The latest round of funding for Argyll and Bute Council’s supporting communities fund is now open and organisations are being encouraged to submit applications for their projects.
Groups can apply for up to 100% of the total funding costs for their project or activity.
The maximum award available is £2,500 and after an experiment with public voting last year the authority has reverted to councillors making the awards.
The deadline for submission of completed applications is Wednesday, February 6.
The fund is aimed at supporting community projects and helping to kick-start new projects.
Robin Currie, the council’s policy lead for communities, said: “There are a lot of excellent project ideas in our communities and I’m pleased that the council will once again be able to help some of those come to fruition through the supporting communities fund. I’d encourage any community groups with fresh ideas to apply for funding.”
The council is particularly keen to encourage new groups with fresh ideas. Advice and support on funding is available from the Community Development Team, who can be contacted at 01436 657 647 or via email address communitydevelopment@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Application forms can be found on the website at https://tinyurl.com/supportingcommunitiesfund and if you require a hard copy or further information or guidance, contact the team.
Following a one-year participatory budgeting pilot and a follow-up evaluation, the application form has been improved and there is opportunity to submit applications electronically
Also, projects can now apply for up to 100% of funding, and the allocation of funding will be decided by councillors at local area committees.
There is one round of funding annually. Applications that are agreed to have met the criteria will be scored and recommendations made to the Local Area Committee for a decision to be taken in spring 2019.
At last, common sense prevails and the Council now returns to the previous procedure for these grants. I was the only councillor out of 36 who argued that the voting system they brought in for these grants in this financial year, which was based on the Scottish Government’s participatory budgeting system, was a disaster and disadvantaged our rural communities. I spent a number of months arguing against that system and, along with a number of community councillors and others, spent a great deal of time encouraging constituents in my rural communities to vote for local projects. I asked for the costs of that system to be identified which proved that it cost a great deal of public money to distribute these grants under the participatory system which was a total waste of a great deal of public money. This should now make things easier for voluntary groups within our communities.
Councillor George Freeman