A major £15 million funding package has been announced in Edinburgh through the Regenerative Futures Fund, supporting community-led organisations working to address poverty, racism, and climate inequality across the city.
The fund will provide long-term support to eleven organisations and collaborative partnerships, with each receiving up to £1 million over ten years. The initiative is designed to deliver sustained, flexible funding that enables deep structural change rather than short-term project delivery.
Projects supported through the fund include initiatives aimed at improving financial security within marginalised communities, expanding opportunities for Black creatives in the arts sector, and developing community-led approaches to food and medicine production and distribution. Other funded work includes housing advocacy, climate-focused community action, and local energy transition planning such as heat network development.
A key feature of the programme is its emphasis on community decision-making. Funding selections were made by a residents’ panel made up of individuals with lived experience of poverty and racism, ensuring that allocation decisions were directly informed by community perspectives.
The Regenerative Futures Fund is supported by a coalition of public, charitable, and philanthropic partners, including the City of Edinburgh Council, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland, The Robertson Trust, Turn2us Edinburgh Trust, and Foundation Scotland, which hosts the initiative. Importantly, these partners contribute funding but do not take part in decision-making, which remains community-led.
Fund representatives described the programme as a shift away from short-term grant cycles toward long-term, trust-based funding models that allow organisations to focus on root causes of inequality. The approach is intended to give community groups the stability and autonomy needed to implement lasting change.
Over the coming months, funded organisations will begin implementing long-term programmes across Edinburgh, with a focus on addressing interconnected challenges such as poverty, racism, and climate change. The initiative will also operate as a learning network to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing among participants.
The fund marks a significant development in place-based philanthropy in Scotland, with stakeholders suggesting it could influence future funding models beyond Edinburgh by prioritising long-term investment and community control.
