Tag: AGM

ELREC hosts successful Annual General Meeting, honouring legacy and advancing community impact

The Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council (ELREC) extends its sincere thanks to its Board Members, staff, partners, and guests who attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 10 April 2026.

The meeting was chaired by Foysol Choudhury MBE (Former member of the Scottish Parliament), whose continued leadership, guidance, and vision remain instrumental to the organisation’s progress and impact.

The AGM commenced with a moving tribute to Professor Sir Geoff Palmer OBE, KT, recognising his extraordinary contributions and enduring legacy. As an honorary member and one of ELREC’s founding figures in the 1970s, Sir Geoff’s influence has been deeply woven into the organisation’s history. Attendees observed a minute’s silence in his memory.

The event featured a series of insightful presentations from guest speakers. David Clark of Police Scotland provided important updates on policing efforts and highlighted ongoing work to address hate crime. Researchers Lucien Staddon Foster and Sholen Macpherson presented findings from their collaborative research with ELREC, focusing on the experiences of Black and racially minoritised communities in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Further details from these presentations are available below:

* Police Scotland Updates: 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1H3aTjkyLbJ8prxLVamoNJd17H968oiD7/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103139872914146668361&rtpof=true&sd=true

* Research Report: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t88a3UIf5eubblvp0Eu-nvfjl-qo2cxJ/view?usp=sharing

ELREC was also pleased to welcome Councillors Cammy Day, Katrina Faccenda, and Tim Pogson, providing an opportunity to share the organisation’s ongoing work and strengthen engagement with local leadership.

Over the past year, ELREC has delivered a wide range of projects and initiatives aimed at promoting equality and diversity. These include women’s wellbeing programmes, energy advice services, environmental projects, community workshops, creative initiatives, and cycling programmes, among others.

Despite facing capacity challenges, ELREC remains steadfast in its commitment to empowering communities, building skills, and breaking down barriers. Through continued collaboration and partnership, the organisation is dedicated to fostering inclusion and creating equal opportunities for all.

The AGM concluded with a vote of thanks from Chair Foysol Choudhury MBE and Company Secretary Rajnish Singh.

To read the full 2024–2025 Annual Report, please visit:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18hIvK0QxJpC_8z5CPspgIkr5YyIAqqw6/view?usp=sharing

Drylaw Community Association AGM

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL NEIGHBOUR CENTRE

We are holding our annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 2nd December at 3.30 – 4.30pm.

Please do come along to hear about exciting plans for the future of our lovely centre, and to make your views known.

We are very interested in your vision for the future and the directions we can take.

All members welcome.

There’s been some good news to round off this special 30th anniversary year for Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre.

The Centre has just been awarded over £3500 from Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s Community Grants Fund to pilot a 6 month Monday Café offering free breakfasts, training opportunities, and monthly community lunches to reduce food poverty, build social connections and strengthen community use of the centre.

Happy New Year!

Craigroyston CYFC AGM

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) NOTICE

The Craigroyston CYFC management committee would like to invite you all, to our annual general meeting. It will be held at the club on the 4th of October 2025 at 9.30am. Space will be tight so please arrive in plenty time.

All required info is in the below notice. If anybody has any question regarding the meeting, please reach out via the email address in the notice.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks

Craigroyston CYFC committee

Granton Community Gardeners AGM

WEDNESDAY 19th MARCH from 5.30 – 6.30pm

at ROYSTON WARDIEBURN COMMUNITY CENTRE

Our AGM is coming up: Wednesday 19th March 5.30-6.30 at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre. (room F40, upstairs -there’s an accessible lift).

You’re all invited! As well as some formal business like the presentation of accounts and trustee election, we’ll do a wee review of the past year, and a look ahead to the coming one.

We’ll provide some light refreshments, so if you’re planning to come it’s helpful if you can message us so we know numbers.

If you’re a member you should already have an invite, but please note we’ve had to change the venue as PCHP will now be closed that week for electrical works.

If you’re not a member but would like to sign up, all the relevant info is here:

https://forms.gle/wQet38pCgZpQkLYi6

EVOC: The Future’s Looking Brighter

It is the 21 February and the days are getting longer but more importantly, the future is looking brighter (writes EVOC CEO BRUCE CRAWFORD).

EIJB Fund Cuts

On Thursday (yesterday) the City of Edinburgh Council held a full Council meeting. I was in attendance to make a deputation on behalf of the voluntary organisations impacted by the cuts by the EIJB grants programme for social care.

This followed months of work by colleagues from across the sector who have worked tirelessly for the affected organisations. The work was largely done by members of the Third Sector Reference Group that came into existence after the EIJB meeting on 1 November which led to a three month extension to June 2025.

The eventual outcome is that the £4.5m grants programme has been replaced for the next financial year, so services can continue to be delivered to many of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

Further work needs to be done in the coming weeks and months to help the officers to create the mechanism for disbursement of the funds.

I want to thank all the individuals who contributed to this success, it is evidence of the need to work together, focus on the needs of our communities and stand up for what is right.  I hope that we can build on the experience to generate continued investment into the sector as this will not be the last challenge we face.

A key function of EVOC is advocacy and this includes responding to consultations on proposed legislation and strategies. A current example of this is the draft Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board’s strategy 2025-28.

We have published information on our work in this area on our website. It includes a presentation and a video that explains the draft strategy.

 To inform our response we have asked a number of questions through an online survey.  Despite our request for an extension, the deadline from the EIJB is this Sunday (23 Feb 2025) and there is still no easy read version available. 

We encourage everyone who is interested in, or affected by this, to submit a response here.

Looking Forward

On 29 January I attended my first EVOC board meeting and found it to be useful and productive in equal measures. In the spirit of openness and transparency the directors unanimously agreed to my proposal to publish minutes of EVOC board meetings on the website. The minute of that meeting can be found here.

Following the challenges faced by EVOC in 2024 we created a recovery plan and are well on the way to developing a more robust and resilient organisation.

Some key changes are: improved policies and procedures, greater financial scrutiny and forecasting, better communication, along with a new risk management policy and risk register and a new strategic plan that focuses on the core purpose of the organisation to serve the needs of the sector. 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the survey that we issued last month to inform our understanding of the needs of our members. We received a great deal of useful feedback and it will help our thinking as we develop the strategic plan for EVOC for 2025-2030.

Finally I am looking forward to our AGM on 26 February.

It is being held online to help make attendance as easy as possible. Details of how to register for the meeting are available here.

EVOC: CEO Update

I have now been in post as CEO with EVOC for 25 days (on 22/1), though it sometimes feels like a lot longer! I have had a whirlwind of an introduction, and my feet have hardly touched the ground, which has made it exciting. 

I have met a lot of great people from across the sector and our partner organisations, including the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government. I have been made to feel welcome and have learned a lot from a diverse mix of individuals.

I have heard of the challenges different organisations are facing right now, and these conversations are shaping my understanding and giving me insights that I will be distilling, with colleagues, into our future planning. 

We are currently seeking the views of members and voluntary organisations in Edinburgh to tell us about their needs and the challenges that they are facing in 2025 and beyond. To increase the number of people who can contribute, we are using a survey that will be circulated to our members.

Please take a few minutes to complete it to ensure we consider the needs of more organisations in shaping how we work in future and what our priorities will be.

This month we are preparing for our Annual General Meeting at 4pm on Wednesday 26 February which will be held on Zoom. We will report on the year 2023/24 and give a flavour of our plans for the future.

We are looking for new individuals with business skills to be elected to the board of EVOC to join a committed group of volunteers who are interested in the development of EVOC as representatives to serve third sector organisations in Edinburgh. You can find how to apply to join the Board of Directors here.

Separately we are seeking a new Convener to chair the board and provide leadership to the organisation and directors. We’re looking for somebody with integrity good governance, leadership, finance and change management experience. If you are interested in this role, please see the details here.

We are spending a great deal of time currently in seeking ways to support those organisations affected by the impending cuts to the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) grants scheme which is a partnership between the NHS and the City of Edinburgh Council. 

In recent months we have increased our engagement across the sector, so that we are better able to represent the views and interests of voluntary organisations in strategic forums such as the EIJB and the Edinburgh Partnership.

We are doing this as we strengthen our culture of service, to our members and to the sector. 

With best wishes  

Bruce Crawford, CEO 

‘Circle of good’ making a difference for Leith-based community bank

2023 has been a year of exceptional growth for Castle Community Bank headquartered in Leith. At the AGM it was reported that total membership has grown to over 46,000 at September 2023.

Chief Executive Adrian Sargent said: “I’m proud of our team, and the growth that we have achieved this year. We remain focussed on our social purpose of supporting communities, whilst helping our members to maximise their savings and manage debt as effectively as possible.

At the same time, our overall current Trustpilot rating of 4.8/5 shows we are getting the day-to-day experience right for our membership.”

Castle Community Bank aims to achieve sustainability through scale and is on track to do so with total assets now equal to £283m, making them one of the largest credit unions in the UK. Deposits have grown to £247m in 2023 and the loan book has increased to £225m in 2023.

Castle Community Bank Chair, Stephen Pearson said: “I like to think of our operating model as a ‘circle of good’.

“Savers like our top quartile interest rates and easy online joining process. Many of them also like the fact that we make their money go further by funding our affordable loan products, enabling people who struggle to access loans from mainstream banks to borrow what they need at affordable rates.

“In turn, prudent, commercial success enables us to grow our community programmes in Edinburgh and beyond: including providing debt advice support, sustainable food bank funding and ethical investment for charities and churches.

“Castle Community Bank is leading the way in expanding the credit union movement in the UK, delivering strong and sustainable growth, underpinned by sound risk management.”

The Scottish credit union was established in 2015 following the merger of two long established credit unions: Castle and North Edinburgh (above), along with the members of the Water of Leith Credit Union Study Group.

The study group was set up with the aim of establishing a Credit Union in Leith.

The difference between credit unions or mutuals and high street banks is they are owned and run by members, instead of shareholders, creating a shared financial community across the UK, which is accessible to everyone.

Edinburgh Community Food AGM

TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER 11.30am – 1.30pm

at OUT OF THE BLUE DRILL HALL, DLAMENY STREET

You are invited to our 2023 AGM on Tuesday 10th October 🍓🍓

Where: Out of the Blue, Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh

When: 11.30am – 1.30pm

We’d be delighted if you can join us to hear all about what we’ve been up to over the past year. A light lunch will be provided at 12pm.

Please book a place here: https://edinburghcommunityfoodagm2023.eventbrite.co.uk

We hope to see you there!

News from Heart of Newhaven

Instead of a September newsletter, we’re taking a short break and in its place we’re sending you this reminder for all members and everyone interested in how the Heart is being run, that the Heart of Newhaven Community 2023 Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 9th September at 2pm.

There will be a short presentation from the chair and on opportunity to ask questions. 

Registered members who live within the area of benefit will be able to vote and elect new Board members.

Come along and take the opportunity to talk to some of the current Trustees and find out what has been happening over the last year as well as what the plans are for the future.
You can also register your interest in becoming a volunteer at the Heart.

AGENDA – click here

If you are unable to come and would like to vote, please nominate a proxy to vote on your behalf.  Email agm@heartofnewhaven.co.uk to register.  
 

Coming up soon:

Leith Folk Club will be holding their next event on Tuesday 5th September and it will feature the Sandy Brechin QuaTrio. 

Restoration Forth

The Heart will be hosting the Edinburgh Shoreline exhibition from Saturday September 16th until the 24th.  Come and see the art made by people along the Forth – also as a preview pop in for coffee any Wednesday or Saturday morning and see photographs of all the artworks on display.

Doors Open Days

The Heart and its associated buildings will be open from 10am until 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday, 23rd and 24th September, for Doors Open Days.

The Victorian Schoolroom and Victorian Home Life Exhibit will also be open for visits.

Doors Open Edinburgh 

October Family Ceilidh – the 28th Oct 2pm, come and join us for another family ceilidh – this is Halloween themed. with prizes, games and refreshments.
Tickets available by dropping into the Heart on a Saturday morning. 

What’s On

Keep an eye on the notice boards as well our What’s On page for regular sessions, classes and events.