UK: Evishagaran and Craiggore Community Benefit Fund

Deadline: 24-Apr-23

The Community Foundation Northern Ireland is inviting applications for the Evishagaran and Craiggore Community Benefit Fund to provide financial support towards the development of locally-beneficial community-based projects and initiatives within a 7km radius of Evishagaran and Craiggore wind farms, Dungiven.

The Evishagaran and Craiggore Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund was established in 2022 by the ERG Group.

Priorities

• Priority will be given to:
  • Projects that are promoting ERG’s culture and sustainability of renewable energies, energy efficiencies and energy poverty
  • Collaborative projects
  • Projects that aim to improve the health of residents, particularly mental health
  • Projects that promote care & support of vulnerable people, particularly relating to the cost of living/fuel poverty
  • In the event of oversubscription, organisations who are being directly funded by ERG, will not be given priority.

Funding Information

• Amount of funding available:
  • There will be two elements to this fund;
    • Micro grants of up to £4,000 for small projects
    • Strategic grants of up to £10,000 for larger scale strategic partnership projects, with one lead applicant (They anticipate supporting up to 2 of these grants)

Eligibility Criteria 

• You are a locally based not-for-profit, voluntary or community group working in Northern Ireland to improve the quality of life for local people
• You have an active management committee, with no two related cheque signatories
• You have a governing document, i.e. Constitution in the name of the applicant organisation
• You have a current bank account in the name of your organisation
• You have up to date annual accounts
• You have complied with the conditions of previous grants including submission of monitoring returns.

They will not fund?

• The Community Foundation will not fund organisations or activities which promote causes that are contrary to their purposes. Causes and activities that are contrary to their purposes include, but may not be limited to, those outlined in their investment policy.  They will not therefore fund organisations or activities which they determine are linked to the promotion of armaments, alcohol, human rights abuses, tobacco or pornography.
• In addition there are some general things that their grant aid cannot be used for:
  • The advancement of religion.  This includes organisations whose purposes include the advancement of religion
  • The establishment of endowment of any school or institution providing further education within the meaning of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1972
  • The provision of assistance to any Housing Association within the meaning of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1976
  • Promotion of religious or political activity, including any flags and emblems that may deem to be associated with such
  • CIC Companies Limited by Shares, or CICs without an asset lock clause.  Eligible CICs must have at least three unrelated committee members, and/or the majority of the committee unrelated
  • Individuals
  • Funding for retrospective project costs
  • General appeals, individual and group sponsorship, marketing appeals, proposals for bursaries from individuals or proposals from individuals for the funding of study or attainment of qualifications
  • The provision of services that are the primary and legal responsibility of the state
  • Input VAT reclaimable from HMRC
  • Payments reimbursed or to be reimbursed by other public or private sector funding
  • Contributions in kind (i.e. a contribution in goods or services, as opposed to money)
  • Depreciation, amortisation or impairment of fixed Assets owned by the group
  • Interest payments (including service charge payments for finance leases)
  • Gifts to individuals other than promotional items with a value of no more than £25 a year to any one individual
  • Statutory fines, criminal fines or penalties
  • Liabilities incurred before the issue of an award
  • Use in respect of costs reimbursed or to be reimbursed by funding from any other source
  • Use of funding to top up reserves of your group
  • Any purpose that is adverse to the wind farms, to ERG or to the wind energy industry as a whole
  • In addition Evishagaran and Craiggore Community Benefit Fund will not support:
  • Applications from statutory organisations
  • Trips abroad
  • Vehicles
  • Activities that duplicate existing services

Please Note

• Applications for capital build projects will only be considered if full Planning Permission has already been approved and match funding is in place.

For more information, visit Evishagaran and Craiggore Community Benefit Fund.