Benarty wind farm fund marks ten years supporting grass roots projects
The Nadara Westfield Windfarm Community Fund in Benarty is celebrating ten years supporting local grassroots projects.
Since the Fund opened a decade ago, it has awarded 77 grants to 31 groups and organisations, totalling a whopping £126,101.
The Benarty fund is owned by Nadara energy and is administered by Foundation Scotland. It supports community projects benefitting those living in the Benarty Community Council area and has been instrumental in providing opportunities for communities to thrive by supporting local individuals, groups and organisations.
The fund provides grants to support charitable activities that enhance quality of life for local residents, contribute to vibrant, healthy, successful and sustainable communities and promote community spirit and encourage community activity.
Normally, awards from the fund are decided by a panel, which is made up of local residents from the Benarty Fund area. The panel members use their local knowledge and passion to ensure that awards are making a direct impact in the community.
This year, however, the fund decided to explore more innovative grantmaking opportunities and take a ‘distributing differently’ approach. As a result, a participatory grantmaking event was held, partnering with Fife Council's Community Learning and Development Team.
This provided an opportunity to combine local authority funding with the Westfield windfarm community benefit income, allowing groups to apply for up to £4,000. A Community Coffee Morning event was held in March this year to launch this new approach. Residents were able to hear from some previous grantees about the impact that funds are making locally, and to provide input on the participatory voting process. As a result, decisions for this funding round were made by the community with the final decisions overseen by the Panel.
A total of £27,578.08 was awarded to nine projects across the fund area. Funding covered a wide range of activities, including mental health support, youth employability and local history and heritage. It was an exciting chance to explore a different approach to fund distribution, giving the community the opportunity to retain ownership over their community benefit.
Charlotte Howe, who is a Panel member said:
It was exciting to be a part of the participatory grant-making funding round, giving the community an opportunity to have ownership, and make decisions on. These decisions supported many local groups and organisations and had a real impact on the community.
Izzy Scott-Trimm, Community Development Team Manager with Fife Council said:
Participatory Budgeting allows local people to decide how to spend public funds. The partnership with the Benarty Westfield fund was one of 8 participatory budgeting vents taking place across the Cowdenbeath area. It has allowed local people to be more involved in decision making across their communities as well as widening the community knowledge of all the fantastic opportunities available to them in their local area. Partnering in this way has allowed more funding to become available, allowing more groups to receive monies and ultimately provide more benefit to the local community.
Niome Lucjan, Community Funds Advisor from Foundation Scotland said:
The participatory funding round was a great way to celebrate ten years of the Fund, especially as it is a community fund with decisions being made by the community. This approach, with the support of the panel, demonstrates the power of local residents and the difference a community can make when it focuses on long term impact. Being a Panel member is a great responsibility they have all risen to the challenge and shown their commitment, knowledge and dedication to the Fund.
Read more about the fund here.