Digital Xtra Fund

Charity Number: CUSTOM_F2FE5A39

Annual Expenditure: £0.1M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £150,000 (recent rounds)
  • Success Rate: Approximately 20-25% (estimated from application data)
  • Decision Time: 8-10 weeks
  • Grant Range: £500 - £5,000
  • Geographic Focus: Scotland only

Contact Details

  • Website: https://www.digitalxtra.scot/
  • Email: info@digitalxtrafund.scot
  • Phone: +44 1506 472200
  • Social Media: Follow on Twitter/X (@DigitalXtraFund) and Facebook for Round announcements

Overview

Digital Xtra Fund was established in 2016 through the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership and incorporated as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) in March 2017 (SC047272). Since inception, the Fund has awarded over £1 million to 183 initiatives, engaging more than 56,000 young people across Scotland in extracurricular computing and digital technology activities. The Fund aligns with the Digital Technologies Skills Investment Plan developed by Skills Development Scotland in 2014, with a strategic focus on broadening the talent pipeline for computing careers, particularly targeting underrepresented groups including girls and young women, children from areas of high deprivation or rural isolation, and those with additional support needs. The charity has grown its annual giving from £110,000 in its first round to £150,000 in recent rounds, demonstrating increasing impact and support.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

  • Annual Grant Round: £500 - £5,000 per initiative
  • Supports extracurricular computing and digital technology activities
  • Fixed annual application deadline (typically March/April)
  • Grants awarded in late June for delivery in following academic year
  • Initiatives must commence after July 1st and complete by June 30th
  • Recent rounds have supported 22-35 initiatives annually

Priority Areas

Digital Xtra Fund seeks to support activities that:

  • Teach young people (aged 16 and under) skills including coding, robotics, games design, data science, and cybersecurity
  • Demonstrate that participants will learn about and innovate with technology, not simply use it
  • Show clear digital and meta-skills development outcomes
  • Provide 'real-world' context for skills being learned
  • Promote industry engagement and various career pathways
  • Encourage partnerships between organizations

Particularly interested in projects that appeal to:

  • Audiences from areas of high deprivation and/or rural isolation
  • Groups underrepresented in the digital technologies sector (girls and young women, minority groups)
  • Children and young people with additional support needs
  • Audiences currently unengaged in digital technologies

What They Don't Fund

  • Activities delivered during school curriculum time (must be extracurricular)
  • Initiatives for young people over 16 years old
  • Activities delivered outside Scotland
  • Repeat applications for similar projects without notable development or capacity increase
  • Activities where participants simply use technology without learning to create or innovate
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Governance and Leadership

Digital Xtra Fund is governed by a Board of Trustees representing public, private, and third sectors, meeting at least six times annually. All trustee positions are voluntary.

Key Trustees include:

  • Polly Purvis OBE - Deputy Chair of Converge Challenge, founding trustee and former CEO of ScotlandIS. Awarded OBE in 2017 for services to the Digital Economy in Scotland. She championed the formation of Digital Xtra Fund and has stated: "The appetite for digital skills provision is huge – indeed, Digital Xtra has eight times the number of funding requests we're currently able to support."
  • Karen Meechan - CEO at ScotlandIS and Trustee for Digital Xtra. Active advocate for digital skills development and youth engagement in technology sector.
  • Roan Lavery - Co-founder and CEO of FreeAgent, online accounting software provider
  • David McNeill - Digital Director for Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)
  • Gina Wilson - Head of Strategy at Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland
  • Tanya Howden - Computing Science teacher and former Digital Education Programme Manager, bringing educational expertise to the board
  • Lisa Imlach - Director, CSR Comms and Reputation at Skyscanner
  • Bill Douglas - Experienced business professional and NED with over 30 years' business experience

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Applications are submitted via online form available on the Digital Xtra Fund website during open application periods. The Fund operates annual grant rounds with fixed deadlines.

Application Process:

  1. Online application form submission (typically March/April deadline)
  2. Evaluation by panel of industry professionals (April-May)
  3. Selected applicants invited to due diligence and onboarding
  4. All applicants notified of outcomes following evaluation
  5. Grant awards announced in late June

Applicants must:

  • Be a UK registered company, charity, chartered body, local authority, school, college, or university
  • Demonstrate active involvement in computing education and/or digital technologies for young people
  • Deliver activities entirely in Scotland
  • Clearly explain participant learning outcomes and skills development
  • Provide a budget showing how grant funds will be spent

Decision Timeline

  • Application deadline: Typically late March/early April
  • Evaluation period: April-May
  • Decision notification: Following evaluation in May
  • Grant awards announced: Late June
  • Initiative delivery: July 1st - June 30th (following academic year)

Total time from application deadline to decision: 8-10 weeks

Success Rates

While Digital Xtra Fund does not publish exact success rates, analysis of funding rounds indicates:

  • Round VIII (2022/23): 35 initiatives supported from total funding pot of £150,000
  • Average grant size approximately £4,000-£5,000
  • Polly Purvis noted the Fund receives "eight times the number of funding requests we're currently able to support"
  • Estimated success rate: 20-25% based on available data

Successful applications typically demonstrate strong alignment with priority audiences and clear evidence of digital skills learning outcomes.

Reapplication Policy

For previous grant recipients: Applicants who have previously received a grant award may apply again provided:

  • A newly completed application is submitted
  • The application is either for a new activity OR
  • For a previously supported activity that is notably developed beyond initial delivery and/or will significantly increase overall capacity
  • Previously supported initiatives similar in nature and achieving similar targets/outcomes as previous years will not be considered

For unsuccessful applicants: Specific reapplication policies are not publicly detailed, but the annual grant cycle structure allows organizations to apply in subsequent rounds with improved or revised applications.

Application Success Factors

Key advice from the Fund:

  • Clearly demonstrate how participants will be involved in digital making/creation, not just technology use
  • Explain what specific digital and meta-skills participants will gain
  • Show evidence that the grant is needed, is of value, and will provide positive impact
  • Think through the project plan thoroughly - evaluators want to ensure commitment to delivery
  • Include clear budget showing where and how grant funding will be spent

Recent successful project examples:

  • Little Lighthouse Project (SCDI): Interdisciplinary STEM project for P2-P4 using lighthouse context to teach electricity, light, sound, and coding - now used in over 200 Scottish schools
  • West College Scotland Coding Clubs: Engaging pupils from deprived areas in Inverclyde with micro:bits, VR, and digital making
  • Heart of Midlothian Innovation Centre: App development teaching young people to create apps with beneficial social impact
  • Flummix Ecommerce Club: Weekly club teaching S2-S5 students to build and design online stores
  • Argyll & Bute Digital Learning Hub: Extracurricular digital learning hub providing access to drones, programmable Lego, robotics, and Raspberry Pi

Language and terminology to use:

  • “Digital making” and “digital creation” (not just “using technology”)
  • “Real-world context” and “industry engagement”
  • “Underrepresented groups” and “geographic exclusion”
  • “Meta-skills development” alongside technical skills
  • “Extracurricular” (essential distinction from curriculum time)

What evaluators look for:

  • Evidence of need and value
  • Clear positive impact on extracurricular digital technologies provision
  • Commitment to project delivery if funded
  • Meaningful and stimulating engagement methods
  • Partnership approaches encouraged
  • Alignment with priority audiences (girls, deprived areas, rural isolation, additional support needs)

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Competition is fierce: With 8x more requests than available funding, applications must clearly demonstrate alignment with priority audiences (underrepresented groups, deprived/rural areas)
  • Focus on “making” not “using”: Emphasize how young people will create, innovate, and learn about technology, not simply use existing tech - this distinction is critical to evaluators
  • Real-world connections matter: Projects demonstrating industry engagement and career pathway exposure are particularly valued
  • Think beyond first-time delivery: Even new applicants should consider sustainability and how the initiative might scale or develop in future years
  • Partnership strength: Collaborative approaches between organizations can strengthen applications
  • Budget clarity is essential: Show exactly how grant funds will be spent and demonstrate value for money
  • Geographic and demographic reach: Applications serving priority audiences (50%+ girls, areas of high deprivation SIMD, rural isolation) have stronger alignment with Fund objectives

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