Strathdearn Community Charitable Trust

Purpose

The Charitable trust was set up to disburse the funds received in respect to the Farr Windfarm but only for the purposes as stated in the Trust Deed, namely,

(a) "for the advancement of education or any other purpose within the guidance given by the government and the Courts, in respect of proposals of an environmental, energy efficiency, tourism, recreational, and local amenity nature in each case within the Strathdearn Area..."

(b) "to or for the benefit of such one or more charitable institution or charitable institutions, or for implementing or assisting to implement any charitable purpose or charitable purposes, as the Trustees in their uncontrolled discretion may from time to time select.."

Strathdearn Charitable Trust Deed Document

1. Tie the strategy to the Strathdearn Community Plan.
2. Process small projects/requests for assistance, making recommendations to the Strathdearn Community Charitable Trust accordingly (on the basis that the money for these projects will be met from/refunded from the income, and not the capital.)
3. Where an application is received from an individual, limit any financial award to £1,000 in any one year.
4. Where the contribution expected from the Strathdearn Community Charitable Trust for a project or projects exceeds £40,000, assuming such project(s) satisfy the charitable purposes legislation and would benefit the community, this might require the spending of capital as well as income from the funds held by the Strathdearn Community Charitable Trust. In such cases, unless the project(s) have already been given priority in the Strathdearn Community Plan, a Community Ballot should be held to make sure that a majority of the community supports the spending of this money.

By tying the strategy to the Community Plan:

• Strathdearn Community Council is identifying itself as being completely open to the democratic process of allowing the people of Strathdearn to decide how they want to spend the money from the capital sum (or not, depending upon the result of the ballot – in which case it would be invested).
• Strathdearn Community Council is freed from the need to set an arbitrary limit on the money spent – avoiding the risk of future difficulties, for example, in the event of limiting spending from the capital sum, and subsequently finding that the community had come up with a good project, with community support, costing more than limit set.
• This would make for a simple Trust and a simple strategy with minimal administration – meaning that the maximum amount of community benefit money would be spent on projects.
• And gives Strathdearn Community Council a democratic, transparent, strategy.

Strathdearn Community Plan