Democratic Finance Scotland

New Research into Community Bonds

Morven Lyon — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:24:05 +0000

New Research into Community Bonds

July 15, 2026

By Laura Bedford, Democratic Finance Development Officer

Over the last year, the Democratic Finance team has been exploring the community bond landscape in Scotland and across the UK. We knew of a handful of examples of community bonds (a type of debt security issued by community groups) in Scotland, and we knew that they were being used extensively in community renewables in England on platforms such as Ethex, but we wanted to gain a deeper understanding of what community bonds looked like in practice, what they were used for and who was using them. This will help us develop our programme, ensure that we understand the demand for this type of finance in Scotland and how we can best support groups access it, if there is indeed demand.

We’re publishing two documents today:

A brief summary report looking at what community bonds are, who can issue them, and a high level summary of our findings on what community bonds look like across the UK and in Scotland. Click here to read.
A full report for those of you who like to dig a little deeper into the data. Click here to read.

This research has highlighted some areas that we’d like to explore further.

We can see that the use of community bonds in Scotland has been quite limited to date in comparison to England – we have some hunches about why that is but more research could open this up further. We would like to compare this type of finance to commercial and social investment, as well as community shares to understand why people choose to use this type of finance as well as/instead of others, and in what circumstances. This will help us understand when we could suggest this to groups we’re working with as we explore their democratic finance options.

We can also see that there’s a need to raise awareness about this type of finance in Scotland as part of a suite of democratic finance options, and discuss whether this is a type of finance that groups would be interested in, and could see the use for alongside options more commonly used in Scotland such as community shares or social investment. That’s why we’re planning to run a session for DTAS members and clients of the DF programme in September to present this research in a bit more depth, with a discussion about whether groups can see the application of this type of finance to situations they’ve faced historically or projects they are currently developing.

Look out for more information on this session on the DTAS Eventbrite and we’ll send a reminder out nearer the time. In the meantime, enjoy the reports and fire over any questions to laura@dtascot.org.uk

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Early-Stage Toolkit for Community Shared Ownership Launched

Morven Lyon — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:13:32 +0000

Early-Stage Toolkit for Community Shared Ownership Launched

July 15, 2026

This Early Stage Toolkit for Shared Ownership is designed for community members and organisations who are exploring shared ownership for the first time.

It has been produced by the CARES Community Energy Launchpad programme – which is delivered by Community Energy Scotland and Development Trusts Association Scotland.

Download full toolkit here: Shared-Ownership-Early-Stage-Toolkit

The post Early-Stage Toolkit for Community Shared Ownership Launched first appeared on Democratic Finance Scotland.

Democratic Finance Scotland Newsletter June 2026

Morven Lyon — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 11:53:39 +0000

Democratic Finance Scotland Newsletter June 2026

July 1, 2026

Our newsletter is back! We will be sending this newsletter once a quarter to communities, partners, and supporters interested in our work.

Whether you’ve worked with us before, are exploring a project idea, or are simply interested in democratic finance approaches, we hope this newsletter gives a useful snapshot of recent activity, new resources and opportunities for support.

About the Programme:

Democratic Finance Scotland is a programme of support run by DTAS, helping community-led organisations explore and use alternative methods of raising finance from their local community.

Our support areas include:

community shares
crowdfunding
local legacy giving
community energy & shared ownership
community bonds
community lotteries
CBS governance support

Get in touch with us to discuss a community project or idea that we could support with!

Email: info@democraticfinance.scot

Keep an eye on the below organisations who are planning a share offer launch!

This year so far we’ve:

Launched 14 Democratic Finance offers

Supported 1,591+ citizens investing into community-owned businesses

Helped community-owned businesses create 36 job

Read our full annual report to find out more about the Democratic Finance programme and the wonderful community organisations we support!

Democratic-Finance-Annual-Report-25-26-Final-1.pdf

10 years of community shares!

This year marks over a decade since the programme launched in its original form as Community Shares Scotland. Over the last 10 years, the team has supported:

70 community share offers
£21 million raised
21,468 citizen investors

Our new report, A Decade of Community Shares in Scotland, reflects on that journey and the diversity of projects communities have delivered through local investment.

From community shops and pubs to renewable energy and Scotland’s first community-owned whisky distillery, it’s been inspiring to see communities using democratic finance to retain and strengthen important local assets.

Read the report here: A Decade of Community Shares in Scotland – Democratic Finance Scotland

Democratic Finance in Action

We’ve recently published two new case studies highlighting the role community shares can play in strengthening community ownership.

Action Porty raised £190,000 from 1,064 shareholders to support the redevelopment of Bellfield’s Celebration Hall. A Democratic Finance microgrant supported a creative engagement campaign including events, videos, flyering, social media and PR activity.

Read the case study: Action Porty – Democratic Finance Scotland

We’ve also published a new video case study with the community behind the Red Lion Inn in Culross, developed with Plunkett UK.

Their 2021 share offer raised £100,000 from over 400 investors, helping secure community ownership of the pub.

Watch the video: Red Lion Inn, Culross – Democratic Finance Scotland

Community Energy and Shared Ownership:

We have recently been expanding our community energy work and are happy to announce our part in the Community Energy Launchpad, delivered with Community Energy Scotland and Local Energy Scotland. We support communities at the early stages of exploring community energy and shared ownership projects.

Our team can help you explore:

Democratic governance structures
Community-led finance and funding options
Shared ownership opportunities
Early-stage community engagement and developer relationship building

We are also working with Development Trusts across Scotland to explore opportunities for collaboration around shared ownership developments.

To find out more about this support contact: morven@dtascot.org.uk

We also run a shared ownership peer learning group for those interested in finding out more about these opportunities.

This event is only open to DTAS and Community Energy Scotland member organisations. Follow our Eventbrite page to stay up to date on the next session and other events.

Policy and Sector Update:

How can Scotland’s renewable energy transition deliver wider, long-term community benefit through a Scottish Community Wealth Fund?

The Scottish Community Coalition on Energy, Development Trusts Association Scotland, Community Energy Scotland and Community Land Scotland, recently commissioned a new study from CLES exploring this question.

Read the study here

New Resource – Crowdfunding:

We’re pleased to share a new practical guide to crowdfunding, produced in partnership with the New Futures: Former Places of Worship programme at DTAS.

It includes:

Crowdfunding checklists and timelines
Guidance on online platforms
Campaign planning advice
Case studies from across Scotland

Read the resource New Crowdfunding guide for community groups – Democratic Finance Scotland

The post Democratic Finance Scotland Newsletter June 2026 first appeared on Democratic Finance Scotland.

Democratic Finance Annual Report 2025 – 2026

Morven Lyon — Wed, 06 May 2026 14:20:23 +0000

Democratic Finance Annual Report 2025 – 2026

May 6, 2026

Read our full annual report to find out more about the Democratic Finance programme and the wonderful community organisations we support!

Democratic Finance Annual Report 25-26 Final (1)

The post Democratic Finance Annual Report 2025 – 2026 first appeared on Democratic Finance Scotland.

New Crowdfunding guide for community groups

Morven Lyon — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:38:57 +0000

New Crowdfunding guide for community groups

Democratic Finance Scotland, together with the Community Ownership Support Service’, Former Places of Worship programme, have launched a co-produced Crowdfunding resource for community-based groups in Scotland who are considering taking ownership of a former place of worship.

The resource has been produced to inform communities about their options, obligations and opportunities regarding crowdfunding.

Although it has been produced with Church groups in mind, it is a useful resource for any group looking to undertake a Crowdfunder and the things to consider.

View the Crowdfunder guide here

The post New Crowdfunding guide for community groups first appeared on Democratic Finance Scotland.

A Decade of Community Shares in Scotland

Morven Lyon — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:28:45 +0000

A Decade of Community Shares in Scotland – New Publication

Read Full Report: A Decade of Community Shares in Scotland 2025

It has been just over a decade since Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) launched the Community Shares Scotland programme in partnership with the Community Shares Unit in 2014. This report aims to celebrate the work of the programme to date, and how the community shares model has taken root and spread across Scotland, giving people a genuine say and stake in essential local community businesses.

Since the programme started in 2014, we have provided in depth and direct support to 70 community share offers collectively raising £21.8 million from over 21,468 investor members. This includes the small but essential community shops raising anything from £15,000 from their community; to community owned solar farms and hydro schemes raising over £2 million; multipurpose community hubs match funding capital grants and all sorts in between.

This £21.8 million of citizen finance has leveraged in over £32 million in additional funding for these projects, with a significant proportion of match funding from the Scottish Land Fund, instrumental in so many community buyouts across the country.

Resilience and strength in a turbulent landscape

Of all the organisations we have supported with a community share offer since 2014, only three have ceased trading in eleven years, one of which transferred its engagements into the local Development Trust which it had worked closely with since its inception. This survival rate of 95% is incredible and highlights the resilience and strength of the model.

We know that a lot of the communities we have worked with are tackling multiple challenges on several fronts and things have certainly not been plain sailing. We have seen first hand the community and collective ownership approach as a critical factor for these business’s ongoing survival against the odds. The flexibility of community shares as a unique form of equity finance has also been instrumental.

Read Full Report: A Decade of Community Shares in Scotland 2025

The post A Decade of Community Shares in Scotland first appeared on Democratic Finance Scotland.

Democratic Finance Scotland Programme – Impact Survey

Morven Lyon — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 10:07:53 +0000

Democratic Finance Scotland Programme – Impact Survey

October 24, 2025

As part of our Democratic Finance Programme reporting requirements, we asked all supported groups from the past year (Oct 2024 – Sept 2025) to complete an Impact and Support Survey. We received 12 very comprehensive responses and a summarised report can be found here – Democratic Finance Case Impact Survey Report 24-25

Headlines include:

Evidence that we are far exceeding our quantitative targets for number of groups supported and number of engaged citizen evidence
Strong qualitative evidence that democratic finance offers and support from Democratic Finance Scotland increases organisational resilience, confidence and trading success.

The post Democratic Finance Scotland Programme – Impact Survey first appeared on Democratic Finance Scotland.

Scottish Community Coalition on Energy – Recommended manifesto policies

Morven Lyon — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 09:17:40 +0000

SCCE Manifesto Recommendations

The Development Trusts Association Scotland is a member of the Scottish Community Coalition on Energy (alongside Community Energy Scotland and Community Land Scotland) which seeks to secure a Fair Energy Deal for Scottish communities.

The group is advocating to maximise the positive impacts of the renewables revolution by creating more opportunities for community-owned energy and putting Community Wealth Building principles at the heart of wider energy policy and economic transformation.

With the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections on the horizon, we are calling on parties to commit to enabling and supporting increased community ownership and shared ownership of new and existing electricity and heat infrastructure, and fair distribution of the wealth that is being generated and consolidated through renewables.

As such, as part of the SCCE, we are publishing our manifesto recommendations which are informed by the needs of our members, to overcome barriers and unlock benefits for the climate, communities and local economies across the country.

To find out more – SCCE manifesto recommendations_Aug2025

The post Scottish Community Coalition on Energy – Recommended manifesto policies first appeared on Democratic Finance Scotland.

Local Legacies, Lasting Impact: Learning from DTA Scotland

Morven Lyon — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 13:23:13 +0000

Local Legacies, Lasting Impact: Learning from DTA Scotland

Following last month’s Remember a Charity Week, a national campaign that encourages people to consider leaving a gift to a charity in their will, DTA Scotland is reflecting on the learnings from our recent Local Legacy Giving Pilot – a pioneering project that has supported nine Development Trusts (DTs) across Scotland to explore how legacy giving could help sustain their vital community work for generations to come.

As part of our Democratic Finance programme, this pilot represents a crucial step in helping community organisations move away from grant dependency by exploring alternative and long-term sources of unrestricted income.

Why Legacy Giving, and Why Now?

Legacy giving – also known as gifts in wills – represents a largely untapped opportunity for Development Trusts across the country. Research shows that a significant number of people in Scotland are open to leaving a gift in their will to charity. 42% of Scottish people indicate they are receptive to legacy giving yet in reality only 6% of people follow through. And those that do tend to prefer gifting to national charities over local charities.

For Development Trusts, which are rooted in their local communities and driven by people’s deep emotional ties to place, legacy giving offers a natural and meaningful way for local people to continue supporting their community long after they’re gone. Many of the DTs we spoke with during this pilot noted how passionately people feel about their local area, and how much they would welcome the opportunity to leave something behind that contributes to its continued success.

However, despite this potential, legacy giving is rarely on the radar for Development Trusts. Only approx. 12% of DTAS members have experience of legacy giving.

So what is preventing people leaving a legacy gift to their local Development Trust? Some key reasons include:

lack of awareness that it is even an option
clear support to create or update their will
Development Trusts not selling their value or getting their legacy messaging right

That’s where this pilot came in.

About the Pilot

Running from September 2024 to September 2025, our Local Legacy Giving Pilot involved nine Development Trusts from across Scotland. The pilot was designed and delivered by DTA Scotland’s Democratic Finance team, who provided tailored support to help these organisations build confidence, capacity, and practical tools around legacy giving.

Through one-to-one support, group workshops, shared learning sessions, and partnerships with organisations like WeWill (a digital will-writing platform), the pilot explored how DTs can integrate legacy giving into their broader fundraising strategies.

What We Learned

There is Real Appetite – But We Need to Support It

Across the pilot, we saw genuine support for legacy giving, both from Development Trusts and from local community members. People want to leave something behind for the places that matter most to them – but they often don’t know how. And DTs are not always sure how to have those conversations.

What’s needed is tailored support that speaks to the unique role of DTs within their communities. Generic fundraising advice doesn’t cut it here. DTs are embedded, trusted, and local, which gives them a strong foundation – but it also brings sensitivities and practical challenges.

Low Capacity is a Major Barrier

Many DTs are run entirely by volunteers or operate with very small staff teams. Understandably, their focus is on delivery – on running vital services, operating community hubs, managing local assets, and responding to local needs.

This means that even where the interest in legacy giving exists, the time and headspace to develop and run a campaign is often lacking. Capacity for fundraising tends to focus on short term funding deadlines and opportunities, and a legacy giving campaign requires patience and long term thinking. That’s why our support is focused heavily on providing practical tools, templates, and handholding support – making it as easy as possible for DTs to run a successful local legacy giving campaign.

Talking About Legacy Giving is Hard – Especially Locally

Legacy giving is inherently a sensitive subject. It involves conversations about death, money, and long-term planning. When you’re part of a small community, where everyone knows each other, these conversations can feel even more delicate.

Many DTs told us they lacked confidence in how to raise the subject without feeling intrusive. Others worried about getting it “wrong” or putting people off. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here, but we are developing training, messaging guides, and example scripts to help ease these anxieties.

Normalising the conversation – particularly during national moments like Remember a Charity Week – also helps make legacy giving feel like a natural and generous act, rather than a taboo subject.

Storytelling is Key

Perhaps the most important learning from the pilot is the importance of storytelling. Development Trusts do incredible work – but they are often too busy doing the work to shout about it.

Local people may know that their DT runs the local hall or community café, but they may not fully understand the broader impact: how the Trust has supported young people, provided emergency food, created local jobs, restored historic buildings, and more.

Legacy giving is fundamentally about believing in a vision for the future. That means DTs need to be able to tell their story in a way that is compelling, clear, and future-facing – helping people see why their gift matters and what kind of legacy it could create.

Our Partnership with WeWill

A component of the pilot has been our collaboration with WeWill, an online platform that allows individuals to write or update their will easily – and include a charitable gift if they choose.

WeWill also enables Development Trusts to track will income, giving them insight into potential future gifts and supporting better long-term planning.

We will be continuing this partnership beyond the pilot, offering DTAS members ongoing access to WeWill as part of our wider support for legacy giving.

What’s Next?

Between now and the end of 2025 we’ll be working with the pilot participants to gather formal feedback and learning, which will feed into the creation of a brand-new Local Legacy Giving Toolkit, launching in 2026.

The Toolkit is being designed specifically with DTs in mind, recognising their unique strengths and challenges. It will include:

Promoting Legacy Giving

Campaign guidance (audiences, messaging, timing, channels)
Templates for materials (leaflets, posters, outreach letters)
Creating a legacy page on your website & telling your impact story
Real-life case studies

Practical Tools

Training materials for staff, volunteers & trustees
Guidance on sensitive conversations
Using online will-writing platforms
Recognising gifts (e.g. plaques, thank-you walls)

Legal & Financial Guidance

Overview of wills and legacy types
Managing legacy income within your fundraising strategy
Access to legal advice for legacy-related issues

And we’ll continue to share and promote Remember a Charity Week as a key national moment to raise awareness and start conversations locally.

Want to Learn More?

As we look to the next phase of this work, we want to thank the nine pilot groups for their openness and engagement, and we invite all local community organisations to explore how legacy giving might become part of their journey too.

Please get in touch with our Democratic Finance team at morven@dtascot.org.uk

And don’t forget to check out the Remember a Charity Week campaign this week for ideas, inspiration, and national visibility on this important topic.

The post Local Legacies, Lasting Impact: Learning from DTA Scotland first appeared on Democratic Finance Scotland.

DTAS Annual Review 24-25

Morven Lyon — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 09:28:21 +0000

We’re excited to announce the DTAS Annual Review 24-25!

The 2024/25 year has been one of continued growth, resilience and impact for DTAS as we support communities across Scotland through challenging but also exciting times of growth and development.

With our membership standing at 350 members and our support services reaching all corners of Scotland, we want to share how our work has developed over the last 12 months in our Annual Review.

Presented in three separate documents, a condensed version, an A3 members map and a full version, the Annual Review showcases our support, from the services we provide, to the projects we run and the events we facilitate.

1. Annual Review Brochure 24-25 – Condensed

Firstly, we have a short, 4 page document that includes a snapshot of the last 12 months at DTAS.

1a. Annual Review 24-25 – Members Map

Our beloved members map.

2. Annual Review Brochure 24-25 – Full

Secondly, we have produced a longer, 22 page document that includes an in-depth review of the last 12 months. This version includes testimonials from our members on the impact of the services we provide.

We hope you enjoy reading this year’s DTAS Annual Review!

The post DTAS Annual Review 24-25 first appeared on Democratic Finance Scotland.