Local Fund in Glenkens & District reaches one-million-pound milestone

The Glenkens and District Trust, working in partnership with Foundation Scotland, is delighted to announce that the Blackcraig Community Fund has now paid out £1 million since the Fund launched in 2019, supporting projects across the Glenkens & District area.

Since the Fund launched, over 119 organisations have been supported through the main grant making fund right across the area of benefit, and £110,000 in total has gone to the Community Councils in the area enabling them to make small onward grants to benefit their local community. The Fund has also been instrumental in catalysing a community action planning process and seeing this move from aspiration and ideas into the active delivery of projects, overseen by a local Community Action Planning steering group.

In the latest main grant funding round this month, the Glenkens & District Trustees awarded £62,000 to four projects which will provide benefits right across the area.

£15,000 was awarded to Moniaive Playcare to restart the afterschool care service, and £25,000 core costs were allocated to local community anchor organisation the Glenkens & Community Arts Trust, which operates community led services and activities across eight communities in the Glenkens. £8,200 was awarded to the locally renowned natural voice choir Cairn Chorus to commission and deliver ‘Galloway Sang Streams’, a new song cycle with the theme of connecting people to the land. And finally, a three-year award of £8,400 went to Dragon Boats on Loch Ken, which provides social health and wellbeing benefits through its paddling activities on the loch.

Fiona Smith, Glenkens & District Trust Chair, said: 

We’re absolutely thrilled that the Fund has reached this significant milestone of £1 million paid out to support local projects, large and small. GDT strongly believes in the power of communities being in control of local funding, supported by good governance and community action planning guiding our spending priorities.

Suzy Mercer, Community Funds Manager at Foundation Scotland, said:

“As a grant making charity with expertise in community benefit, Foundation Scotland has been delighted to work in partnership with GDT since the Fund was established in 2019. The combination of our respective strengths has proved a successful recipe for the Fund and the communities involved.”

Since the Fund opened, it has provided a vital source of funds to the Glenkens & District community, supporting projects and organisations across a broad range of spectrums. Grants are available of £500 to £75,000. As the Fund moves into 2024, some changes are afoot with the Fund now being known as the Glenkens & District Community Fund as the number of donors increases. The Fund priorities stay the same.

Congratulations to all the successful applicants who have helped reach this one millionth pound mark.

The deadline for the next round of funding for community organisations is the 18th of March 2024. More information can be found here: Glenkens & District Community Fund | Foundation Scotland

For further information please contact: Niome Lucjan, Community Funds Adviser
0131 524 0304  Email: niome@foundationscotland.org.uk