Vote For Your Favourites: You Decide Which Cumbernauld Community Projects Win Up To £1,000 Funding

Citizens of Greater Cumbernauld are being asked once again to help decide which local community projects receive small grant funding through participating in an online Community Voting Survey made live today.

The Survey, which can be accessed by clicking here, will determine which of 37 community and voluntary sector organisations operating in Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, Northern Corridor and surrounding villages receive between £500 and £1,000 to deliver specified community projects to benefit the local area.

This activity forms part of Cumbernauld CAN (Community Anchor Network), a Scottish Government-supported project introduced by Cornerstone House Centre in 2020 which aims to develop the connected capacity of the Greater Cumbernauld community. The project strives to enable Cumbernauld residents and organisations to work together to become better at responding to local needs, built on the theme of community empowerment.   

A key element of the programme involves initiating Participatory Budgeting (PB) opportunities for local groups and citizens. Participatory Budgeting is a process where ordinary people are given power to democratically and collectively make key decisions on how public funding is spent. Mary McNeil, Development Manager at Cornerstone House Centre, commented:

“The Community Voting Survey launched today is to facilitate community-led allocation of Small Grants PB Fund Round 4, a small grants programme which was announced as part of Cumbernauld CAN in January 2022.

“Those living in Greater Cumbernauld and others with an interest in the wider Cumbernauld community are asked to participate in the online Survey, which will take no longer than 5-10 minutes to complete. Respondents are invited to select the three proposals they believe to be most worthy of being funded.

“The proposals that can be voted for have been put forward by 2nd Clyde Moodiesburn Scout Group, 3rd Cumbernauld (223rd Glasgow) Scout Group, AD Framing, Addictions Support and Counselling (ASC), Auchinloch Community Council, Balloch Eastfield Football Club, Bethlehem House of Bread, Blue Sky Autism Project, Carbrain Boys Club 2009s, Cardowan Community Meadow, Chryston Community Council, Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Croy Community Hub, Cumbernauld Action for Care of the Elderly (CACE), Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Care, Cumbernauld Community Forum, Cumbernauld Cottage Trust, Cumbernauld FM, Cumbernauld Free Church of Scotland, Cumbernauld Historical Society, Cumbernauld Junior Netball Club, Cumbernauld Male Voice Choir, Cumbernauld Poverty Action, Cumbernauld Primary School Parent Council, Cumbernauld Resilience, Cumbernauld Scrabble Club, Home-Start Glasgow North and North Lanarkshire, Kilsyth Golden Gloves, Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust, North Lanarkshire Disability Forum, North Lanarkshire Women’s Aid, PALS (Play and Learning Support), Recap, SPRED Cumbernauld, St Mungo’s Parish Church Cumbernauld, Wee Cycle Cumbernauld and Westfield Senior Citizens Group.

“It is anticipated that funding will be awarded to around half of all proposals (the most-voted-for ones), with the exact number of organisations receiving grants depending on the monetary value of the top ranked proposals.

“Last summer, more than 1,000 Survey votes resulted in awarding of funds to 31 organisations through Small Grants PB Fund Round 3. This funding round enabled activities such as the provision of free nutritious meals to older and at-risk people during the COVID-19 pandemic, the transportation of a Mobile Flight Simulator for community use in the Cumbernauld area, the facilitation of a large summer outing to Blair Drummond Safari Park for families of children with support needs and the advancement of a community football facility in Balloch Eastfield.

“If you have missed out an applying for funding through Small Grants PB Fund Round 4, the good news is that plans are afoot for Cornerstone House Centre to release another round of PB funding later in 2022.”

Through Small Grants PB Fund Round 4, community-led voluntary groups benefiting Greater Cumbernauld were invited to bid for a small grant of between £100 and £1,000 under the PB model. This was open to charities, SCIOs, unincorporated associations and any other not-for-profit group.

The Cumbernauld CAN project had originally intended for funding allocation to be decided through large in-person Community Voting Events, however this has not been possible so far in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

An online Community Voting Survey was considered as a fair alternative way for members of the public to have the opportunity to cast their vote, with the feedback and response rate of this during Small Grants PB Fund Rounds 1, 2 and 3 being excellent.   

It is recognised online Community Voting processes do have some drawbacks, with some local people potentially not able to access the internet. If you are aware of anyone who would like to cast their vote but does not have a computer or internet access, please contact Cornerstone House Centre and a telephone or postal Survey response can be organised.

The deadline for submission of the online Community Voting Survey is Friday 18 March 2022 at 12.00noon. It is planned that Survey results will be publicly made available towards shortly after this date, with funds to be distributed to successful applicant organisations thereafter.

If you would like further information or have an enquiry in relation to the Community Voting process or Cumbernauld CAN project, please telephone Cornerstone House Centre on 01236 739220 or email events@cornerstone-house.org.uk.

Click Here to Complete the Community Voting Survey for Small Grants PB Fund Round 4

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Why not circulate the Community Voting Survey link (www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CommunityVotingCumbernauld) so friends and family members can complete it? After all, the more people that vote for your favourite proposals, the better the chance they have of being funded. Remember that each individual is only allowed to complete the Survey once.