Dumfries and Galloway Coastal Benefit Fund

THE FUND IS CURRENTLY OPEN

Application Deadline: 27 March 2023 (midday)

Dumfries and Galloway Coastal Benefit Fund has been established to invest funds awarded to our Council from the net revenue generated from Scottish Crown Estate marine assets (out to 12 nautical miles).

Funding available for 2023

The funding available is just over £760k to benefit our coastal communities across Dumfries and Galloway and is open to applications from Third Sector Community Organisations or Public Sector Organisations which will bring direct benefit to our coastal areas.

How to apply

Complete an Expression of Interest Form to request an Application

The deadline for the Dumfries and Galloway Coastal Benefit Fund is Monday 27 March 2023 at Midday.  No late applications will be accepted.

Applications must ensure that any statements of support and match funding information has the formal approval of the organisations and/or individuals named in the application.  This must be provided at the time of application.

If applications have not completed compliance checks by the time of the preparations for the Scoring Panel assessment and cannot be resolved by the time of the appropriate Committee meeting, the application will be withdrawn and not presented for consideration.

How much can you apply for?

The Fund has two streams available.

Community-led Funding Stream for third sector/community organisations

Total available £457,405.34 - for projects seeking up to £80k

Community-supported Public Sector Funding Stream

Total available - £304,936.90 - for projects seeking up to £80k

Depending on the volume of applications received the anticipated allocations above may be varied and the remaining balance of the Fund will be allocated as required.

The scoring framework for both funding streams will be weighted to support projects seeking less than 80% intervention from this Fund.  No other Council sources of funding can be used as match funding and you cannot request 100% from the Fund.

It is not envisaged that awards of over £80,000 will be made, unless from a partnership application of two or more organisations/communities.

For example, if your total eligible project costs are £100k.  You could apply for up to £80k and fund the remaining £20k from other sources, such as external funders or your own cash contribution.

Criteria

All applications must:

  1. Be from an eligible coastal community area (see Guidance and Criteria below)
  2. Be for new/added value projects which demonstrate tangible benefits for coastal communities.
  3. Evidence support from coastal communities for the project at time of application. (eg letters of support, community consultation etc).
  4. Demonstrate its contribution to the Themes from the Council Plan 2023-2028.
  5. Demonstrate its contribution to supporting the 'blue economy' through:
  • Environmental enhancement
  • Emissions reduction or removal of waste
  • Jobs
  • Tourism
  • Skills development
  • Diversification projects
  • Investment for community purpose
  • Climate change adaptation

In addition:

Public Sector organisations are required to demonstrate that the project/activity is in addition to its statutory duties and is not filling any funding gap/pressure.

For further information, please see the Icon for pdf Guidance and Criteria 2023 [PDF - 127.51KB] .

Decision-making process

On receipt of completed applications by 12 noon on 27 March 2023 there will be a compliance check of the constitution, governance and published annual accounts and then applications will be scored by a scoring panel using a Scoring Framework.  No late applications will be accepted.   Applications which have not cleared compliance checks by the time of the preparations for the appropriate Committee will be withdrawn.

The Scoring Panel will submit a report to the Communities Committee in June 2023 with recommendations for awards. The awards are made at Members discretion.

If your funding application is successful, you will be required to sign an acceptance form to state that you accept our award conditions before we make any payment to you.  Up to £10,000 of your award will ordinarily be paid on receipt of this acceptance, subject to agreement by the Lead Officer/Monitoring Officer.

Previous Awards

Further details

For more information or support please contact your local Ward Officer or email coastalbenefitfund@dumgal.gov.uk

Alternatively, please contact Lead Officer, Derek Hextall on 01387 260026.

Privacy

Your information will be handled by Dumfries and Galloway Council. You can view the Coastal Fund's Privacy Statement here: Coastal Fund Privacy Statement

Page last updated: 23/03/2023
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