Capacity Grant Application Form

Please read the information below before opening and submitting the application form at the bottom of this page. Please send the completed and signed form by 5pm, Friday, 20 October 2017.

Invitation to apply

If you are a Community Development Trust working in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, you may be eligible for a Capacity Grant award to develop the capacity and strength of your organisation.

Please read this Capacity Grant Application Form in full before completion, including the

1. Eligibility Criteria
2. Eligible Expenditure
3. Monitoring

Providing your organisation meets the Eligibility Criteria and commits to using the Capacity Grant for Eligible Expenditure only, you are invited to complete and sign this Form and return it to us by Friday, 20 October 2017

Once we have received a signed Capacity Grant Application Form and we are satisfied that your organisation meets the criteria, we will send you a Grant Offer for signature and return by Friday, 17 November 2017.

On receipt of the signed Grant Offer, we will transfer the Capacity Grant award into your bank account. Applications must be completed in full (with signatures) by the deadline and late applications will not be funded.

1. Eligibility Criteria

A Capacity Grant may be awarded to a Community Development Trust subject to the following criteria:

1. The organisation is an active Charity registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and is OSCR is highlighting no financial or governance concerns or irregularities.
2. The organisation’s constitution supports communities that are in or partly in the boundary of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
3. The purpose of the organisation reflects the Development Trusts Association Scotland’s definition of a Community Development Trust (see below).
4. The organisation is the only Community Development Trust active in the area (if not, written agreement will be required from all relevant Community Development Trusts confirming which organisation should receive the Capacity Grant).
5. The organisation can demonstrate it is working proactively to improve its governance and organisational structures to ensure it is functioning effectively, for example, it regularly reviews its processes/procedures, it is accountable to its membership, its minutes are published, skills of Directors/Volunteers are developed etc.

Please note, the National Park Authority reserves the right to contact a random selection of Community Development Trusts to ensure good practice as outlined in point 5 above.

2. Eligible Expenditure

The Capacity Grant’s purpose is to help Community Development Trusts to achieve the following:

• Attracting new members
• Encouraging or recruiting volunteers
• Running well governed and promoted organisations
• Engaging with your community – especially hard-to-reach voices
• Improving how you represent your community
• Your community knows about your activities and how to get involved
• Your Board of Directors feels well informed, skilled and knowledgeable
• Working in partnership
• Supporting the organisation to meet its aims/objectives, including the local Community Action Plan priorities

The Capacity Grant aims to support the core running costs of your organisation and to strengthen the capacity of the volunteers and staff who run it. Examples of expenditure may include:

• insurance costs
• membership drives
• consultation initiatives
• promotion or marketing of Trust activities
• venue hire for Trust meetings
• printing and postage
• professional fees
• training and support for directors, volunteers or staff

The National Park Authority will not fund: statutory obligations of Community Councils, IT equipment, retrospective costs, project costs, ongoing staff salary costs, general refreshments.

3. Monitoring

A Capacity Grant Monitoring Form will be sent to you in March 2019. This form will ask you to confirm:

1. The Capacity Grant has been spent on items/services that meet the Eligible Expenditure Criteria.
2. How much of the Capacity Grant has been spent by Friday, 15 March 2019.

The National Park Authority reserves the right to reclaim Capacity Grant funds that have not been spent by Friday, 15 March 2019.

The National Park Authority reserves the right to select at random some Community Development Trusts and ask for a Statement of Accounts and evidence of expenditure, so please ensure you keep all receipts and retain a record of Capacity Grant expenditure.

Community Development Trust: A Definition

A Community Development Trust is a community organisation which:

• Is owned and managed by the local community
• Aims to achieve the sustainable regeneration of a community or address a range of economic, social, environmental and cultural issues within a community
• Is independent but seeks to work in partnership with other private, public and third sector organisations
• Aims to reduce dependency on grant support by generating income through enterprise and the ownership of assets
• All trading surpluses are principally reinvested in the organisation or the community

*(Development Trusts Association Scotland website)