On 21 October, we’ll be opening a call for cultural and creative organisations based in Scotland to submit Expressions of Interest in Multi-Year Funding, with a deadline of 18 November
This call for Expressions of Interest is an information gathering exercise, to provide us with insight on the likely demand for future Multi-Year Funding –
PLEASE NOTE: Submitting an Expression of Interest will not have any bearing on an organisation’s eligibility to apply for Multi-Year Funding when the formal application process opens.
DETAILS
We would like to provide advance notice to cultural and creative organisations based in Scotland, of our intention to seek Expressions of Interest for Multi-Year Funding from April 2028.
Timeline
The call for Expressions of Interest will open at 11am on Wednesday 21 October 2026, and close at 5pm on Wednesday 18 November 2026, and will be accessible through the Creative Scotland website.
The full application process for new applicants will open in early 2027, with the next cohort of Multi-Year Funded Organisations in place from April 2028.
Purpose
This call for Expressions of Interest is an information gathering exercise, to provide us with insight on the likely demand for future Multi-Year Funding, in terms of both the number of organisations seeking this type of funding support, and the likely financial ask.
While providing invaluable information on the future potential for the Multi-Year Funding Programme to support culture and creativity in Scotland, this will also help us shape the detail of the formal application process.
Expressions of Interest will not be assessed, and no decisions will be made regarding individual organisations at this stage. Submitting an Expression of Interest will not have any bearing on an organisation’s eligibility to apply for Multi-Year Funding when the formal application process opens.
Information required
Expressions of Interest will be invited from organisations currently in receipt of Multi-Year Funding along with those interested in joining the programme from 2028.
A short form will be available via our website where organisations will be asked to provide summary information on their area of practice and an indication of the level of annual funding they anticipate requiring, on an annual basis, from April 2028.
Find out more
Any questions on the Expression of Interest, the Multi-Year Funding Programme, or any other aspect of Creative Scotland’s funding, should be directed to our Enquiries Service.
Background
Information and guidance on the Expression of Interest in Multi-Year Funding from April 2028 will be made available on our website from 11am on 21 October.
Feedback gathered during the original development of Multi-Year Funding (MYF) called for a move away from a single, large-scale application round towards a rolling, continuous programme that reduces the administrative burden on applicants and the wider sector.
This would include the potential for organisations already in receipt of MYF, subject to review, to be offered continued funding through this programme beyond the original three-year agreement.
Alongside this, organisations not currently in receipt of MYF would have the opportunity to join the programme.
Creative Scotland is currently developing the details of this next stage of the programme, and the Expression of Interest response will help with that development.
Organisations call for reliable, multi-year funding to avoid increased annual pressures
Charities in Scotland are increasingly struggling with funding delays, with organisations facing cash‑flow pressures, postponed or cancelled services, and depleted reserves.
The latest findings from the Scottish third sector tracker reveals a sector that continues to show resilience and adaptability, but one that is increasingly stretched across multiple fronts.
The Scottish Council for Organisations (SCVO) have now said calls for multi-year funding for the sector in line with inflation is absolutely essential.
The research, carried out for SCVO and partners, found over a quarter (28%) of organisations now cite delays or reductions in funding as a top challenge.
As a result, charities say these hold-ups in funding force organisations to draw on reserves as well as creating immediate cash‑flow pressures and forcing services to be postponed or cancelled.
The tracker found 58% of organisations hold less than six months’ reserves – up five per cent from Spring 2025 – and 57% say their current use of reserves is unsustainable, a sharp increase from 40% in Autumn 2024
Delays create immediate cash‑flow pressures (for around 60% to 65% of those organisations), force organisations to draw on reserves (45% to 50%), and lead to postponed or cancelled services (35% to 40%). (1)
Critically, funding delays also have a profound impact on staff morale, wellbeing, and retention.
Uncertainty around contract renewals, the risk of redundancy, and the inability to plan long‑term contribute to anxiety, frustration, and the loss of experienced staff are all exacerbating existing problems.
Overall, the findings show a sector committed to delivering for communities but increasingly constrained by financial instability, workforce shortages, and systemic uncertainty.
Steve Grozier, Research Officer at SCVO, said: “This latest wave of Scottish third sector tracker reveals a sector that continues to show resilience and adaptability, but one that is increasingly stretched across multiple fronts.
“Service delivery remains broadly stable, yet over half of organisations report that limitations in resources, skills, or capacity are hindering their ability to meet demand.
“Financial pressures have intensified. Staff recruitment and retention remain difficult for many organisations. Volunteer recruitment and retention challenges remain acute. Funding delays have now also emerged as a major challenge. The work being done by organisations across the sector in the midst of these issues is commendable.”
Responding to the tracker survey, organisations consistently emphasise that secure, multi‑year, inflation‑linked funding — particularly for core costs and staff salaries — is the single most important factor that would enable them to do more.
Without structural changes to public sector funding models, investment in workforce capacity, and improved partnership working, organisations risk being unable to meet rising demand or sustain essential services.
The calls come ahead of a hustings of candidates for the 2026 Scottish Parliamentary elections at SCVO’s flagship event, The Gathering, on Tuesday, 10 February.
SCVO have published their manifesto, Scotland’s Essential Sector, outlining the need for the next Scottish Government to deliver Fair Funding, with the need to reform the public sector funding landscape for voluntary organisations more pressing than ever.
Anna Fowlie, SCVO Chief Executive, added: “Scotland’s charities, community organisations and social enterprises are a fundamental cornerstone of our society and economy.
“This research shows a growing fragility which is detrimental to us all. It’s time to give these organisations, and the people they serve, the respect and stability that they need.
“The next Scottish Government needs to implement Fair Funding as a matter of urgency.”
The Cumbernauld Theatre Trust, in North Lanarkshire, has been awarded £150,000 transition funding from the Scottish Government to help secure its future.
The funding will ensure the future of the Theatre as a going concern, so that it can continue its cultural programme and community work, while taking steps to enhance its financial sustainability and operations.
Cumbernauld Theatre Trust was the only was the only organisation to lose regular funding when Creative Scotland announced successful bidders for Multi-Year Funding in January, as a result of its application which was unsuccessful.
A record number of cultural organisations were successful in applying for Multi-Year Funding, following a £34 million increase for culture in the arts in the 2025-26 Scottish Budget. Over half of these organisations were awarded multi-year funding for the first time, and all successful applicants who previously received regular funding got a significant uplift.
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “The Cumbernauld Theatre is an important cultural asset for North Lanarkshire and the wider culture sector in Scotland.
“As a result of its failure to secure Multi-Year Funding, the Trust faced a critical funding gap for 2026-27, which would have required the Trust to consult on redundancies.
“Given the Theatre’s significance to the community and in order to protect the sector-specific skills it provides employment opportunities for, the Scottish Government has agreed to support the Trust with £150,000 in grant funding over 2026-27, and a potential further £150,000 in 2027-28 – subject to the Trust demonstrating its sustainability issues are being resolved.
“This funding should enable the Trust to move beyond a challenging period and take the necessary steps to secure Cumbernauld Theatre’s future.”
Alan Caldwell, Chair of Cumbernauld Theatre Trust said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Cabinet Secretary Angus Robertson and the Scottish Government for our constructive conversations over the last few months and today’s announcement of its strategic investment in the future of this important cultural organisation.
“Their grant of £150,000 in 2026/27 and a potential further award in 2027/28 allows the Trust time to plan for a long-term sustainable future, while continuing to deliver its valuable work for residents in an area of Scotland which is under-served in terms of cultural and community opportunities.”
Creative Scotland has also agreed to give Cumbernauld Theatre Trust £99,557 in support of a programme of community engagement and work celebrating the town’s anniversary over the course of 2026.
It takes a village to raise a child, and we appreciate support from every part of our community – individuals, companies, local clubs & groups, workplace teams, faith groups, schools and of course the funding bodies who help us keep the lights on.
We’re over the moon to announce that we have been awarded multi-year funding from @creativescots !!!
This will help us to plan for the future in ways we have never managed to before, to build on recent successes like our Adopt a Piano scheme and to help us one day find a permanent home for the Pianodrome Amphitheatre in Edinburgh.
Huge credit must go to Creative Scotland for recognising the potential of small cultural organisations to make huge positive impacts.
Creative Scotland have done great work advocating on behalf of artists and culture and we’re chuffed to bits to have this core funding secured for the next three years.
Over the last 7 years we have developed from project to project; articulating new ideas, saving over 600 pianos from landfill, working with hundreds of artists and welcoming tens of thousands of participants into to our community-focused interactive spaces.
Thank you to the local and international communities who have supported and believed in the Pianodrome thus far.
We’ll continue to strive towards our conviction that no piano is junk, and no person is unmusical!
More than £60 million for pilot projects focusing on essential services and eradicating child poverty
A new Fairer Funding pilot to deliver on the Scottish Government’s top priority of eradicating child poverty will provide additional multi-year funding in the form of 45 grants to organisations across Scotland.
The funding, subject to budget approval, will support projects in areas including health, education, poverty and culture and have a total value of £61.7 million in 2025-26 and £63.2 million in 2026- 27.
Speaking on her visit today to the Gathering, the largest third sector event in the UK, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “I know many charities, faced with rising costs and falling donations, need more security and stability to enable them to plan and develop.
“Child poverty, in particular, requires longer-term interventions to help achieve the solutions we want to see. For that, the third sector needs financial stability and certainty. That’s why I have prioritised delivering on our commitment to provide more multi-year funding where we can to support the vital work of the third sector in Scotland, as part of our fairer funding approach.
“The pilot is the first step in mainstreaming multi-year funding agreements more widely across the third sector. It will give organisations the ability to plan for the future and make the most of their resources.
“The pilot’s focus on grants connected to tackling child poverty and the delivery of frontline services to our communities will maximise the impact of longer term funding and support the delivery of our number one priority, eradicating child poverty.”
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) Chief Executive Anna Fowlie said: “The voluntary sector has a crucial role to play in delivering essential services across Scotland that people and communities rely on.
Multi-year funding models are vital, providing security to voluntary organisations and, crucially, allowing them to get on and deliver for people and communities.
“We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to piloting multi-year funding for a range of voluntary organisations across Scotland – a first step, we hope, towards rolling out Fair Funding principles to voluntary sector funding.”
Organisations to receive multi-year funding for 2025/26 and 2026/27
Social Justice
Scottish Refugee Council
Scottish Empty Homes Partnership
Homeless Network Scotland
Housing Options Scotland
Poverty Alliance
CentreStage – Social Innovation Partnership
COVEY – Social Innovation Partnership
Flexibility Works – Social Innovation Partnership
Heavy Sound – Social Innovation Partnership
MsMissMrs – Social Innovation Partnership
Street Soccer – Social Innovation Partnership
WorkingRite – Social Innovation Partnership
MCR Pathways
Economy and Gaelic
Scottish Mountain Rescue
Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
Youth Music Initiative
Sistema Scotland
Health and Social Care
Cruse Scotland Bereavement Helpline
Penumbra Self-harm support pilots
BASICS Funding PHEC BASICS Scotland
The Listening Service Samaritans
Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults
Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund Management
Autism Advice Line Scottish Autism
Young Scot Carer support funding
Active Play Development Programme Inspiring Scotland
Active Play Development Programme Actify
Community Food Networks Edinburgh Community Food
Community Food Networks Lanarkshire Community Food and Health Partnership
Community Food Networks Community Food Initiative North East
Community Food Networks Glasgow Community Food Network
Drugs Policy: Core Funding Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs
Drugs Policy: Family Recovery Initiative Fund Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder FASD Hub Scotland Service
Finance and Local Government
Planning Aid Scotland
Education and Skills
Dyslexia Scotland
Children’s Advocacy for Children’s Hearings
Who Cares Scotland
Inspiring Scotland
Children in Scotland Enquire National Advice and Information Service on Additional Support for Learning
Scottish Book Trust Bookbug
Access to Childcare Fund
Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators
Justice and Home Affairs
Victim Centred Approach Fund
Apex Scotland
Medics Against Violence
These pilots are in addition to the multi-year funding announced last week by Creative Scotland, which has been funded as part of a record £34 million uplift for culture in the draft 2025-26 Scottish Budget.
A record number of cultural organisations to receive stable, year-on-year funding to deliver culture and creativity for Scotland’s people
All organisations currently funded by Creative Scotland to receive a significant uplift after years of standstill funding
An additional 141 organisations will receive a multi-year funding commitment for the first time
Significant increase in community-focused organisations being supported, alongside established cultural organisations, better representing Scotland’s geography and diversity
Overall funding to the portfolio will increase further in 2026/27
This cultural shift has been made possible thanks to a significant budget commitment from the Scottish Government
Today, Thursday 30 January 2025, in a significant moment for culture in Scotland, Creative Scotland has announced the largest portfolio of cultural organisations ever to be supported on a multi-year basis.
The recent uplift in Grant-in-Aid funding from the Scottish Government, releasing the largest budget ever available to Creative Scotland, enables more than £200m in support to be provided to 251 organisations over the next three years.
Further to this, 13 other organisations, will be supported by a £3.2m Development Fund, with a view to them joining the Multi-Year Funding portfolio in 2026/27.
Over half of the organisations in the portfolio are being offered a multi-year funding commitment for the first time, reaching more parts of Scotland, and more parts of our society, than ever before.
Those organisations which have an existing regular funding relationship with Creative Scotland will receive an average uplift of 34% in their funding in 2025/26, increasing to an average of 54% from 2026/27, bringing certainty and stability.
North Edinburgh Arts is one of the organisations to receive three year funding. They said: ‘We are delighted to share that North Edinburgh Arts has been awarded Multi-Year Funding from Creative Scotland! We are looking forward to re-opening our venue in the coming weeks, so the confirmation of Multi-Year Funding has come at the ideal time.
“NEA’s venue is owned, used, and loved by our community. The stability of long-term funding will allow us to plan with confidence and make a real difference for the hundreds of artists, participants, volunteers, and visitors coming through our door.”
Hidden Door also received good news. They announced: “We’re proud to be one of 13 organisations to receive Creative Scotland development funding with a view to joining their Multi-Year Funding portfolio in 2026
This is a huge vote of confidence in our support for emerging artists, connecting audiences with inspirational cultural experiences.
‘We’re acutely aware of the challenges facing the creative sector, and we know that not everyone will have received good news today. But we warmly congratulate all those who secured funding, and we look forward to collaborating with many more wonderful projects in the years to come.’
Together, the organisations in this portfolio deliver cultural and creative work of quality, breadth and depth to audiences across Scotland and internationally and the portfolio is more representative of Scotland’s geography, diversity, people and communities than ever before. All this underlines Scotland’s reputation as a thriving creative nation where culture is valued and developed for all.
Importantly, the portfolio also provides significant support to Scotland’s local and national economy, through direct employment, by creating opportunities for freelancers, and by supporting individual artists and creative practitioners of all types.
Robert Wilson, Chair of Creative Scotlandsaid: “This is an extremely positive moment for culture in Scotland, bringing with it a renewed sense of stability and certainty to Scotland’s culture sector.
“Thanks to the vote of confidence in the culture sector, demonstrated by the recently announced budget from the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland can offer stable, year-on-year funding to more organisations than ever before.
“I’m particularly pleased that this funding will increase further from next year, enabling even more fantastic artistic and creative work to be developed here in Scotland.
“Stable, long-term funding for as many organisations as possible is the underlying principle of the Multi-Year Funding programme, and we are delighted to be able to bring it to fruition.
“This funding means that we are able to bring so many new, community focused organisations into the portfolio, while also providing significant increases to those more established organisations which have been on standstill, regular funding for so many years.
“I’m also very pleased to be able to offer 13 further organisations significant amounts of development funding, to enable them to come into the portfolio in its second year.
“This signals a significant moment of positive change for Scotland’s cultural community, and I hope that, after the deeply challenging time of the pandemic, and the difficulties that have faced the sector in the subsequent years, that now is the time that we can look forward with confidence and the Scottish culture sector can get on with what it does best, producing outstanding art and creativity for everyone to enjoy.”
Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Culturesaid: “This is a foundational moment for culture and the arts in Scotland. More organisations than ever, in more parts of the country will benefit from the stability of Multi-Year Funding with the number of funded organisations more than doubling, from 119 to 251.
“Funded as part of a record £34 million increase for culture in the draft 2025-26 Scottish Budget, this significant increase in both the number of funded organisations, and the level of grant funding they will receive, has the potential to be truly transformational. It secures the future of key cultural organisations of all sizes across Scotland, which are major assets to our communities and our economy, supporting thousands of jobs and creating new opportunities for freelancers, artists and other creative practitioners.
“It means 251 culture organisations across Scotland, from Argyll and Bute to Shetland, Na h-Eileanan Siar, and the Borders, will receive Multi-Year Funding from April this year and a further 13 have the possibility of doing so from 2026-27.
“I am also reassured that the remaining unsuccessful applicants will all be offered bespoke support from Creative Scotland to adapt their business models.”
Following the ministerial statement in the Scottish Parliament, Labour Lothians MSP Foysol Choudhury welcomed the funding: “This funding decision is a step forward for Scotland’s cultural community. It reflects the collective determination of local groups, artists, and advocates who have worked tirelessly to highlight the importance of the arts in our society.
“I am proud to have played a role in advocating for multi-year funding, and I hope this provides some temporary relief to the culture sector. Festivals have struggled with standstill government funding for years, stunting their growth. The culture sector should not just be fighting for its survival.”
The list of organisations being awarded Multi-Year Funding, and their award for the next three years, is available on our website.
The list of organisations being offered development funding, and their conditional award for the next three years, is also available on our website.
Following discussions with the Scottish Government throughout the Multi-Year process, we have now received confirmation that Creative Scotland’s budget to enable Multi-Year decisions will not be clarified until the overall Scottish Government draft budget announcement, scheduled for 04 December 2024.
As a result, the outcome from the Multi-Year Funding programme is being postponed until the end of January 2025. This is a revision to the published guidance.
281 applications to the programme, with an annual ask of £87.5m, are currently being assessed as part of Stage 2 of the published process. Final decisions on the level of support we will be able to provide to successful organisations will be made once we have budget clarity.
The National Lottery reserves that we hold, currently £11m, remain allocated to support Transition Funding from April 2025 for organisations currently in receipt of ongoing funding from Creative Scotland but are unsuccessful in their application for Multi-Year Funding.
Robert Wilson, Chair of Creative Scotland, said: “While we would have preferred to announce the outcome from this application process in October as planned and have been working collaboratively with Scottish Government to endeavour to do so, we also understand the extreme budget pressures that exist.
“These pressures mean we are required to postpone the outcome until such time as we have budget clarity. This will enable us to make final decisions in a context of budget confidence and to support as many organisations on a multi-year basis as we possibly can.”
Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, said: “The cultural sector is an integral part of our identity as a country. This is why we’re working hard to help the sector to fulfil its potential in Scotland by assuring at least £100 million more annually in funding by 2028-29.
“We await the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s budget announcement on 30 October which has a hugely significant bearing on the Scottish budget. Following that we will be able to set detailed budgets for the coming financial year including for the culture sector.
“I will continue to work in collaboration with Creative Scotland and the sector over the coming months to ensure stability until Creative Scotland have sufficient clarity to be able to announce the recipients of their multi-year funding awards.”
Great news – we’ve been awarded multi-year funding from the 
