New Community Fund launched for Cockburnspath & Cove
A new community fund has been launched, providing grants of between £500 and £50,000 to charitable groups and organisations whose work benefits the community of Cockburnspath and Cove.
The Cockburnspath & Cove Community Fund will bring together community benefit funding from a range of local wind farms to make it easier for local groups to access funding, and to have more impact locally. The windfarms include Penmanshiels, Crystral Rig I & II, Ferneylea, Fisherman 3 and Kinegar.
The new pooled Fund will support community groups and charities to improve community life and facilities in Cockburnspath & Cove. Awards can cover a wide range of costs, such as costs of equipment, staff or sessional workers, running costs for local groups, maintenance or refurbishment of community facilities, community consultations, and more.
An important development in the design stage of the Fund was to integrate the local Cockburnspath & Cove Community Action Plan into the Fund priorities. This means that the needs and aspirations of the local community themselves are integral to Fund activity, strengthening community impact.
There will be up to four rounds of funding opportunities each year and all awards will be decided by a panel of residents from the Fund area. The panel will be made up of people who take an interest in local community issues and activities in Cockburnspath and Cove, and who are keen to make a real difference in their community.
The first round will be awarded at the end of 2024 with applications now open for interested groups. To ensure maximum impact to promote the Fund, Foundation Scotland will be attending Cockburnspath & Cove Bowling Club on the 9th of September to officially launch the Fund to the residents and be available to support with any questions groups may have in order to make an application. Decision are made by a group of local residents who have formed a decision-making Panel.
The Cockburnspath & Cove Community Council has worked closely with Foundation Scotland to launch this new pooled fund, which will make it easier for groups to apply for and manage grants, acting as a single point of access to a larger pot of funding. It will also help foster relationships between charitable groups, organisations, the Community Council and Foundation Scotland.
The Cockburnspath Community Council made the decision to appoint Foundation Scotland to administer the Fund, in recognition of their significant experience and understanding of community benefit funds across the country. The Council has also witnessed the work of Foundation Scotland through the Drone Hill Wind Farm Community Fund over the years, and through working jointly with Foundation Scotland to operate Kinegar Wind Farm Community Benefit funding since 2018. Combining Foundation Scotland’s local and national experience with Panel members’ knowledge of day-to-day life in Cockburnspath & Cove will help ensure that the Fund fuels transformative change in the community.
The new Fund will provide even more opportunities for local community groups, organisations and local residents to progress projects and develop ambitious ideas. Although already open for applications, the public launch of the new Fund will take place at 7pm on the 9th of September at the Cockburnspath and Cove Bowling Club. All local groups who might be interested in applying are very welcome to come along and find out more.
Suzanne Fletcher, Chair of Cockburnspath Community Council said:
For many years, the Cockburnspath and Cove Community Council has managed an increasing amount of community benefits that the various local wind farms must give to the local communities impacted by their construction and ongoing impact on local amenities. All of this has been managed in large part by local volunteers, dealing with large sums of money and considerable fiscal responsibilities for background checks, legal and financial guidance, and a significant workload. Following discussions over a number of years, and in an effort to professionalise the former and reduce the latter, we give thanks to those on our Community Council who have given countless hours to this process, for which we are truly grateful.
The Community Council is very excited to be launching the Co’path & Cove Community Fund with support from Foundation Scotland. The opportunities our community groups will now be able to access more easily will make a meaningful impact for the groups and our community and will hopefully provide long term benefits for our area. We have been working alongside Foundation Scotland for a number of years and appreciate their commitment, professionalism and funding experience in terms of delivering community benefit which is why we have chosen to appoint them as administrators for the Co’path and Cove Community Fund. We look forward to seeing what projects arise and encourage our community groups to consider applying.
A Panel Member of Cockburnspath & Cove Community Fund said:
Having lived in Old Cambus for nearly 20 years, I felt that joining the new Cockburnspath & Cove Community Fund Panel was a unique and positive opportunity to support my community. Panel members come from varied backgrounds and bring different skills, experience and insights to support the funding decisions we will be tasked with. It’s so exciting to watch the Fund taking shape and I look forward to seeing the range of imaginative proposals put forward by our community. The Fund presents us with an incredible opportunity to make a difference to everyone who lives here.
Niome Lucjan, Community Funds Advisor at Foundation Scotland, appreciates the importance of locally available funding:
As a grant making charity with expertise in community benefit, Foundation Scotland has been delighted to work in partnership with Cockburnspath & Cove Community Council to establish this new Fund. It has developed from an amalgamation of existing funds to support both the Community Council and local groups, charities and social enterprises. The combination of the respective strengths from the newly formed Panel, the Community Council, and the team at Foundation Scotland, is already proving a successful recipe for the Fund and the Cockburnspath & Cove community.
Information and the online application forms are available here