within the Leith community.

The live Voting Day at the Leith Community Centre in the Kirkgate is Saturday 24 January 2026. It is always a really interesting and fun day, so please don’t miss it – be there, or be square!  The day opens at 11am for those who need some ‘quiet time’, and the main times are 12 – 3pm.

Sadly, not all of the great projects on offer will be able to win funding, as the Community Grants Fund ‘pot’ is limited to £44,707.16.  You really need to be sure to vote – and to tell all your friends and family to vote too!

If you can’t make it in person on Saturday 24rth, you can still vote online from Tuesday 27th January. Actually, you can do both! People who come along in person to support the community get an extra vote – one in-person, and one online at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/voteleithchooses. (This link is not live yet for voting though.)

It will help you to decide who to vote for if you take a wee moment here to read through the project outlines online before you come along.

 

 

 

Happy New Year from £eith Chooses!

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Hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Year!
January is £eith Chooses month – please remember to cast your vote for your favoured projects.

Voting Day at the Community Centre is Saturday 24 January 2026 (online voting opens on 27 January). It will help you to decide who to vote for if you take a wee moment to read through the project outlines online before you come along, as otherwise the day can sometimes get a bit overwhelming.

Sadly, not all of the great projects on offer will be able to win funding, as the Community Grants Fund ‘pot’ is limited to £44,707.16.  You really need to be sure to vote – and to tell all your friends and family to vote too! You can vote in person on Saturday 24rth or you can vote online from Tuesday 27th January. Or you can do both!

Have a look at all these great projects!

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Wow! This year’s Leith Chooses has attracted a record number of applicants! The ‘Gallery’ is now open and you can see details of all the proposed projects here, in advance of voting in January 2026.

Loads of great projects are being proposed but sadly, not all of them will be able to win funding, as the Community Grants Fund ‘pot’ is limited to £44,707.16.  You need to be sure to vote for your preferred projects – and tell all your friends and family to vote too!

Date for your diary- Voting Day at the Community Centre is Saturday 24 January 2026 (online voting opens on 27 January). It will help you to decide who to vote for if you take a wee moment to read through the project outlines online before you come along, as otherwise the day can sometimes get a bit overwhelming.

Applications are being processed

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What’s happening just now at £eith  Chooses?

The deadline for applications has passed, so no new applications can now be accepted.

All the applications submitted by the deadline are being processed, and you will be notified very soon if there is any further information required, and whether or not your application is eligible and has been accepted.

You have until 28th November to supply any final missing details that you have been asked for, to complete your application, in order to have it accepted.

Aftert that, the proposed project outline of all the eligible applications will be published here on this website, from 5th December, so that voters can have a good long time to read the previews and start to form ideas about who they will vote for, in January.

Any queries, please contact: leithchooses@edinburgh.gov.uk