fair share Trust aims to make a lasting impact in the Maybole area

A new Lottery funding programme will shortly start making grants to projects benefiting people living in Maybole and the surrounding villages.

The Big Lottery Fund’s fair share trust has a total of approximately £450,000 to support projects in the neighbourhood over the next few years. Its aim is to make grants to projects which can make a sustainable impact on issues that have been identified as local priorities for the neighbourhood.

Over recent months, a local panel of people who live and work in and around the Maybole area has been meeting to discuss what these priorities should be, and they have identified some local aims for the programme:

These are:

· Connecting people and places (including transport issues, outreach and networking)

· Building capacity within the local voluntary sector

· Improving facilities for community activities

· Encouraging engagement with the local environment

In addition, a cross-cutting theme relating to each of these priorities will be:

· Engaging young people

The Scottish Community Foundation is administering the fair share trust grants programme in Scotland, and the Maybole area is one of 13 ‘fair share

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neighbourhoods’ in the country to benefit. Further details of the kind of projects that the programme will fund together with information about the grant application process are available from the Scottish Community Foundation.

The Scottish Community Foundation is keen to emphasise that the fair share trust programme is not a small grants scheme and that grants, which will be between £5,000 and £250,000, are intended to support a strategic approach to tackling the local priorities for the community. Organisations or groups wishing to apply to the programme will begin by submitting an outline project proposal. For those ideas which can be taken forward, we will help applicants to develop their proposal for funding.

Anyone interested in learning more about the fair share trust funding, should contact Nick Addington at the Scottish Community Foundation on 0141 225 6670, or email: naddington@scottishcommunityfoundation.com.

Notes

· fair share is a joint initiative between the former Community Fund and former New Opportunities Fund (which merged to create the Big Lottery Fund in June 2004), aiming to improve the uptake of lottery funds in those parts of the country that have missed out. The fair share trust was established by the former New Opportunities Fund.

· The Big Lottery Fund is also looking for applications which will make use of more than £1.4 million which the former Community Fund made available for South Ayrshire as a whole under fair share over the period April 2002 – March 2005. In the final year of this part of the fair share initiative, almost 75% of the budget has been successfully bid for. More than £1.1 million has gone into the area, funding amongst others, the South Ayrshire Befriending Project, the South Ayrshire Local Volunteer Organisation and the Afloat Caravan Project.

More applications are welcome. The Big Lottery Fund has a short outline proposal form in which applicants can describe their project. It is available by telephoning 0870 240 2391 or visiting their website www.community-fund.org.uk

The Scottish Community Foundation is a unique charity that makes grants to community groups and charities who work to improve communities across Scotland. Funds are raised through events including the Caledonian Challenge and Loch Ness Marathon and from individuals donors including companies, individuals, trusts, government and the Millennium Commission. We provide simple ways for people to support the needs of their community, ensuring that their gifts make a real difference.