Threatened Edinburgh community projects win funding reprieve

Extra cash found to continue work in disadvantaged areas
The Multi-Cultural Family Base in Leith is one of the projects which will continue to receive fundingThe Multi-Cultural Family Base in Leith is one of the projects which will continue to receive funding
The Multi-Cultural Family Base in Leith is one of the projects which will continue to receive funding

FIFTEEN community projects which were due to have their funding axed by the city council have been given a three-year reprieve because of coronavirus.

The projects, which work in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the city, will share in an extra £611,000 to be handed out each year after an all-party deal.

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Several of the groups, including the Leith-based Multi-Cultural Family Base (MCFB), which provides support to both recently arrived and established minority ethnic children, young people and families, and Sikh Sanjog, which offers training, advice and counselling to Sikh women, children and families, warned they faced closure if they did not get ongoing funding.

A decision on the communities and families third party grants was referred to a cross-party working group in March.

Now that group has agreed the grants first proposed should go ahead, but a further £611,902 should be paid to 15 projects who were originally turned down.

Education convener Ian Perry said: “I regret we were not in a position to fund all the organisations who applied. We received 186 applications from 129 organisation which totalled £26.4 million for an available budget of £10.1 million.

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“Given we are in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis we have decided to continue funding to most of the organisations who operate in Edinburgh’s most disadvantaged communities. We all agreed as these communities are likely to the hardest hit during the outbreak and are likely to experience the worst effects of the inevitable economic recession it would not be sensible or appropriate to deprive them of the help these organisations provide.”

The full list of projects to receive continued funding – and their allocation for 2019-20 – is:

Broomhouse Centre £15,805

Craigmillar Books for Babies £9,165

Dunedin Canmore - Youth Project £6,676

EVOC (East Holiday Programme) £27,500

Goodtrees £5,000

Home Start - West & South West £48,145

HOT - Alcohol Support/Emotional Health/Turn Around £138,264

Multi-Cultural Family Base - Early Years Service £62,348

Multi-Cultural Family Base (4 Corner) £27,356

Sikh Sanjog £20,237

Stepping Stones £83,434

The Big Project £25,500

The Ripple £101,207

The BIG Project £5,133

Venchie £36,132

Total £611,902

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