Eco-Congregation Scotland is pleased to share news of funding opportunities opening this week and encourages local churches, faith groups and other community organisations to consider applying.
The Community Climate Asset Fund (CCAF) is a £3.5 million Scottish Government fund, administered by Keep Scotland Beautiful, and provides capital funding for community-based organisations to tackle climate change. The fund is designed to support communities to reduce usage of petrol and diesel cars, cut waste, grow local food and reduce emissions from community buildings.
The CCAF is being introduced to:
- Build on the invaluable role that community-based organisations are playing in Scotland’s response to COVID-19
- Support community groups to play a prominent role in the Green Recovery
- Provide capital funding to community-based organisations to help them tackle climate change as we accelerate our just transition to a net zero society
- Complement funding provided through the Climate Challenge Fund and other community and place-based initiatives
- Help communities to reduce usage of petrol and diesel cars, cut waste, grow local food and reduce emissions from community buildings
CCAF applicants need to demonstrate the climate impact and community benefit of the items they are requesting. They must also show that their proposal is deliverable and how they will maintain CCAF funded items. All applicants should demonstrate that they can complete the project and spend their grant by 31 March 2021.
The main types of asset that the CCAF can fund can be split under seven main headings:
- Energy efficiency measures in community buildings
- Equipment to support community food growing
- Electric vehicles and charging infrastructure for community-run car clubs, for running existing climate change projects and for delivering services that have been identified as a priority by the community as a result of COVID-19
- Bikes and facilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Electric bikes and charging infrastructure for community groups running existing climate change projects
- Equipment to reduce waste in your community
- Equipment to support an established community wood fuel scheme
Further information on the above and the types of asset that are fundable and not fundable, plus an outline of ineligible costs, is available on the CCAF website and in the CCAF Guidance Notes.
Grants range between a minimum of £1,000 and maximum of £100,000. Match funding is a requirement for grants over £10,000. Match funding cannot be an ‘in-kind’ contribution in the form of volunteer or staff time. It must be funds going directly towards purchasing the asset(s) being requested and cannot be from any other Scottish Government source.
To be eligible to apply for any funding from the CCAF an organisation must be Scottish-based, community focused, operating on a not-for-profit basis and legally constituted.
The application deadline is 9 November 2020 at 12 noon, but early application is encouraged as funding will be allocated to eligible applicants on a first-come, first-served basis.
Keep Scotland Beautiful is running Zoom webinars to support potential applicants on 22 October, 28 October and 3 November which we encourage you to join for further information.
Eco-Congregation Scotland will continue to share and encourage interest in this and further opportunities for local churches, faith groups and other community organisations over coming months.
Please get in touch if you have any queries or would like support from our own team.