Criteria

This year a single Community PB fund is open to applications from all age groups. If you previously applied for Youth PB, you can still submit your application to the fund for your area.

Before you apply for PB funding, it's important that you read and understand the criteria for the fund you are applying for. You can find a downloadable copy of this this at the bottom of the page.

Your application will be checked against the criteria before the public vote opens, and any applications that do not meet the criteria will be removed from the process. 

 

Community PB Application Criteria

Please ensure that you have read and understand this document before submitting your application, as the criteria will be used to review your application between applications closing and the public vote opening.

Applications that do not meet the ‘Essential Criteria’ and ‘What We Will Not Fund’ will not progress to the public vote.

Community PB is open to applications from and for all age groups, and everyone aged 8 upwards can participate in voting.

Policies and procedures

If you do not have all (or some of these policies) in place at the time of application, please contact participatorybudgeting@north-ayrshire.gov.uk for further support. By applying for this funding, you confirm that you have the following policies and processes in place:

 

• Any relevant insurance required to carry out the proposal
• An equal opportunities policy. If your group or project is not open to all (e.g. only for a certain gender or age group), we encourage you to expand on this in your application
• Appropriate disclosures and/or PVGs in place (as per the Volunteer Scotland guidance) if your proposal is working with young people or vulnerable adults
• A child protection policy if your organisation works with children or young people
• Your organisation should have its own bank account, or alternatively, have identified an organisation willing to host the funds for you if your project successfully secures the funding.

 

We may ask to see evidence of this as part of the application or grant award process.

 

Essential Criteria

1. You may only apply for funds for not-for-profit activities. Community organisations, including local uniformed organisations, may apply where they are providing a service in, or of benefit to, their Locality. You may apply as an individual if you are supported by and working in partnership with a community organisation, and your application should make this clear. If the partner organisation is applying separately, this should be for a different activity.
2. Your application must be for activities/events/resources for one or more of the following 4 themes: 
   1. Community Action: projects that help people to help others in their local area. This includes practical support around the cost of living, reducing isolation, improving physical and mental health, and community-led action that brings people together to help one another.
   2. Local Ownership: Supporting projects that improve the places people share and help communities take pride in where they live. This could include improving community-owned facilities or supporting organisations on the journey towards owning an asset through specialist advice, support or resources.
   3. Greener Communities: Supporting projects that help communities take local action for the environment. This can include reducing waste, promoting reuse and recycling, encouraging active travel, supporting community growing, and helping people care for and protect the natural environment.
   4. Community Innovation: Supporting projects that help community organisations test new ideas, become more sustainable, and build new opportunities for local benefit. This can include trying out income-generating activity, developing new partnerships, or piloting new services and approaches
3. You can apply for any amount up to £1000 and you can also bid for less. You must include a breakdown of your costs in your application.
4. You must be able to spend the funds within 12 months of the grant award if successful and complete and mid- and final spend report.
5. If successful in securing funding in the 2025 round of PB, you must have submitted a monitoring update on your project by the application deadline. Failure to provide an update – even if your activity has yet to take place – will result in your application being withdrawn from the process. You can complete an update here: Participatory Budgeting: Funding Report – Fill in form
6. You must have any legal or other permissions and relevant insurances required to carry out your project.
7. You must allow your project to be used in any North Ayrshire Council promotional material.
8. Only one application per organisation will normally be considered, to increase the opportunities for a wide range of projects to be funded. Sports teams who operate an independent committee structure under a club umbrella are permitted to apply per team.
9. Where a project takes place in more than one locality, applicants should select the locality where most of the activity will take place.
10. During the application process we may contact you for additional information. Failure to respond to this request or take the recommended action by the stated deadline may result in your application being withdrawn from the PB process.
11. You must submit your application by midnight on Sunday 6th September. If submitting a paper application form, this must be returned to a member of the Community Learning and Development Team no later than 5pm on Wednesday 2nd September. 
12. If your application is successful, you must ensure that your bank account information has been submitted by 9am on Monday 7th December following the process we set out. Failure to do so will result in the loss of funding for your project.

 

 

 

What We Will Not Fund

1. Applications from schools (these are the responsibility of the local authority). Funding cannot be used to cover outdoor learning or play equipment that is unavailable to the wider community outside school hours (before and after school). Parent Councils and Associations are eligible apply for extra activities outwith the school day (before or after school) if they either:

• enhance and benefit the wider community; or
• make extra-curricular activities accessible to young people who would otherwise not be able to participate

       If multiple applications are being submitted from one school (e.g. sports groups / parent councils) this may reduce the chances of all being funded, so you should coordinate and prioritise your applications between committees.             

1. Applications from public sector staff to run projects as part of their paid remit. This includes core equipment or material or resource costs for public sector-led projects.
2. Any political or religious activities. Applications can be accepted from faith groups if they are for local community work.
3. Retrospective funding for projects or activities.
4. Events that take place in 2026. If you are looking for funding for Christmas or Hallowe’en celebration events in 2026, for example, you should apply to other funders.
5. Routine maintenance and repairs.
6. Routine running costs (salaries/electricity/rates/rent/insurance etc). Common examples would be:
   1. We can cover the cost of one-off hall hire for an activity or specific activity programme, but cannot contribute to ongoing property rent or hall hire costs, as the organisation should be able to meet these costs independently.
   2. Salaried staff costs cannot be covered, but we can cover the cost of bringing in an external facilitator or specialist to provide a one-off activity or specific activity programme.
   3. We can fund public entertainment licences, street trader’s licences and public liability insurance for one-off events. However, we cannot cover the cost of ongoing insurance policies required for your day-to-day operation.
7. Funding cannot be used to purchase alcohol or cover the costs of events where alcohol will be sold.
8. Applications from organisations for funds that they then plan to distribute on to other organisations as a grant.
9. Private businesses. Applications can be accepted from social enterprises and other community businesses (e.g. CICs) but the project must meet the rest of the criteria outlined above. Fundraising groups associated with private businesses are not permitted in this round of PB.