Cleve Hill Community Benefit Fund Criteria

Fund Overview

The Cleve Hill Community Benefit Fund, provided by Private Energy Partners (PEP), has been established to support projects that will bring lasting benefit to local communities close to the Cleve Hill Solar Park in Kent.

Over the next eight years, a total of £500,000 will be awarded to community initiatives that make a real difference to local people.

Project locations

Projects must benefit residents of the following parishes in Kent: Graveney with Goodnestone and Hernhill.

For a physical (capital) project, this needs to be delivered at a location within the benefit area.

Where a grant supports a service or activity, the beneficiaries must be for individuals who reside within the benefit area. The activity itself therefore may take place outside the benefit areas (i.e. an excursion for a local elderly community group). However, the grant can only be used for costs which benefits the local residents.

Organisations located outside the benefit area can apply if they are delivering a service or activity for individuals residing within it. An example of this may be a youth worker employed by a local charity. The Fund could pay for costs associated with supporting young people that reside in the benefit area.

Applications at Schools

The Fund will support projects at schools outside of the benefit area where it has pupils that reside within it. In these circumstances, a level of proportionality (i.e. grant value awarded based on a proportion of the total project costs and the numbers of pupils located within the funding area) will need to be applied.

Example: A school is seeking funding for an extra curriculum school trip to a science museum for 50 pupils for its year-six science class. The total cost of the trip including entry, lunch and travel is £2,000. 10 of the 50 students attending the trip reside within the benefit area. Therefore, the school could apply to the Fund for 20% of the total project costs, so £400.

If your application is at a school, please contact GrantScape to discuss your project before you apply.

Project Purpose

The Fund will support a wide range of initiatives, including:

• Community buildings and facilities. For example: capital improvement works or measures to increase energy efficiency such as public EV charging points, or improvements at village halls, churches, schools, community centres, museums, heritage centres and community cafes.
• Community activities and services. For example: activities or events to engage the local community which may address health and wellbeing, social isolation, community cohesion, access to amenities, young and old people’s projects, and projects providing support for local clubs and groups.
• Environmental and public open space projects. For example: projects involving parks, nature reserves, community growing schemes, and habitat/species conservation, woodland creation, pathways, interpretation boards.
• Sports, recreation and play. For example: playgrounds, skate parks, indoor climbing walls, sports equipment and sports field drainage projects.

Eligible Organisations

Eligible Organisations, who can apply for funding include:

• Voluntary and community groups
• Local charities
• Parish Councils
• Schools and educational establishments (for projects above LEA responsibility)
• Social enterprises and Community Interest Companies operating on a non-profit-distributing basis. These are defined by Social Enterprise UK as ‘businesses that trade to tackle social problems, improve communities, people’s life chances, or the environment. They make their money from selling goods and services in the open market, but they reinvest their profits back into the business or the local community’. These organisations must have a minimum of three unrelated Directors, that also do not reside at the same address.

Applicants are required to have a written constitution, a set of rules, or a governing document and a bank or building society account, held in the name of the organisation, in place before applying for a grant.

Organisations that have already received grants from the Fund can apply for further grants each year.

Exclusions

Grants will not be available for:

• Commercial organisations.
• Private membership-based sports clubs and facilities unless membership is open to the general public without undue restriction (e.g. not membership by nomination organisations or with restrictive charges).
• Individuals applying directly to the Fund
• Projects that are narrowly religious in focus or that support a party-political campaign. Please note this does not include capital building works to local Churches which are considered community assets.
• Retrospective funding (i.e. funding can only be requested for works that will begin / expenditure that will be incurred AFTER our funding decision has been made and a formal grant Contract issued).
• Works considered a statutory duty, such as scheduled transport services, works to public highways and public car parks, or projects the responsibility of the LEA.

Judging Criteria

The main criteria used when assessing applications received will be:

• The social, economic and environmental benefits which will result from the project.
• The level of community support for and involvement in the project.
• The location of the project in relation to the Solar Project Development.
• The ability of the applicant to deliver the project.
• How the work will be continued after the project has been completed i.e. its sustainability and legacy.
• Value for money.
• For applications above £2,500, whether the application demonstrates any contribution towards the project by the applicant organisation, for example, match funding or a gift in-kind of labour and / or materials.

If, after reading the above, you are confident that your project meets the criteria, please click Next, below: