Just under four weeks left to apply for part of £600,000 funding pot in Highland and Moray
Communities in Highland and Moray still have just under four weeks left to apply for a transformational funding award from the Beatrice Partnership Fund.
This funding round is worth a total of £400,000 in Highland and £200,000 in Moray and is provided by Beatrice Offshore Wind Limited. This is the fourth, and penultimate, round of the funds.
Beatrice has already provided over £1.8m to communities in Highland and Moray over the past three years of the fund.
The grants will go towards supporting projects that create opportunities, empower communities and stimulate sustainable places. It is hoped that the grants from this funding round will be able to help further develop community resilience during the current Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
Fraser Grieve, Chair of the Beatrice Partnership panel said: “It’s an unprecedented time we have found ourselves in as communities across the country are tackling the outbreak of Coronavirus.
“During the outbreak we are, and will continue to be, dedicated to bringing Beatrice community funds to rural communities and helping support them to get through this.
“We have already seen that our funds can help support transformational projects and we hope that this year our funds will be able to go even further in helping to support and develop these amazing communities.”
Marianne Townsley, Community Investment Manager, said: “There’s still just under four weeks left to apply to the Beatrice fund and we would encourage any potential projects in the area to look to see if a grant from us could help get their projects off the ground.
“If you would like to speak to us about projects that can be supported or for help in applying please give us a ring or drop us an email.”
The past three years of the fund have seen a wealth of projects supported including Homestart Caithness who received £23,357 to deliver parenting courses, Garmouth and Kingston Amenities Association to establish a village activity centre, Dornoch Area Community Interest Company (DACIC) who received £50,000 for their work to create ‘The Dornoch Hub’.
The DACIC plans to create the Hub involve redeveloping the Police Station on Argyle Street in Dornoch into a multi-purpose community building incorporating a business hub with offices and a conference room, a creative hub with artists’ studios, workshops and storage space, a gym and a childcare centre.
The £50,000 grant is being used towards Phase 1 of the development to purchase the site and do initial renovations so that part of the building can operate and generate income.
Joan Bishop, Chairperson of DACIC, said: “The support from the Beatrice Partnership Fund has enabled the DACIC to accelerate the development of the Dornoch Hub and its development as a social enterprise with staff members delivering outcomes directed by the volunteer board."
The funding round is open until 22 April 2020.
For more information about the fund and how to apply, please click here.