The SCBF Board of Directors have worked together to develop a Strategy for the SCBF and this can be found here. We will review and update this annually to ensure we incorporate feedback from our members, community groups and Strathnairn residents; to reflect changes in how funds are utilised and any changes in the priorities of Strathnairn. A copy of this will be on the website and included in the next newsletter. The Board believes it is important to have a clear strategy that communicates how we operate and that we are transparent to all the stakeholders. Thank youMark BessellChairperson, SCBF

The SCBF AGM scheduled for the 13 December 2021 could not take place as insufficient members attended for the meeting to be quorate. The AGM has been rescheduled for Thursday 20 January 2022 at 7.00pm via Zoom. Details of how to join the meeting have been sent by email or post (where we don’t hold an email address) to members. If you are not a member and wish to join the meeting, please complete a membership form and send it to cosec@strathnairncbf.com

INTRODUCTIONSCBF is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It distributes funding for the benefit of the community of Strathnairn derived from four windfarms and a hydroelectric scheme. Total income is expected to be approximately £300,000 in the financial year to August 2022. The grant programme consists of both General and Individual grants. The General grants include funding to community groups and for community activities. Whereas Individuals grants include:• Energy Efficiency Grants• Renewable Technology Grants• Hardship Grants• Education Grants• Other grants that may be created in the future Grant decisions and other matters of business are made by the Board of volunteer Directors who meet once a month.Until the end of February 2022 a secretariat service is provided by Foundation Scotland. The SCBF Board is now seeking an alternative provider of services to ensure a smooth handover by the current provider. SERVICES REQUIRED• Confidentiality is critical to the position as the SCBF reviews grant applications from members of the community and therefore their privacy must to respected at all times• Grants (to organisations and individuals): Acknowledge and log applications; check the grant for completeness (and returning the application when not complete and guiding the applicant accordingly) prior to circulating to the Board; correspondence on queries raised by the Board; award notifications; initiate payments (bank transfers and cheque). Over time the aim will be to push for bank transfers only• Delegated Grants (Currently limited to Individual Education Grants): Acknowledge and log applications; check documentation and eligibility; award letters; initiate payments (bank transfers and cheque)• Board Meetings: Produce agenda (in consultation with the Chair); circulate papers; generate minutes (full and summary); execute and monitor follow up actions as required• Finance: Maintain accounting records; reconcile the bank balance monthly; produce monthly report on expenditure plus spend against anticipated commitments; provide year end information and support files to the independent examiner• Company: Updates to Companies House and OSCR records; annual returns; Annual General Meeting administration, membership records• Website: Updates to the website (wordpress); upload minutes, update and upload grant forms etc• Miscellaneous: Update documentation as required, development of policies, generate reports to windfarm funders, annual report, general correspondence, community consultation meetings• Support to existing Directors and onboarding of new Directors• Administrative support as required SKILLS• Financial skills to manage and report on the income and annual expenditure• Good communication skills as dealing with groups and members of the community• Self-starting and ability to work independently while still delivering on the job requirements• Some knowledge of or ability to learn voluntary sector governance, including OSCR requirements, Companies House requirements, and good practice in the third sector. Training to be offered as required• Ability to bring new ideas and improvements to the Board to effect positive impact on the community• IT skills including website updating, spreadsheets and word processing. Training to be offered as required It is anticipated that four days per month (or 1 full day per week) will be sufficient to provide the service. This reflects the time requirements to meet the work requirements and therefore working hours are completely flexible for the applicant. Included is the monthly Director’s meeting that currently takes place in the evenings over Zoom; and the Annual General Meeting which is normally a physical meeting with members. Work is home based with the possible exception of the monthly meetings that may on occasion be face to face. The secretary will be contracted on a self-employed basis (or via an agency) at an agreed daily rate.Expenses directly incurred in the delivery of services will be reimbursed. APPLICATIONTo apply for this position, please write to cosec@strathnairncbf.comPlease include:• A covering letter which outlines your relevant experience• The daily rate you would charge to provide the above services• Your CVThe deadline for applications is 12 noon on Monday 10 January 2022.If you have any queries about the role, please contact Bea Jefferson at cosec@strathnairncbf.com or 07554 695 152

Members are invited to attend the SCBF AGM, taking place at 7pm on Monday 13th December 2021 at Farr Community Hall. All members will shortly receive an invitation by post or email. If you would like to attend, but are not currently a member, please complete a membership form (available on the documents page) and return it to cosec@strathnairncbf.com before the meeting.

I would like to communicate to everyone a number of changes that have recently occurred with the SCBF to ensure we keep everybody updated. Ian Hunt has agreed to step down as the Chair of the SCBF, and fortunately is remaining as a Director which will allow the Board to continue to benefit from his extensive knowledge and experience.I have replaced Ian, as the Interim Chair, for an initial period of eight months. Why eight months? This is to allow sufficient time to make a number of changes which I will address below. In addition, all of the Directors have made the same commitment to see these changes through over the next eight months. I am grateful to Jayne, Paul, Ian and Darren for making this commitment. As everyone is aware these roles are voluntary, there is a lot of work needs to be done so, we need to do things differently as there is only a limited about of personal time that can be dedicated by the Directors, and without the Directors there is no SCBF.Certainly, there will be changes some of which may raise eyebrows, some will be seamless and some will have a negative impact. First off we have been informed by Foundation Scotland that the £200 energy grant is not a charitable grant; this grant which all households have been eligible for will cease as of the end of this year. The cancelation of this much subscribed grant could not have happened at a worse time with the recent increase in energy prices. The decision to do so was not taken lightly and debated at length by the Directors. Unfortunately, we have clear guidance, both verbally and in writing, that this grant does not meet the criteria for a charitable grant and the SCBF is out with its charter to continue with it. A copy of the Foundation Scotland letter is on the SCBF website which provides further explanation. The next question is what can be done to address this loss? We are looking at a number of options with a clear focus on what can be done to create new grants that meet the charitable criteria with a particular focus on those who may need additional assistance to cover fuel costs. This is a top priority.Additional changes that we are working on:a. Increased communication to members, to the other community groups and with the residents in general. For the members we would like to complement the Summary Minutes with updates of items of interest, things that are being worked on et cetera. For the community groups we will start with the bigger groups first and establish initial face to face meetings with a goal to better understand the needs and goals of those groups and to relay information on what the SCBF can and cannot do. The groups can expect a clear and transparent dialogue from the SCBF – that does not mean that we will always agree or be able to fund every request but that we will try to understand their needs and assist where possible. Finally with the community at large we need to update everyone on big issues and concerns – what funds are available this year? What role does the SCBF play in the upcoming CAP? What is the community expecting from the SCBF? Again, this is about having a conversation.b. How we conduct business. Currently the SCBF is spending a majority of its time on administrative issues, review of grants etc. As a result, a majority of meeting time is spent on approval of grants and questions that arise related to these grants. This will have to overhauled so that grant submissions are supplied with all the necessary information, that the SCBF forms are clear and we can no longer review the grants on a monthly basis but setting up an alternative review schedule. This means that the SCBF will have the time to review future issues that have longer term impact. Will we continue to approve grants? Absolutely but we need everyone’s assistance to ensure quality submissions and patience on approval times. This is one reason to reach out to the community groups to have open communications to iron out issues prior to grant submissions.It is highly likely that Foundation Scotland’s services will withdraw their services early next year. Foundation Scotland provide all of the administration support, documents, distribution of grants etc. for us. Without them, or something similar, we can not function. This will be a critical issue to resolve in the coming months and more information to follow.The Annual General Meeting is planned for December 16th which will either be via Zoom or with some luck the Farr Hall, more to follow as we sort out the details. All of the Directors look forward to meeting and listening to yourselves.ThanksMark BessellInterim Chair

Application forms for Education Grants are now available for the academic year starting August 2021. A single grant of £300 per academic year is available to support education costs, not funded by statutory provision, of children and young people aged 21 and under who are permanent residents of the Strathnairn Community Council area. The grant is available to children and young people in secondary education, further education, higher education and those undertaking apprenticeships. Strathnairn Community Benefit Fund make awards to the Parent Councils of Farr and Daviot Primary Schools to assist with non-statutory education costs. Therefore, in order to ensure all primary pupils in Strathnairn can benefit, P1-P7 pupils not attending Farr or Daviot schools are eligible to apply direct to the Fund for an Education Grant.

The Strathnairn Community Benefit Fund (SCBF) is looking for engaged community members to growtheir team of Directors. There is one meeting a month on a Thursday, currently online, with the hope to be in person when possible. If you are interested in learning more, please get in touch: cosec@strathnairncbf.com