Funds
FUNDS AVAILABLE
Skirling is close to two windfarms – Clyde Wind Farm with 206 turbines, located south of Biggar in the Southern Uplands, and Glenkerie with 11 turbines, located 5km north-west of Tweedsmuir. Both offer Skirling a share of their community funds, available for individual and group applications.
We also have our local charity, The Pauline Fund, and Scottish Borders Council offers access to many community funds via their website.
Clyde Wind Farm Borders Community Fund
- Grants of up to £25,000 are available to community groups
- Micro-grants are available via Skirling Community Council, up to £250 per individual and £500 per group
- The Youth Bursary Fund is also available via the community council, and offers up to £250 per child under 18
Clyde Border Community Fund
This fund supports the community council areas of Skirling, Upper Tweed and Tweedsmuir. The funding decisions are made by a local advisory panel, made up of local residents and representatives from the community councils, and the fund is administered by SSE Renewables.
Grants of between £250 and £25,000 are available to constituted not-for-profit groups and the funding must be of benefit to the residents of Skirling.
For more details, application dates and for an application form please click on these links: Word Version | PDF Version.
If you would like to have a chat with the fund manager to help with your application, please email Colin McMillan at SSE: Colin.McMillan@sse.com.
Micro Grants
Micro grants are intended to make the Clyde (Borders) Community Fund available to individuals and small local groups who need small amounts to pursue their objectives. The process of applying for and receiving a micro grant is relatively quick and light touch, and is managed by Skirling Community Council.
You can apply for up to £500 – click on these links for more information and to apply: Guidelines | Application Form.
Youth Bursary Fund
The youth bursary is intended to assist children aged up to 18 to access courses and participate in sport and artistic endeavours. The process of applying for and receiving a grant is via the Community Council as per the micro-grant.
You can apply for up to £250 per child – click on these links for more information and to apply: Guidelines | Application Form.
Scholarship Fund
Clyde Wind Farm is providing scholarships of £5,000 to students undertaking STEM degrees. The scholarship is to be used towards the scholar’s student loan, thereby reducing the amount for repayment at time of graduation.
Six awards will be made to different students every year for the duration of the fund programme.
Click on these links for more information and to apply: Guidelines | Application Form.
Ventient Energy Glenkerie Wind Farm Community Fund
- Small grants between £250-£2,000 | medium grants between £2,001 and £10,000 | large grants over £10,000
- Micro-grants are available via Skirling Community Council, up to £250 per individual and £500 per group
Ventient Energy Glenkerie Community Fund
The overall aims of the fund are to support activity which will sustain and develop the life of the community and ensure that the area is an attractive and vibrant place to live, work and visit. To achieve this the fund supports activity that leads to the following outcomes:
- Adequate access to services for all community members
- Improved local transport
- Opportunities to grow the local economy
- Developed or maintained community assets
Groups and organisations working to benefit people in any of the eligible communities can apply. A Community Panel, made up of people who live, work or actively volunteer within the fund benefit area (comprised a mixture of community councillors and other members of the community), makes recommendations on grant awards from the fund.
For more information, application dates and to apply online, please visit their website: click here.
If you would like to have a chat with the fund manager to help with your application, please email Chris Dempster at Foundation Scotland: cdempster@foundationscotland.org.uk.
Micro Grants
Micro grants from the Glenkerie Fund are available to individuals and small local groups who need small amounts to pursue their objectives. The process of applying for and receiving a micro grant is relatively quick and light touch, and is managed by Skirling Community Council.
You can apply for up to £500 via our Application Form.
The Pauline Fund
The Pauline Fund is a small Skirling based charity originally formed in 2002 to help to pay for our neighbour Pauline Quinn’s alternative cancer treatment. It was originally titled The Pauline Cancer Therapy Fund but is now known as the Pauline Fund in memory of Pauline’s courage and determination but also reflecting its wider aims which are set out as:
To relieve the sickness and distress and to further the health of persons who are suffering from, but not exclusively, cancer, and in particular residents of the Parish of Skirling or those with strong connections to the parish, by:
- The provision of therapy and or treatment which would not normally be provided by the National Health Service
- The provision of financial support to those, who through their illness are in necessitous circumstances.
These provisions have been interpreted quite broadly for example funds have been used to:
- pay for heating bills for someone with COPD
- give financial help at Christmas to a widow after a father’s death
- pay for orthotic shoes
- pay the cost of travel for a visit from a close friend for someone terminally ill
- help with recreational equipment for a couple of youngsters during Covid
Please contact the secretary Isobel Hunter on 01899 860 274 or isobel@skirlinghouse.com for more information and assistance.
The Trustees are Isobel Hunter, Phylida Robertson, Chris Burn and Mary Mackay.
Scottish Borders Council Funds
Community Grants and Funding
Scottish Borders Council offers a variety of grants via their website, including:
- Grant funding for community projects
- Neighbourhood support fund
- Community enhancement trust
- Community welfare trust
- Cost of living support fund