Living in a remote rural area has its challenges, particularly for young people. Things like public transport and fast internet connections that people living in towns take for granted, can be a real challenge living here!

VRG are keen to support our Children and Young people in any way we can, and one way we do this is via this Small Grant Scheme, which aims to help with some of these issues. The Children’s and Young Peoples Grant is funded by via Community Benefit funding from Craigengelt Wind Farm.

Who Can Apply?

To be eligible for the Children & Young People’s Grant, you must be:

• Aged between 0 and 26 at the date of application
• Permanently resident within the Carron Valley & District Community Council Area (Note – living away for College / University during term time is perfectly acceptable)
• Please note applications for persons under 16 years of age at the time of application require parental/carer support

It is not necessary for you or any member of your family to be a member of VRG in order to qualify for a grant. However, we would encourage you to join. The cost is only £3 for life, and being a member gives you the chance to have your say in how VRG is run.

Eligible Projects

VRG is a registered charity, and the projects we support must match the charity’s aims and objectives (see our website at www.valleyrenewables.co.uk for more details). Under these aims and objectives, we can help fund:

• Projects to support you in your education, which could include:
  – Fees for an Open University or Distance Learning course – Money to buy student textbooks
  – Money for extra exam tuition
  – A grant to buy a musical instrument, or for music lessons – A grant to buy art materials
  – A grant to enable you to attend a school (or other) field trip, summer school or music camp.
  Note, the overall aim of the project must be educational (e.g. not just a holiday), and you must be able to explain on your application form what you hope to gain from the Small Grant.

*Please note that you cannot have a grant for the same item again i.e. if you have a grant for £250 towards dance lessons one year you cannot have another grant for  dance lessons the next year. You could have a grant for a different course.

Recipients of a student bursary cannot apply for expenses related to the studies funded under the Young Person’s Grant scheme.

• Environmental Projects, for example:
  – A grant to help you develop an environmental hobby, such as buying binoculars or books for birdwatching, or a telescope for stargazing (we have some amazing dark skies in the Carron Valley!)
  – A grant to help you improve habitats for wildlife, such as tools and materials to build “hedgehog hotels” or bat boxes
  – Money to plant trees or bee friendly plants in your garden
• Grants to help you develop your skills or start your own microbusiness, such as:
  – Special clothing or tools or equipment to get started in a trade or business
  – Course fees for training in chainsaw safety, car maintenance, animal husbandry or other vocational qualifications
  – A grant to buy smart clothes for a job interview
  – Buying a chicken coop and hens, so you can sell the eggs for pocket
  money
  – Buying bee keeping equipment, so you can produce your own honey to
  sell
• Grants to help you with the challenges of rural living, for example
  – Driving lessons (*see above regarding multiple grants.)
  – Travel costs to / from College or University – Tools to help you maintain a bicycle or car. (Please note VRG does not fund forms of transport except for eBikes, see separate grant scheme for these.) e-bike-grant

All of these are just suggestions. If you have a good idea, submit an application that you think will fit with the aims of the scheme and we will help if we can.
If you have any questions, or need help filling in the application form, please contact us.

Scheme Administration

Valley Renewables Group sets aside a sum of money to run the Young People’s Grant Scheme during each year. Applications will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis, until this pot of money runs out. When this happens, any outstanding applications will either be fulfilled out of other VRG funds, or held until the next funding cycle begins.

There is no limit to the number of grants you can apply for, but the total amount must not normally exceed £250 per applicant in one calendar year. (See under Aim above   exception  for essential educational development.)  So, for example during  the same calendar year you could make one application for £150 and two applications for £50 each

We also want to encourage you to work together. For example, if three friends put in a joint application, their individual allowances will be added together, so they could apply for a total grant of up to £750 for a single purpose.

Applications will be anonymised by removing the front page of the application form, and then circulated to VRG’s Board of Directors for approval. The Board will only approve applications which are in accordance with VRG’s overall aims and objectives and within the general principles and aims of the Young People’s Grant Scheme. Any applicants refused a grant will receive an explanation for the decision, but the Board’s decision will be final.

No money may be spent until you have received written confirmation that your application has been approved. Retrospective applications will not be accepted.

How will the money be paid?

Grants will be paid by cheque. You should state on your application form who this cheque should be made payable to. This may be to yourself, or to one of your parents. In this case, once your grant has been approved, you should carry out your project and then claim the money back from VRG by submitting a claim form and receipts. You will then be reimbursed by cheque.

In the case of a school trip or similar, you may wish us to pay the school directly. In this case, you should submit a claim form with an invoice or letter from the school (it may be that you can submit your claim form along with your application form). This will enable us to send a cheque directly to the school or organisation. We will write to you and tell you when we have done this.

Timescales for applications

We will usually respond to grant applications within two weeks, but if we need to discuss your application at a board meeting, this may take up to six weeks. Please also allow two weeks after submitting your claim form for a cheque to be issued. VRG’s board members are all volunteers, working in their spare time, so please be patient!

If your application is urgent (for example, if you wish to go on a field trip on a given date), please state this on your application, and we will process it as quickly as possible.

VRG_Childrens-and-Young-Persons-Grant-Application-Form_.docx