The Sunart Community Benefit Fund has been created using the annual profits from the community hydro scheme run by Sunart Community Renewables (SCR). The amount to distribute therefore varies depending on rainfall!
From time to time the fund may also receive donations from other organisations or donors, referred to as ‘Third Party Funds’.
The Fund is administered by the registered charity, Sunart Community Company (SCC), which reports to the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) on the use of all of its funds, and produces authorised annual accounts. The SCC has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with Sunart Community Renewables for the distribution of funds.
The panel
The Fund is overseen by a local Panel of 13 Sunart residents. Anyone aged 16 or over is eligible to apply to be on the Panel, which meets four times each year to allocate grants. Panel members for this voluntary role are drawn from the following age categories.
- Two people aged 16-25
- Three people aged 25-44T
- Three people aged 45-64
- Three people aged 65+
- Plus two Ex Officio Members – one each for the Sunart Community Company and the Sunart Community Council.
The purpose of the panel
The purpose of the Panel is to:
- Advise the SCC regarding grant awards from the Fund.
- Oversee the distribution of funds received from a third party (e.g. private benefactor or corporate donor), who may have already agreed the grant award in advance.
- Advise the SCC on other aspects of the management of the Fund such as promotion and awareness, or the development of strategic initiatives designed to maximise benefits to the community within Sunart.
Awards
The Sunart Community Benefit Fund has supported many different projects in the ??? years it has been running. A total of £87,324.00 has been awarded and the total project costs the fund has helped happen comes to a whopping £1,121,269.00!
Discover more
Documents relating to the benefit fund can be found in the document library.