Gorbals Idea Fund

Got an idea? Get involved!

Local people, groups, and organisations now have the opportunity to develop new ideas through the Gorbals Ideas Fund (GIF). A grant from GIF can help you to get exciting ideas off the ground to make your community an even better place to live.

The GIF project is run by a Community Panel made up of local volunteers. These volunteers work with other community members to find out what is important to them, what challenges they face, and what improvements they would like to see in their community.

The Community Panel have three main areas of work:

• Developing ideas
  
  We’ve already seen through Spirit of the Gorbals that people in our community have great ideas, and the panel work closely with people to make these ideas a reality. They can support you to take the idea forward and put you in touch with other people in the area who may have the same goals. No idea is too small.
   
• Supporting local improvements
  
  There are already great services in the Gorbals who do a lot of work to help and support to those who live here. The panel can help local people connect with these services, and help them to present their suggestions and solutions to help these services to develop even further, and continue to meet the needs of the local communities.
   
• Democracy
  
  Some ideas may need funding to get off the ground, and GIF have grants available to help. However, the Community Panel won’t decide how this money is spent. Ideas that need funding will instead be put forward for Community Voting.  
  
  Everyone who lives in the community, from age 8 and above, will have the opportunity to vote for the projects they would like to see in the area. People have the opportunity to find out more and connect with the projects seeking grants, and funding will be given to the projects with the most community votes.

This project covers the Gorbals, Hutchesontown, Laurieston, and Oatlands. If you see the GIF team out in the area consider taking the time to have a quick chat with them. Everyone’s views are valuable to their work and help them to understand the different ways in which people experience the community. To share your ideas, experiences or suggestions please contact Jo Speirs at New Gorbals Housing Association on 0141 429 3900 or johanna@newgorbals.org.uk.

The Community Panel are still looking for new members to volunteer, so if you think you may be interested please get in touch with Jo to find out more information.

If you would like to apply for funding, download the Application Form and Guidance, and return completed forms to Jo Speirs. If you have a text reader please get in touch for a compatible version.