Funding decisions are made collectively by our members, who cover a broad range of issues and communities and income levels. Through members’ meetings we discuss our next steps, any issues that have arisen and decisions that need to be made, and as a group decide how to move forward. Decisions are made by consensus whenever possible, or otherwise by majority vote. Some discussions take place by email or over Zoom. We also have a Core Group of around 5-10 members who do the background work before meetings, to prepare proposals for members to discuss.
We are constantly discussing and reviewing the ways that we work and are committed to keep on evolving according to our own experiences and feedback from applicants and the communities we engage with.
The current process takes just over 6 weeks and is outlined in the diagram below.
--> Brief application form submitted
--> Eligibility Checks: to assess whether groups fall within Edge Fund's funding criteria and values
--> Scoring: 2-3 members of our Community Committees and advisory groups score each application for their areas
--> Grants distributed: 40 groups are selected and contacted to receive £1k