Join The Coalition of Funders

Regenerative Futures Fund is a pooled fund contributed to by a range of funders. A pooled fund is also sometimes called a ‘funder intermediary’ or a ‘funder collaboration’.

The funders involved in the co-design of the fund and in progressing proposals towards the pooled fund, to date, include a mix of philanthropic foundations, a community foundation, a lottery distributor and local government.

The overall fund target for Regenerative Futures Fund in Edinburgh is £15 million to be reached in 2025 in order to launch the 10-year programme.

To date, we have reached the initial £5 - £6 million target to launch Phase One and currently have £5,765,000 committed, demonstrating remarkable success in securing significant financial commitments from prominent funders, including:

  • £1 million from Turn2us Edinburgh Trust (£100,000 a year for 10 years)

  • £250,000 from Foundation Scotland

  • £2 million from The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland (£200,000 a year for 10 years)

  • £500,000 from Esmee Fairbairn Foundation (£100,000 a year for 5 years)

  • £1 million from The Robertson Trust (£100,000 a year for 10 years)

  • £1 million from City of Edinburgh Council (£100,000 approved, in-principle commitment of £100,000 a year for 10 years)

  • £15,000 from William Grant Foundation (£15,000 focused on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning in 2024/2025)

How do I get involved?

We are looking for other resource and fund holders from across sectors - including individual philanthropists - to contribute and pool their resources - in the form of funding, knowledge and networks - to support communities in Edinburgh to lead long-term change.

Click here to read our current INVITATION FOR PARTNERS TO MOVE MONEY TOWARDS A POOLED FUND FOR A JUST EDINBURGH

If you would like to get involved or speak to one of the other funders already collaborating in and contributing to the pooled fund about how and why they made their decision, contact Leah Black, Co-Head leah@foundationscotland.org.uk

What The Funders Collaborating On The Pooled Fund Say

  • Here in Edinburgh we have an ambitious target to end poverty by 2030, and we remain committed to making our city fairer. We know that this isn’t an easy task but we need to be bold and drive the change that is so greatly needed. The Regenerative Futures Fund will empower local people and the third sector to directly fight poverty and inequality in our communities. We need a city-wide partnership fund to help us end poverty together. This innovative model is unique to Edinburgh. With backing already in place for £6 million, including £100,000 of Council funding, the team is well placed to start working alongside those with firsthand understandings of poverty. This will help make a lasting difference - ensuring their voices are at the heart of decision-making.

    Jane Meagher, Leader of City of Edinburgh Council

  • The Regenerative Futures Fund is an ambitious vision to reimagine and demonstrate an alternative model of citizen-led change for the City of Edinburgh. Communities have no shortage of ideas for how to explore and create innovative solutions and address the inequalities that exclude people from being part of that experience; what they often lack is stable and secure resourcing and the right to decide how best to use it. We are grateful and excited to have the opportunity to learn alongside communities, other funders, City of Edinburgh Council, other partners and stakeholders how we might work together differently in future towards sustainable change that can meet everyone’s social and economic needs and safeguard our climate and natural world."

    Gillian Goode, Funding Manager at Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

  • This fund, designed for and by local people, is unique response to a well-evidenced need for change within Edinburgh’s communities. National Lottery players can be very proud that they are helping to support this vital work which will make a real difference to so many

    Kate Still, The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland Chair

  • The Robertson Trust is committed to preventing and reducing poverty and trauma in Scotland by funding, supporting and influencing solutions to drive social change. As an independent funder, we recognise our responsibility to explore new approaches, particularly to address the root causes of poverty, racial injustice and climate risks. Our partners tell us consistently that lasting change cannot be achieved through short-term funding. That’s why we were drawn to the Regenerative Futures Fund’s long-term vision, its ambitious cross-sector collaboration, and its deep commitment to shifting power towards people and places with lived experience of these deep-seated challenges. Our £1 million award over ten years - the largest and longest commitment of strategy period to date - reflects our commitment to long-term change. We share the Fund’s bold vision and look forward to learning about power-sharing and ambitious collaboration to achieve transformative change in Edinburgh.

    Jim McCormick, Chief Executive, The Robertson Trust

  • Too often, grassroots organisations are trapped in short-term funding cycles that create uncertainty, stifle ambition, and force them to firefight the symptoms of poverty rather than addressing its root causes. This broken system keeps communities in survival mode, preventing them from shaping the futures they deserve. At Turn2us, we know that real, lasting change happens when power and resources are placed directly in the hands of those experiencing financial insecurity. That’s why we were the first to commit £1 million to the Regenerative Futures Fund, which offers sustainable support and directly contributes to the Edinburgh-wide commitment. By strengthening local organisations, we’re not just supporting individual communities, we’re helping to sustain the wider ecosystem of support that means people can move out of financial hardship.

    Patrycja Kupiec, Head of Edinburgh Trust, Turn2us

  • This is an ambitious fund that ultimately aims to empower people to play a central role in improving their lives and those of others – to have their voices listened to and be active in shaping their own futures. We talk about this kind of approach often, but rarely do we see it so powerfully laid out. The Regenerative Futures Fund has the potential to create a compelling model for others to follow. We will fully support them to make that ambition a reality

    Helen Wray, Head of Philanthropy at Foundation Scotland

During the ten-year programme (2025 - 2035)

Funders contributing towards the pooled fund will be part of the Oversight & Enabling Board as well as optional participation in Monitoring & Evaluation and Learning Spaces where they will work together with organisations and the decision-making panel to refine how we will know this programme is making a difference, as well as taking learning from this back into their organisations. This forms part of our Governance Eco-System.

We know from the work we have done with funders since 2022 that there is a desire to continue to learn and design together and an acknowledgment that in order to make change that will last over the long-term, everyone involved will need to commit to change.

Find out more about the Governance Eco-System here.

How we collaborate with funders

What do we mean by funders?

By ‘funders’ we mean anyone who financially resources the community sector - e.g. philanthropic foundations, lottery distributers, individual philanthropists, local authorities, national government or private sector foundations.

During the development phase (2022 - 2024)

A group of funders and local and national government came together in 2022 to form the Funders Community of Practice. Some contributed to the cost of the development phase and all took part to learn. The group met regularly looking at areas such a fund design, theory of change, outcomes, progressing proposals, and more.

The Funders Community of Practice is now focused on funders who are progressing proposals towards the pooled fund, coming together to share experiences and to talk about and plan for collaboration.

Read more about the Funders Community of Practice here and in the Learning Report on the co-design of the fund.