West Dunbartonshire Council Community Choices

Community Budgeting Phase 7 Guidance

Applying for Community Budgeting online means that you can edit and save your application all the way to the closing date. This page will help guide you step by step though the application process.

Step 1: Log in

You must log in to apply and vote online. If you have a previous account, please use that to login if you can.

If you are creating a new account, you can:

  • Create an account using a username, email and password
  • Sign in with your Facebook page or Google account, including an OurCloud account
  • Sign in using an existing MyGovScot account
  • Sign in using your YoungScot card - use your 16 digit YoungScot number for your username and password.

If you are creating an account for the first time you may be sent a verification link to your email (like you would when you create an account for other websites) - you will be instructed to check your emails if this is the case. Please double check you have entered your email address correctly, and check your spam or junk folder if the email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

Anyone who is not able to complete the process online can email us at CommunityBudgeting@west-dunbarton.gov.uk

Step 2: Complete your application

Once you're logged in, follow the links on the main homepage to Community Budgeting Phase 7. 

There are a maximum of 4 questions to complete in the new application form:

  1. Input the title of your application - this should be the name of the organisation applying
  2. Enter a summary of your project. This should be a short explanation of what you’re looking for the funding for. 
  3. Tell us about what you're applying for in the Description box, including a breakdown of costs. You should refer back to the Criteria for Community Budgeting to make sure that you’ve evidenced what’s being asked for somewhere in the course of your application. Please note that this box will stop you from adding additional information after 6000 characters, so you might want to type this section into a Word document to check the character count before copying and pasting it into the box.
  4. Enter the full amount you're applying for into the Estimated Price box as a number only e.g. 400 for £400 or 350 for £350. Please round your figure to the nearest whole number.
  5. If you would like to, you can now upload a video to support your application but this is optional and not a requirement. If you have a video on a site like YouTube or Vimeo, you can paste the link into the Video URL box. You should make sure you have the consent of anyone appearing in a video, as this will be publicly available on the voting site. 
  6. You are not required to submit any supporting documentation, but by submitting the application you are confirming that your group has all the required documentation specified in the criteria. During the reviewing applications process, your group may be asked by the panel to provide evidence of having these documents in place - this will be done at random.

All information provided in the application will be available to view publicly.

Finally, click the tick box to confirm that you have read, understand and agree to the Terms and Conditions (including the funding criteria) and Privacy Policy, then hit 'Create Investment' to submit your application!

If you need any further support with your application please contact CommunityBudgeting@west-dunbarton.gov.uk

If you are unable to complete an application online for any reason, you should contact us by emailing CommunityBudgeting@west-dunbarton.gov.uk no later than the closing date on 9th December 2024. 

Step 3: Keep an eye on your emails!

We will be in touch via email to update you on the progress of your application. 

After applications close, they are all reviewed by a panel of Council officers to check that the applications progressing to the public vote meet the criteria for each fund. This process takes place from 9th December 2024 - 20th January 2025 , so you should make sure you are checking the email you applied with regularly during this time in case we need to reach you for any reason.

Step 4: Voting

In order to vote, please log in or sign up by following the process outlined above in Step 1. 

When voting opens, you will be able to access the vote from the homepage. Each person will be able to vote for up to 3 projects.