Beinneun Community Benefit Fund

The Beinneun Community Benefit Fund is a fund that has been established to support community groups, voluntary organisations, local charities and social enterprises that benefit the communities living in the community council areas of Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston and Glengarry.

How much annually will the overall Beinnuen Community Benefit Fund have to distribute?

An annual payment of circa £544,000, less administrative fees, will be made by the operators of Beinnuen Windfarm to the overall fund. The annual payment also supports a winter fuel payment to households within a specified range of the windfarm and a number of scholarship awards to local students.

What is the purpose of the Community Benefit Fund?

The Fund will provide grants to community groups, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and local charities to support their activities within 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.

Who can apply?

Community groups, social enterprises and charitable organisations working to benefit the people or the environment in the Beinneun Wind Development catchment area, the community council areas of Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston and Glengarry, can apply for a grant.

How much funding can be applied for?

The minimum award is £250. The maximum award figure is £100,000, however, in exceptional circumstances this may be increased for larger projects applications. The Fund will support up to 90% of the overall project costs (e.g. if your overall project cost is £10,000, the fund may support up to £9,000 of this by grant). Applicants will need to evidence that the remaining percentage of match funding of the project costs has been secured.

How do you apply?

For more information and before you complete your application please read fully the Fund criteria document. Links to both this and the Fund application form can be found below. Detailed in these documents are where to send your completed application and what supporting documentation will be required to accompany the form.

Beinneun Winter Fuel Allowance Scheme

During the development phase of Beinneun windfarm a commitment was made to give an annual winter fuel allowance of £250 to resident households within a defined area from the site.

The catchment area for the Winter Fuel Allowance Scheme is detailed on the below map. The circle represents a radius of 5.5 miles from each extremity point of the windfarm.

You will not be eligible for the Allowance if your dwelling is not your main residence and only one application can be made per household. An application cannot be made on behalf of a business operating at the address.

How to Apply

We will be writing to all the household addresses within the catchment area. The letter will contain an application form and the evidence you will require to submit along with it to make your claim. We are aware, that as we are using the Open Electoral Register, not all households that are eligible may get a letter. If you think you are a householder in the below catchment area then please get in touch.

If you haven’t received a letter and think you are within the catchment area then please get in touch by emailing info@besci.org.uk or by calling 07871 785583 or by contacting us at Octopus, PO Box 6653, Blairgowrie, PH10 9AU.

Applications for this round close on the 28th February 2019. The Winter Fuel Allowance Scheme will open again in November 2019.

Beinneun Windfarm Student Scholarships

Beinneun Windfarm Community Fund

The Beinneun Windfarm Community Fund is a fund that has been established to support community groups, charitable organisations and students living in the community council areas of Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston and Glengarry.  The Fund is provided by Beinneun Wind Farm Limited, the company which owns and operates the Beinneun windfarm development. The Fund will be available as long the operational life of the windfarm development which is currently expected to be up to 25 years.

Student Scholarships

The Beinneun Windfarm Community Fund will support a number of student scholarships within a calendar year. These scholarships are for students of all ages with a residential address within the catchment area of the community council areas of Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston and Glengarry.

The maximum Scholarship award is £750 per application per calendar year and only four can be made per applicant over the lifetime of the fund. Although the Scholarship is not means tested, preference will be given to those applicants who can evidence real financial need for the funds. If you under 18 then please get a parent, guardian, lecturer or your teacher to support your application with their signature and a brief statement.

What the Scholarship Will Support

The scholarship will support the following

• Course fees
• Travel costs
• Accommodation when attending courses
• Equipment required for study
• Tutor costs

The above list is not exhaustive, therefore, if what you wish to apply for is out with these areas then get in touch and discuss.

What the Scholarship will not Support

The scholarship will not support the following

• General Living Costs
• Environmentally Damaging or Unsustainable Activities
• Travel abroad
• Vehicle Purchase
• Retrospective Awards

Again, this list is not exhaustive. Please get in touch first if you think there may be an issue with the eligibility of your request for funding.

How Do I Apply?

Email using the addresses below.

Your correspondence should contain the following;

• Your name, address, telephone/mobile number, email address.
• Where you will be studying, what your course name is and what stage you are at in your course.
• Why you need the funding (500 words max).
• A breakdown of your costs and any evidence of what you will spend the monies on (ie travel ticket prices, equipment quotes, accommodation agreements etc)
• Any other funding you have sought.
• How this scholarship may benefit the local area through your studies.
• Evidence your financial need. (if applicable)
• Get someone, if possible, to support your application

The Assessment Process

Applications can be made at after the 15^th October 2018.

The closing date for applications is as follows: 31^st January 2019.

A local panel of community members will review all applications and make recommendations for approval (or not) regarding completed applications. Feedback will be given to all candidates.

When completed please send your application by email to info@besci.org.uk  or by mail to Octopus, PO Box 6653, Blairgowrie, PH10 9AU.

Help with preparing an application

Please contact the Beinneun Fund Manager Angus Robertson at angus.robertson@becsi.org.uk or on 07871 785583 if you have any other questions or require any assistance with the application process.

Beinneun Windfarm Limited reserves the right to promote any successful awards through its media channels. Beinneun Windfarm Limited may share the information in this form with organisations we consult with when assessing applications, when monitoring grants and evaluating our programmes. Such organisations may include the local community funding panel, other grant providers, statutory bodies or governmental departments. For our policy on data protection please go to www.besci.org.uk