Vital funding for individuals and groups in Aberdeenshire
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Aberdeenshire wide several hundred thousand pounds in support funds are sitting unused and councillors are encouraging communities and individuals to access them in support of rural poverty and individual hardship.
An annual report to Aberdeenshire councillors was presented by the Aberdeenshire Charity Trust which provided a break-down of the legacy funds which were collated for each ward where they exist.
For the Turriff area, monies defined as for relief of poverty and the relief of those in need by reason of age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage equate to –
Ward 1 Banff and Buchan (Banff, Aberchirder, Whitehills) - £20,908 in revenue and £35,435 in capital.
Ward 2 Troup (Gardenstown, Macduff, Rosehearty) - £8772 revenue, £34,012 capital.
Ward 4 Central Buchan (New Deer, Maud, Mintlaw) £2165 revenue.
Ward 7 Turriff and District (Turriff, Rothienorman, Fyvie, Cuminestown) £1537 revenue, £7535 capital.
For the Ellon area –
Ward 8 Mid Formartine (Balmedie, Oldmeldrum, Tarves) - £3069 revenue, £2000 capital.
For the Inverurie area –
Ward 10 West Garioch (Insch, Kemnay) - £217 revenue.
Ward 11 Inverurie and District - £21,395 revenue, £69,270 capital.
Ward 12 East Garioch (Blackburn, Kintore, Newmachar) - £2045 revenue, £4173 capital.
Ward 14 Huntly and Howie of Alford (Alford, Huntly, Rhynie) - £25,876 capital, £24419 capital.
Ward 14 also has £50,924 available in revenue and £17,663 in capital for advancement of health, citizenship, art, heritage, culture, sport and advancement of environmental protection.
Figures also show that some £9,511 is specifically available for war-wounded personnel for the relief of poverty and for the relief of hardship.
In each ward, applications can be made by individuals or groups with a maximum funding generally in the region of £500 and £1000 respectively, though there are some exceptions.
Councillor Glen Reid who sits on the committee in one of those bringing the funding to wider public attention.
He said; “I heard our annual report into the Aberdeenshire Charity Trust, a collection of trusts aimed to assist and help our citizens.
“What struck me was that hardly anyone knew of them and therefore hardly anyone applied to them.
“In a time when we have foodbanks at Inverurie, Ellon, Huntly, Peterhead and Banchory and whose usage last year in Aberdeenshire North increased by 36 per cent this is shocking.
“There is real poverty right across Aberdeenshire and the help they deserve is not reaching them.
“The council, through its Aberdeenshire Charities Trust, has hundreds of thousands of pounds available for individuals and groups to apply for.
He cautioned: “Although not all areas in Aberdeenshire have trust funds, many do and the two most common categories for assistance are: ‘The prevention and relief of poverty’ and secondly for ‘The relief of those in need by reason of age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage.’
“Two years ago there were only six application and last year 11.
“These funds need to be more widely publicised so that they can help the people that they were intended to and assist people in the community.
The forms are available by following these links (or copy and pasting in your drop bar):
Individuals
https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/media/21997/act-2-individual-form-generic.pdf
Groups
https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/media/21998/act-2-organisation-form-generic.pdf
He continued: “They are not the most straight forward forms, but I and your fellow councillors will gladly point you in the direction of any assistance that you require. “Meanwhile I will seek the simplification of the application process, but I did not want to wait until that was done before publicising these funds.
A full breakdown of the funding report can be found https://committees.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees.aspx?commid=485&meetid=19664 in item 4 on the agenda.
