Applications for Beinneun Community Fund Grant (UK) Now Open - Apply Now

The Beinneun Community Fund is a long-running community benefit fund financed by Beinneun Wind Farm Ltd, the company that owns and operates the Beinneun wind farm in the Scottish Highlands. Since the wind farm became operational in 2017, the fund has paid out approximately £500,000 a year, and it's committed to continue for up to 25 years of the wind farm's operating life.

The fund is designed to channel that community benefit money into projects that improve life for residents in three specific areas:

• Glengarry
• Fort Augustus
• Glenmoriston

Since 2024, day-to-day administration of the fund has moved to Foundation Scotland, a long-established Scottish charity that manages community and philanthropic funds across the country (registered charity number SC022910). Foundation Scotland runs the application process, organizes the Community Panel, and handles all applicant queries — this is an important update for anyone who previously encountered the fund's older administrator, Fern Community Funds, whose published guidance is now out of date.

Key Dates for 2026

The fund runs three application rounds a year, each followed by a Community Panel meeting that decides the awards:

If you miss the August deadline, the November round is your next opportunity, and the fund typically opens further rounds in following years on a similar three-times-annually cycle.

How Much Can You Apply For?

This is the area where information circulating online is most likely to be outdated, so it's worth being precise. The fund does not currently publish a single fixed maximum grant size — Foundation Scotland's own guidance describes the fund's ceiling as flexible and responsive to community need rather than capped at one number. That said, based on recent funding rounds and news from the fund itself:

• Individual awards as large as £150,000 have been made available in past rounds for substantial community projects.
• One recent grant to a local community project (the "Paths to Play" initiative) totaled £164,439, showing that exceptionally large or multi-part awards are possible for the right project.
• Smaller, simpler requests are equally welcome — the fund is structured so that modest, single-year needs and major multi-year investments can both be considered through different application strands (see below).

Older third-party sources may cite a minimum award of £250 and a hard cap of £100,000, or state the fund only covers up to 90% of total project costs. Those figures come from a previous version of the fund's guidance and are no longer the operative rules under Foundation Scotland's current administration — applicants should treat the current official guidance (flexible, no fixed ceiling, case-by-case assessment) as authoritative and confirm specifics directly with Foundation Scotland before budgeting a request.

The Fund's Structure: Three Ways to Apply

Under Foundation Scotland, the Beinneun Community Fund is organized into distinct application strands rather than a single generic grant form:

1. Flexible Fund — Single Year (under £5,000)

For smaller, shorter-term community activities and project costs. This is also the route used for Governance Funding — see below.

2. Flexible Fund — Single Year (over £5,000)

For larger short-term projects that don't require multi-year commitment but exceed the £5,000 threshold.

3. Flexible Fund — Multi-Year

Reserved for substantial, longer-term community investments. Multi-year applications are held to a higher bar: they must show a broad spread of community benefit, evidence of collaboration with other local organizations, a full project plan with clear deliverables and measurable outcomes, and proof that the applicant organization maintains strong governance. This strand is designed to give established community groups the financial stability to plan further ahead, rather than reapplying year after year for the same ongoing work.

Governance Funding (new emphasis in current guidance)

A notable and relatively new feature of the fund's current guidance is explicit support for governance and organisational development costs — helping community groups strengthen the internal structure, processes, and accountability they need to deliver other projects effectively. Applicants are encouraged to first seek a governance review through established local or regional support services (these reviews are usually free), and only apply to the fund — via the Single Year strand, for amounts under £5,000 — if the review identifies actions that genuinely require funding.

Who Can Apply

• Community groups, social enterprises, and not-for-profit organisations working to benefit residents of Glengarry, Fort Augustus, or Glenmoriston.
• Applicants must have a formal constitution and operate on a not-for-profit basis.
• Charitable registration is not required, but the specific project or activity being funded must have a charitable purpose or demonstrate clear community benefit.
• Organisations based outside the three eligible areas can still apply, but only if they can demonstrate clear demand from local residents and a direct benefit to the target communities — these applications are assessed case by case.
• Groups can submit multiple applications across the year, provided each one relates to a genuinely different project or a clearly separate component of a larger initiative.

What the Fund Prioritizes

Applicants should be able to clearly explain how their project supports the economic, social, or environmental sustainability of the three communities. Current guidance places particular emphasis on:

• Environmental responsibility. The fund actively welcomes information about sustainable practices an applicant has adopted or plans to adopt, and it favors projects that address climate challenges at a local level.
• Real, lasting impact. The fund's stated aim is to ensure grants translate into material projects with a lasting legacy for host communities, not one-off activity with no follow-through.
• Match funding is helpful but not mandatory. Applications don't have to prove co-funding to qualify, but evidence of other funding sources, active fundraising, or the applicant's own financial contribution strengthens a case.
• Asset and land development projects must include proof of legal standing — ownership documents, a long-term lease, or another form of legal permission to develop the asset or land in question.

What the Fund Will Not Support

Beyond Foundation Scotland's standard list of general exclusions (which applies across all of its managed funds), the Beinneun Community Fund specifically will not support:

• Anti-wind farm or anti-renewable-energy activity, or anything working against the interests of Beinneun Wind Farm Ltd
• Activity that could bring Beinneun Wind Farm Ltd or Foundation Scotland into disrepute
• Projects detrimental to the environment, including — notably — projects that involve the use of fossil fuels, which the fund says it is unlikely to support

How Decisions Are Made

A Community Panel — made up of local residents, workers, and volunteers who are over the age of 16 and connected to the area — reviews every application and makes the funding recommendations. Panel decisions are final; there is no formal appeals process. Unsuccessful applicants do receive feedback, and where relevant, Foundation Scotland will point them toward other funding sources or advice.

Grants must generally be spent within one year of being awarded, unless the Panel agrees to a different timeframe for a specific project.

How to Apply

1. Confirm your eligibility and identify which strand fits your project — Single Year (under or over £5,000) or Multi-Year.
2. Prepare your application materials, including your organisation's constitution, a clear project plan (objectives, activities, timeline, budget), and — for asset or land projects — proof of legal rights to the property.
3. Apply online through Foundation Scotland's application portal. The three application links (correct as of 2026) are:
   • Flexible Fund (Multi-Year)
   • Flexible Fund (Single Year) — under £5,000
   • Flexible Fund (Single Year) — over £5,000
   All three are accessed through Foundation Scotland's official funding page for the Beinneun Community Fund.
4. Submit before the relevant deadline — 24 August 2026 or 9 November 2026 for the remaining 2026 rounds.

If you'd like to preview the application questions before starting, Foundation Scotland publishes the full list of application questions for organisations on its website, which is worth reviewing in advance so you're not caught off guard mid-application.

Related Fund: Beinneun Student Scholarship Fund

Individuals — as opposed to community organisations — should note that personal education and training costs are not covered by the Community Fund. Instead, residents aged 16 and over living in Fort Augustus, Glenmoriston, or Glengarry can apply separately to the Beinneun Student Scholarship Fund, which offers grants of up to £1,500 per application per calendar year toward course fees, travel, equipment, accommodation, and other study-related costs. That fund's current deadline is 31 December 2026.

Getting Help

Foundation Scotland provides two separate contact channels depending on your question:

Application process and technical support: Central Systems Support — 0131 524 0300 — grants@foundationscotland.org.uk

Fund criteria and priorities: Chris Lee, Community Funds Adviser — 07912 759525 — clee@foundationscotland.org.uk

Applicants looking for broader organisational support — help setting up a voluntary organisation, running one day to day, or developing a safeguarding policy — can also reach out to the Highland Third Sector Interface or the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), both of which provide free guidance to community groups in the area.

Quick Reference Summary

This article reflects Foundation Scotland's published guidance for the Beinneun Community Fund as of July 2026. Fund terms, deadlines, and grant sizes are reviewed periodically — applicants should always confirm current details directly with Foundation Scotland before submitting an application.