Guidance

Guidance on applying to the Dounreay Communities Fund

Updated 12 December 2023

How to apply

Read the following guidance notes. Once you have read through and decided that the Dounreay Communities Fund can assist your project, you need to apply by completing the small grant online application form.

It is for an applicant to complete the online application form; however a step by step guide is available at the end of this document, and assistance in completing the form can be arranged through appointment at Dounreay’s public information office in Thurso. The Dounreay Community Relations Team will be responsible for checking the completed form and ensuring that all relevant information has been provided before submitting recommendations to the Dounreay Stakeholder Group. The Community Relations Team may request further information from the applicant and may reject an application where the information is not sufficient.

Framework for grant funding decisions

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has developed a framework based on the National Audit Office criteria for value for money and have adapted this to the work in the local community.

The process of small grant funding needs to follow this framework and therefore we need to understand what outcomes the applicant is trying to achieve. You will be asked to outline the proposed outcomes within the application form.

Who can apply?

You can apply if you are a community based organisation and/or charity that benefits people and improves the quality of life for people living in Caithness and North Sutherland:

• constituted community/voluntary/charity groups – local branches of national charities are only eligible if money raised is spent locally
• state funded education provider or pre-school group (not all types of expenditure can be supported and nothing which is a statutory obligation of another authority or department will be supported)
• public sector bodies
• a company (but support must be state aid compliant and cannot be used to subsidise a business)
• the fund will assist local schools and parent councils for items which are wholly of benefit to the school children and outside the school curriculum

Who will not qualify for funding?

The following will be ineligible for funding:

• private individuals
• spend that does not meet project objectives
• expenditure that cannot be measured
• projected benefits are outside the Dounreay travel to work area
• religious or political benefit
• aims that are contrary to UK Government policy
• aims that are part of core government policy/activity
• paid for lobbying
  1. which means using grant funds to fund lobbying (via an external firm or inhouse staff) in order to undertake activities intended to influence or attempt to influence parliament, government or political activity; or attempting to influence legislative or regulatory action
  2. using grant funds to directly enable one part of government to challenge another on topics unrelated to the agreed purpose of the grant
  3. using grant funding to petition for additional funding
• expenses such as for entertaining, specifically aimed at exerting undue influence to change government policy
• VAT reclaimable by the grant recipient from HMRC
• activities that other organisations (e.g. local authority/local education authority/national charities) have a statutory obligation to provide, i.e. hospitals, schools or parent councils where these items should be funded by Highland Council or other government organisations (for example, repairs to local schools, supply of books, renovation of hospitals, etc). The fund will assist local schools and parent councils for items which are wholly of benefit to the school children and outside the school curriculum
• applications from organisations that previously received NDA funding that did not comply with the conditions (e.g.: end of project reports)
• individual, group sponsorships and other activities raising money for third parties
• loan payments
• national charities where funding is collected and administered centrally. The fund will not support events whose aim is to fund charities (local charities should apply direct to the fund). Exceptions may be made where local branches raise and spend their own funding
• ongoing running costs, i.e. rent, insurance, etc. Applications from local branches of charities for assistance with running costs will be assessed on a case by case basis
• repeat funding requests in the same financial year
• hospitality, awards sponsorships or the purchase of tables at events
• prizes or prize draw print costs for fundraising events
• retrospective projects
• interest payments or service charge payments for finance leases
• gifts
• statutory fines, criminal fines or penalties
• payments for works or activities which the grant recipient, or any member of their partnership has a statutory duty to undertake, or that are fully funded by other sources
• bad debts to related parties
• payments for unfair dismissal or other compensation
• any organisation that has received a donation annually for 3 consecutive years
• organisations that have received funding from Caithness & North Sutherland Fund

How much can you apply for?

The fund is designed to accommodate small scale community projects with a total cost of up to £5,000. Any projects over £5,000 will not be considered by the Dounreay Communities Fund.

Applications for below £1,000: Assistance from the fund will normally be no more than 50% unless there is strong evidence that no other funding is available, but each request will be considered on its own merit. A receipt will be required for the agreed amount.

Applications between £1,001 to £5,000: Assistance from the fund will normally be no more than 50%, but higher levels may be available if there is strong evidence that no other funding is available. A copy of audited accounts will be required. The donation will be paid on receipt of an invoice for the agreed amount.

Monitoring will be undertaken on all funding to monitor the intended outputs and provide assurance that expenditure is within the eligible expenditure terms outlined in the grant agreement. Random audits may be undertaken.

Successful applicants

Successful applicants will be issued a grant acceptance schedule which will clearly state the purpose for which the grant is awarded, provide details of approved activity, amount of funding awarded and the outcomes that the grant will be subject to.

GDPR

Applicants should note that all information collected on the application form will be retained for 3 years. We will use the data provided in accordance with the guidance set out in the Government Functional Standard for general grants. The data you supply will be stored on the NDA group grant management system. The data will be shared with the NDA group social impact teams, NDA group finance teams and if required the NDA group internal audit teams. Refusal will render the application ineligible.

Application step by step guide

The following is a step by step guide to the small grant application form. If you require any further assistance then please contact the Dounreay Community Relations team via email stakeholderrelations@dounreay.com

1. grant type - choose small (£0 - £10,000). Please note that although small grant has up to £10,000, the Dounreay Communities Fund remains capped at a total project cost of £5,000.

2. information – this is information on your organisation, the fund and site you are applying to:
   • organisation – this is the name of your organisation
   • primary contact and email – complete as appropriate
   • fund – select either £1,000 or £10,000 dependent on the total project cost
   • level – small
   • NDA site – Dounreay
   • have you applied for funding before and previous funding details – complete as appropriate
3. project details:
   • project name – name of your project
   • start date and end date – complete as appropriate
   • project summary – describe your project quantifying the people who will benefit and the age group that will benefit. Please provide as many facts here regarding number of people involved, geographic area it will benefit, explain why the community needs this project, the potential impact, how your project will bring people in the community together, how it will improve the quality of life in the community, etc
   • why is NDA support needed – explain here why you need funding. Tell us about any additional fundraising you are undertaking or any other grant applications you have submitted/acquired
4. financial case:
   • total project cost and amount of funding requested must be completed
   • benefit to the community – explain how your project will benefit the community, the number of people this would reach, the number of hours involved for those delivering the project and the number of weeks the project would run for
5. management case:
   • post project sustainability – once the project has been delivered, when do you expect the project to be sustainable or require ongoing funding? Please give details
   • environmental improvements – does the project actively seek to make environmental improvements where this is a need?