Haventus Ardersier Port Community Benefit Fund
Grant size | Up to £10,000 |
Area |
Highland
|
Key dates | |
Small grants (£200-£1000): | Applications can be submitted at any time |
Large grants (£1000-£10,000): | Application deadline September 30th 2024 |
Decision date: | 27th November 2024 |
Application deadline: | 31st January 2025 |
Decision date: | 14th April 2025 |
Application deadline: | 30th June 2025 |
Decision date: | 30th September 2025 |
![haventus](/sites/default/files/2024-08/Haventus%20logo%20%281%29%20%28002%29.png)
About this fund
Ardersier Port Community Benefit Fund supports community projects benefitting those living in the areas covered by the Community Councils of: Petty and Ardersier, Cawdor and West Nairnshire, Croy and Culloden Moor and Nairn West and Suburban.
The fund is provided by Haventus, the owners of the Ardersier Energy Transition Facility (Ardersier Port).
The fund opened in August 2024. An annual amount of £100,000, rising in line with inflation, will be paid into the fund for ten years.
Purpose of this fund
The Fund will support charitable activity that helps improve people’s quality of life. Applications will focus on an activity or project that has the ambition to result in one or more of the following outcomes:
- Enhances quality of life for local communities
- Promotes community spirit and encourage community activity
- Contributes to vibrant, healthy, successful and sustainable communities
Who can apply?
Groups and organisations working to benefit people in any of the four communities can apply. Your group/organisation must meet our standard eligibility criteria. It does not need to be registered charity to apply.
Applications from groups/organisations located out with the fund area will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must demonstrate clear benefit for residents within the fund area.
What can be funded?
Grant requests to support a wide range of costs and activities will be considered, such as equipment costs, running costs for local groups, staff or sessional worker costs, consultations, and maintenance or refurbishment of community facilities.
Applicants are normally expected to provide evidence of value for money, such as quotations, in line with Foundation Scotland’s Evidencing Value for Money policies. Foundation Scotland’s guidance at the moment requires three quotes for an item over £3,000 and one quote for anything between £300 and £3,000. However, we are aware that post the pandemic, sourcing reliable quotes has become challenging, so we do apply some flexibility around this.
What can’t be funded?
Information on what the fund cannot support is provided here.
How are decisions made?
A Community Panel, made up of people who live, work or volunteer in the four communities, makes recommendations on grant awards from the Fund. The Panel also advise on funding strategy and help to promote the Fund locally.
The Panel has up to twelve members (three from each community council area). One member from each of the four areas will be nominated by the area’s community council.
Each member of the wider community serves a minimum of one and a maximum of three years, with members retiring on a phased basis to ensure knowledge and expertise are retained. Opportunities to become a Panel member are openly advertised when these arise, both locally and on this website, and are selected through a fair and transparent process. Previous Panel members may stand again.
Recruitment of the panel is currently underway and will close on the 1st September 2024. If you are interested in being considered as a Panel member, please contact Debbie Herron at Foundation Scotland for more information (Contact details below).
Minutes of the latest Panel meetings will be available on request from the Community Funds Adviser. Contact details can be found below. More information on the award making process is available here.
Frequently asked questions
-
Does the applicant have to be a registered charity?
The applying organisation doesn’t have to be a registered charity, but the aim of funded activities must be charitable, as defined by OSCR here
How to apply
You can apply to this fund online here. Completed applications and supporting documents must be received by the application deadline. If you would like to review the questions you will be asked to answer before starting the form, you can see them here. If you have any problems accessing the form, please email grants@foundationscotland.org.uk or call 0131 524 0324 and we can help.
Contact information
Central Systems Support
Debbie Herron, Community Funds Adviser
Useful Links
For advice on running your group or project contact Highland Third Sector Interface (HTSI)
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) provides a range of useful resources for setting-up a voluntary organisation or running your organisation. It also helps organisations develop their digital potential.
Additional information and resources about developing a Safeguarding policy include Foundation Scotland guidance, NSPCC's safeguarding checklist, OSCR's Safeguarding Guidance and SCVO's advice.