Renewable Energy Fund Grants

The online application process stages are outlined below:

Stage 1 - Applicant enquiry 

Applicants must register their organisation and web address on the application website to access the enquiry page. Please give a short summary of the project to allow us to accurately assess your eligibility. Complete this and submit using the blue box on the bottom right. A confirmation email will be sent to the email address provided confirming receipt. Applicants will receive a reply stating the enquiry has been received and details of the officer delegated to manage your enquiry

Stage 2 - Initial assessment

The officer delegated to manage the enquiry will process the enquiry and can undertake three actions:

• Request further information on the enquiry and or provide advice, 
• Reject the enquiry, giving information on the reason,
• Accept the enquiry

Stage 3 - Application

If the enquiry is assessed as meeting the fund criteria the applicant will proceed to stage 3. The applicant will receive an email confirming this and the full application form will become available on the Grantvisor system. You are required to complete all sections of the application form. The graphic to the left on Grantvisor will show which sections still need information and you can not submit the application until all sections are complete.

Documents and photos can all be uploaded onto the application form at different parts.

The application form consists of 6 main areas which are guided within the form but the key requirements within each are summarised here:

• Contact details - name, full address, email address, contact phone numbers
• Organisation details - including Constitution, Audited Accounts

Project details 

• Summary of the project
• Summary of links to the Fund Priorities
• Evidence of local need and local support

Project costs 

The costs for the project need to be set out here along with VAT and any match funding.

All projects should seek to secure three quotes for all costs. It is accepted that within the Clyde area achieving three quotes may be difficult and two quotes will be accepted. Where two quotes are provided, justification or evidence of the reasons three have not been provided should be included. It may be helpful for applicants to include a short note or tender report along with additional documentation to explain the method of achieving costs.

A copy of the organisation's latest bank details will also be required.

Bank details

Information on the account the grant will be paid into.

Additional documents

This is an area where any supporting information can be added including:

• Letters of support
• Community action plans
• Photos
• Consultation information
• Tender reports or explanations of costs and quotes
• Additional quotes
• Linkages to strategies and policy
• Consultants reports
• Architect drawings

If the applicant requires additional information or support, all queries should be emailed through the Grantvisor system to allow an audit trail to be maintained.

To aid completion of the application, once submitted, the application will be scored against the following scoring criteria and what evidence has been provided for each of these headings.

Where the grant is above £20,000 and becomes a larger grant request, applicants may want to address each criterion separately and submit an additional document summarising how the project meets the criteria. The project officer will be able to help and guide on this.

Scoring criteria

• Compliance with the Fund Priorities
• Linkages with other local and national strategies 
• Evidence of demand or need (evidence of existing use or community consultation)
• Need for funding (is the funding essential)
• Value for money (in comparison to numbers benefiting) 
• Sustainability (how does the project help the continuation of the group or community)
• Equal opportunities (to what extent does the project promote equal participation)
• Community Involvement (level of community involvement in the project)
• Sustainable Development (how does the project support the green agenda)
• Additionally (leverage of other funding)
• Exit strategy (what happens once the grant has been used)

Stage 4 - Submission 

Once all sections and downloads are inserted the application will show as complete. Applicants should then submit by pressing the blue button. This will lock your application so please make sure all details are correct before this. The application will then be reviewed. A confirmation email will be sent informing you of this. Any additional information or alteration to the application will be on instruction from the appointed officer who will unlock the application to allow this to happen. The officer will confirm once the application is complete and passed for assessment.

Stage 5 - Assessment

The assessment will be undertaken by officers scoring the application against the criteria that applications must reach a pass level to be awarded funding. The Grant scale and application deadlines set out the process for grants below and above £20,000.

Stage - 6 Approval or rejection and next steps

Approved projects will receive an offer of grant with the relevant conditions to accept the offer you must sign and return the acceptance form.

Rejected applications will receive a letter with the main reasons for rejection. There are no right of appeal and all decisions are final. Feedback can be provided on the project and guidance given. 

All rejected projects will not be re-accepted unless substantial changes to meet the feedback and criteria required have been discussed with a council officer.

Advance payments of grants

Successful Community Fund projects may receive advance payment of up to a maximum of 50% of the total grant award if requested and justification provided. The remainder of the grant will be paid retrospectively on the production of receipted original invoices, a completed grant claim and a progress report form.

General conditions of grant

The general conditions of the grant cover all funds included in the list above and proof of compliance will be required before any funds will be provided:

• All awards are conditional on the applicant securing the relevant statutory consent and permissions
• VAT is only paid if the organisation cannot reclaim (only enter VAT as a separate total if you are not claiming it as part of the grant)
• All match funding must be confirmed in writing in a manner acceptable to audit standards before any work commencing
• Work must not start before Community Benefit funding is awarded
• Awards are not available retrospectively for work started or completed
• Applicants must not restrict access to the project from an equal opportunities perspective or promote specific political or religious purposes

Application timeline

There are no closing dates for grant applications below £20,000.

Grants above £20,000 progress to the committee and the grant scale and application deadlines page provides information on deadlines and approval dates.

Where enquiries or applications do not progress within six months of an application submission an officer will communicate with applicants through Grantvisor if no response is received as to the delay the enquiry or application will be closed. Applicants can start a new application at any time.

If your project is refused funding you should only apply again for the same project if you can make a much stronger case. If you send us the same application again, our experience is that it’s unlikely to be successful.

If a project awarded a grant has not started six months after the letter of offer the council reserves the right to withdraw the funding award.

Data protection

We will use the information you give us during the assessment and the life of your grant (if awarded) to administer and analyse grants and for our research purposes. We may provide copies of all or some of this information to individuals and organisations we consult when assessing applications, administering the programme, monitoring grants and evaluating funding processes and impacts. These organisations may include accountants, external evaluators and other organisations or groups involved in delivering the programme.

We may share information with organisations and individuals with a legitimate interest in Lottery applications and grants or specific funding programmes. We have a duty to protect public funds and for that reason, we may also share information with other Lottery distributors, government departments, organisations providing matched funding or for the prevention and detection of crime.

We might use the personal information provided to conduct appropriate identity checks. Personal information you provide may be disclosed to a credit reference or fraud prevention agency, which may keep a record of that information.

False or inaccurate information provided in your application, or at any point in the life of any funding we award you and fraud is identified, we will provide details to fraud prevention agencies to prevent fraud and money laundering. If you are a company this will include the names of the Company Directors at the time of the fraud. All Directors, Trustees and Committee members must be informed of this notice.

You can obtain further details explaining how the information held by fraud prevention agencies may be used.

Equal opportunities

As part of each application, the applicant should provide robust information and policy details from your constitution about your organisation's attitude to equal opportunities. This needs to be reflected in the project outputs and outcomes.

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives members of the public the right to request any information held. This includes information received from third parties, such as, although not limited to grant applicants, grant holders, contractors and people making a complaint.

If information is requested under the Freedom of Information Act we will release it, subject to exemptions; although we may choose to consult with you first. If you think that information provided may be exempt from release if requested, you should let us know when you apply.