The Enchanted Forest Community Fund 2025 :
Public Relations Campaign

The Campaign Brief

The Enchanted Forest Community Fund is the charitable heart of The Enchanted Forest, reinvesting proceeds from Scotland’s favourite sound and light show back into Highland Perthshire. Since 2015, the fund has distributed more than £622,000 to over 200 charities and community interest companies, supporting projects tackling child poverty, mental health, social inclusion, sustainability and community resilience.

For the fund’s 10th year, Cunningly Good Group was tasked with raising awareness of the 2025 funding round, encouraging more local organisations to apply, showcasing the impact of previous recipients and strengthening understanding of The Enchanted Forest’s wider charitable legacy.

The campaign objectives were to:

Increase awareness of the Community Fund and its application process, with a target to increase traffic to the Community page of The Enchanted Forest website by 50%.
Encourage more charities and CICs operating in Highland Perthshire to apply for funding.
Showcase the real-life impact of previous grant recipients through media relations, case studies and owned content.
Strengthen understanding of The Enchanted Forest’s wider charitable purpose and legacy.

With a modest budget and no paid media spend, we needed to work cleverly, using earned media, owned channels and targeted stakeholder engagement to achieve maximum reach within the communities that mattered most.

Cunningly Good Group’s Approach

We knew from experience that simply announcing that funding was available would only take the campaign so far. To really engage potential applicants and the wider public, we needed to show what that funding could actually achieve.

Our strategy therefore positioned the Community Fund not simply as a source of grants, but as a vehicle for positive community change. We developed the campaign around three phases: inspire, activate and celebrate.

First, we brought the fund to life through the people and organisations it had already supported. We identified strong beneficiary stories spanning youth development, cultural heritage, community wellbeing and social inclusion, demonstrating the tangible difference relatively small grants could make. These included Pitlochry & Blair Atholl Pipe Band helping preserve Scottish cultural traditions, Social Flock tackling clothing poverty and textile waste, and Perth Autism Support helping young people feel more included in their communities.

The second phase focused on turning awareness into applications. We combined targeted media relations with social media, website content and direct stakeholder engagement.

We researched organisations and networks capable of reaching eligible charities and community groups, working with partners including PKAVS to extend the campaign directly into the third sector community. We also approached relevant organisations directly to ensure potential applicants knew funding was available.

Media activity included a launch announcement, beneficiary-led case studies and broadcast pitching to STV, BBC and Tay FM. We targeted local, regional, national and sector media, ensuring the campaign could work across community, charity, tourism and human-interest agendas.

Across The Enchanted Forest’s own channels, we supported the application period with website updates, guidance, beneficiary stories and social media content.

The final phase celebrated the organisations receiving funding and demonstrated the scale of the Community Fund’s impact. We announced that almost £84,000 had been awarded to 27 organisations in 2025, using individual recipient stories to show exactly where the money was going and the difference it would make. In total, 27 dedicated social media assets were created to give each successful organisation its own moment in the spotlight.

The Cunningly Good Results

The campaign delivered a significant increase in both awareness and engagement with the Community Fund. Most importantly, 50 applications were received, a 30% increase on the previous year and the highest number in the fund’s history.

Website performance substantially exceeded our original target. Traffic to The Enchanted Forest’s Community page increased by 308%, against a target of 50%. The campaign also generated:

30 pieces of earned media coverage across print, online, broadcast and social channels.
20.5 million total audience reach.
406,000 estimated coverage views.
3,025 reactions, comments and shares on Community Fund social media content, an increase of 79% on the previous year.
Coverage across titles and platforms including STV News, The Courier, The National, Perthshire Advertiser, Charity Today and VisitScotland.
National broadcast exposure through STV News, taking the Community Fund story beyond Highland Perthshire.

The campaign ultimately helped distribute £84,000 to 27 charities and community organisations, supporting projects ranging from autism outreach and community transport to youth development, cultural preservation and climate action. The campaign secured record participation, stronger community engagement and a clearer understanding of how one of Scotland’s best-loved visitor events creates a legacy that lasts long after the lights go out.