Cumberhead Community Fund

The Cumberhead Community Fund is a fund that has been established to support community groups and charitable organisations that benefit residents living in the community council area of Coalburn and Lesmahagow. The Fund is provided by Cumberhead Wind Energy Limited, the company which owns and operates the Cumberhead wind farm development (the Project). The Fund will be available as long the operational life of the wind farm development which is currently expected to be up to 25 years.

An initial annual payment of £249,900, less fund administrative fees, will be made by the Project to the Fund. The amount of community benefit will then increase by the Retail Price Index (RPI) after year one and 12 monthly thereon, on the anniversary of the Fund. This increase to be calculated as the average RPI of the preceding twelve months as per data from the Office of National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czbh/mm23

50% of the overall annual fund total (minus expenses) will be granted to the South Lanarkshire Council Renewable Energy Fund. If the annual funding is not fully allocated within the calendar year, the surplus will be rolled-over to the next year.

The Fund will provide grants to community groups and charitable organisations to support their activities in the catchment area of the development. Ideally, the Fund will support projects and infrastructure which promote the economic, social and/or environmental sustainability of the catchment area. Most of all, the owners wish to ensure that successful applications are translated into real projects that make a material difference and deliver a lasting legacy to the host communities. To that end one of the roles of the Fund Manager will be to evaluate the impact of its work so that it can make sure the funds deliver best value against the objectives and also improve or modify the funding process/criteria when necessary.

Groups and organisations working to benefit people or the environment in the Cumberhead Wind Development catchment area can apply for a grant. The group must have a constitution (governing document, memorandum and articles or set of rules or similar which must be supplied with an application). The organisation does not need to be a registered charity to apply. The applicant will have to show evidence of a bank statement in the organisations name and a set of accounts for the last financial year at the time of applying to the fund.

The Fund may share this information to individuals and organisations we consult when assessing applications, when monitoring grants and evaluating our programmes. Such organisations and individuals may include the parish or local council, other grant providers, statutory bodies or governmental departments. For our statement on data protection please see our terms (https://oritcommunityfunds.com/terms) and Privacy Notice (https://oritcommunityfunds.com/privacy-notice).

Each successful group or applicant will agree to a monitoring and evaluation process for their project. The Fund reserves the right to promote any successful awards through its media channels.

The minimum award is £250. The maximum award figure is £25,000, however, in exceptional circumstances, this may be increased for larger projects applications. Match funding is not necessarily required, however, we encourage external funding contributions or monies from the applicant’s own resources to strengthen their project application. The Fund Manager will be available to give advice regarding other external funding availability if the applicant is using monies gained from the fund towards the costs of a larger project. Grants from the Fund will pay for both revenue costs (time bound) and capital items. Only one funded application can be made per organisation/group/individual per calendar year. If unsuccessful within a calendar year then a new application can be made. Groups that receive funding will normally have up to 12 months to spend their grant.

 All applicants will need to complete an online application form (which can be found at the bottom of this page) and to provide the required supporting documentation. Please note, the application form has been updated since the last round. This should include your group’s constitution/governing document, your most recent accounts, a recent bank statement, a Safeguarding Policy (if your project works with children/young people or vulnerable adults, advice here) and any quotes required in line with this Value for Money guidance.

Foundation Scotland will assess your application and present it to a community fund Panel made up of local residents who make all award decisions. The Panel will comprise an equal number of residents from both community council areas.  You will be notified of the outcome by Foundation Scotland after the Panel meeting. 

There is no right to appeal a decision. Groups that receive a grant will normally have up to 12 months to spend their grant. Funding will be released once your group has agreed to standard terms and conditions and any pre-payment conditions, which will be visible in your online portal account. Each successful group or applicant is required to complete a Final Report upon completion of the project.

  The Cumberhead Community Benefit Fund will not support:

· Projects which do not primarily benefit people living within the specified development catchment area.

· Individuals or groups without a constitution and a bank account in the name of the organisation.

· Applications from private membership organisations.

· The advancement of religious or political objectives.

· Long term core revenue costs of any applicant (i.e. more than two years).

· Overseas trips, the repayment of loans or payment of debts.

· Retrospective funding (i.e. paying for costs incurred before a decision on an application has been made).

· Activities contrary to the commercial or reputational interests of the wind farm or other contributors to the Fund.

· Projects that are detrimental to the environment or those that encourage further climate change. In particular, the Fund is unlikely to support applications which include the use of fossil fuels.

· Anti-renewable energy/anti-wind development activities.

· Applications that include core revenue costs (wages, utilities, rents etc.) will only be considered for a maximum of two years of funding.

· If the application is for asset or land development, then the organisation must usually own the asset/land. There can be some flexibility to this criterion such as the ability of the applicant to show evidence of a long-term lease agreement or other legal right to develop the asset or land. 

 Fund opening dates will be displayed below, on social media and in the local press. The Fund will be open again for applications from 26th June 2024.

Deadline for applications will be Sunday 8th September 2024.

Decisions will be made by mid-November.  Apply below. 

The Fund is administered by registered charity Foundation Scotland.  From January 2024, Foundation Scotland is taking over responsibility for day-to-day operations from previous administrator Angus Robertson, following his important work to set the Fund up initially. 

Foundation Scotland is Scotland’s community foundation, working with donors and community groups and charities to help nurture confident, thriving and resilient communities across Scotland.  This includes work alongside over 300 communities through more than 70 community benefit fund arrangements.  Foundation Scotland strives to ensure that communities are at the heart of community benefit fund decision-making, and is working with a Panel of community residents to make award decisions from the Cumberhead Community Fund.