Mid-Argyll fund continues to pack a punch with record amount awarded to local groups
2024 has already seen a huge £263,583 awarded in grants to 22 groups and organisations in Mid-Argyll, thanks to the Nadara A’Chruach Community Benefit Fund. This is a record for the year so far, with a further final round of awards due to be made in November.
The Nadara A’Chruach Community Benefit Fund supports community projects benefitting those living in West Loch Fyne, Dunadd and Lochgilphead. Nadara is the owner of the A’Chruach Wind Farm, and the fund is administered by Foundation Scotland.
Decisions on awards are made by a volunteer local Community Panel, and grants have been made to a wide range of groups and organisations including MACPool, Dunadd Community Enterprise, Moving on Mid Argyll, The Snowdrop Centre, The Lochgair Association, Autism on the Water and the Mid Argyll Arts Association, among others.
A number of grants are also awarded on a multi-year basis. One of those awards - £30,000 -was made to Lochgilphead Pheonix to support the growth and development of its annual Celtic & Pictish Festival. School Parent Councils have also received a total of over £18,000 in rolling annual awards to help fund extra-curricular, after school and offsite activity such as school trips and transport to swimming lessons. Parent Councils benefiting are Glassary, Kilmartin, Lochgilphead Primary and Lochgilphead High School. The High School Award includes a separate fund for the Learning Centre.
Julie Brown, Chair of Glassary Parent Council said:
“The annual award has been a lifeline to our small school in the current economic climate, it allowed us to take a whole school trip to Blair Drummond Safari park, inviting parents and carers to join the children, paying for the bus and tickets and allowed us the chance to talk with the keepers and learn about the animals, also helping to tie in our objective of including families in the children's learning journey. This would not have been possible with fundraising alone. We were also able to pay for the Primary 7 trip allowing the P7's to meet other children from other schools prior to going on to high school.
We have also just purchased ukelele's for the school to have a music teacher come in and teach the P4-7 children a musical instrument they may not normally get the opportunity to learn. We are very grateful to the community panel for helping us grow as a school and offer the children fantastic opportunities they may not normally get.”
MACPool activity hub in Lochgilphead has also been awarded a total of £71,874, made up of a £21,000 grant to fund staff training and a new disabled pool hoist, and further awards made directly by the Community Panel of £30,000 over three years to support a free swimming scheme for children, and another award of £20,000 towards restabilising its financial position following huge increases in pool running costs due to rocketing utilities bills.
John Gurr from MACPool said:
“MACPool is extremely grateful to Nadara A’Chruach and Foundation Scotland for this award and their existing commitment to MacPool, this will make a big difference to the pool, ensuring it is a going concern and remove some of the financial worry of juggling resources. We will now be able to get our future swim teachers trained this year and look to develop a rookie lifeguard course in 2025. We have already ordered a new disabled hoist which should be in place in the next 6 to 8 weeks, which will mean the pool is once again accessible to all.”
The Snow Drop Centre – formally the MS Centre in Lochgilphead – was awarded £30,000 over three years to support salary costs of the Wellbeing Worker to deliver the ‘5 Ways to Wellbeing’ programme. This programme supports vulnerable and disabled people in Mid Argyll to live better in later life, be healthier and happier and remain as independent as they can for as long as possible.
Karen McCurry of the Snowdrop centre said:
“Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Mid Argyll were delighted to receive 3 years funding to develop our "5 Ways to Wellbeing programme". This is an exciting, innovative and fun programme focussing on physical activity, social connection, hydration, nutrition and boosting brain health. Participants either come to wellbeing groups in our Snowdrop Centre or receive one to one sessions in their own homes if unable to attend in person. All enrolled on the programme are reporting significant positive physical and mental health benefits. All are enjoying participating and connecting with others in a supportive, friendly setting exercising all muscles including their chuckle muscles from the chats and laughter, which are sprinkled throughout the sessions.”
The Community Panel has also awarded £4,000 to Mid Argyle Youth Development Services (MAYDS) to set up and administer a fund specifically for children and young people aged 16 and under. Funding will be distributed directly to young people or indirectly through projects that benefit young people, their peers and the wider community. The fund aims to give young people a chance to build confidence and capacity.
Erin Murchie, Nadara’s community relations manager, said:
“We are delighted to be supporting such a wide range of worthwhile organisations and initiatives in the area. They are making a huge difference to the lives of local people and to be able to provide funding, particularly over several years, is incredibly rewarding.”
Lochgilphead, Dunadd and West Loch Fyne Community Councils are also set to receive an uplift in monies available for Micro Grant funding for direct distribution in the form of small grants. These are awarded directly by Community Councils and fund a wide range of projects and small community purchases such as community Zoom Licences, local event refreshments, replacement defibrillator pads, and the maintenance of Christmas lights or mowing equipment.
The dramatic upswing in applications and awards in the last few years is in no small part due to the dedication, enthusiasm, knowledge and skills of the members of the Panel.
Positive and proactive, the Community Panel, which is made up of Community Council representatives from Dunadd, and West Loch Fyne, plus independent members of the community, has championed the fund locally and helped support organisations to access funds in new and innovative ways. They work in partnership with Foundation Scotland to adapt approaches in a way that works in the best interests of the communities themselves.