Applications open for Corby Knowe Community Benefit Fund (UK)

Deadline: 22-Oct-2026

The Corby Knowe Community Benefit Fund is a local grant opportunity administered by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland. It supports community projects that educate, raise awareness, and demonstrate community involvement in work promoting environmental issues and healthier lifestyles, with priority for children and teenagers, rural isolation, community cohesion, and environmental/conservation management. The application deadline is 1:00pm (13:00) on Thursday 22 October 2026. Opportunity at a Glance

- Funding organization: Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (CFNI)

- Opportunity type: Grant

- Grant size: $1000 to $10,000 (source record)

- Local grant limit shown on the page: Up to £2,500 (as stated in the opportunity text)

- Eligible location(s): Latest Grants and Resources in United Kingdom; projects must be within 5km of the Corby Knowe wind farm site (straight-line measurement)

- Focus areas: Environment, Community Development, Arts & Culture, Children

- Deadline: 1:00pm (13:00) on Thursday 22 October 2026

- Project location requirement: Applicant organizations must be located within the 5km radius of the wind farm site entrance (Co-ordinates: 54.7811, -6.1719)

About the Opportunity

The Corby Knowe Community Benefit Fund was set up by Gaelectric in 2016 and is now managed by CGN Europe, a wind energy and energy storage company. The fund is administered by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland to provide support for local projects that help educate, raise awareness, and demonstrate community involvement in work that promotes environmental issues and healthier lifestyles. The Corby Knowe wind farm is located off Parkgate Road, Kells, County Antrim. The site consists of 3 wind turbines with an output of 5.4MW. Funding and Benefits - Grant size (as provided in the editorial record): $1000 to $10,000 - Grant limit stated on the opportunity page: Up to £2,500 - Geographic restriction: Funding is for local community projects within a 5 km radius of the wind farm site, and applicant organizations must be located within that same radius (straight-line measurement).

Not specified in the source: Whether there are additional costs covered (e.g., staffing, overheads) beyond the exclusions listed under “What we can’t fund.”

Who Is Eligible? Eligible applicants must meet the fund’s local and organisational requirements. The opportunity text indicates applicants should be: - Locally based not-for-profit, voluntary or community groups working in Northern Ireland to improve the quality of life for local people - Have an active management committee - Have no two related cheque signatories - Have a governing document (e.g., Constitution in the name of the applicant organisation) - Have a current bank account in the name of the organisation - If submitting a bank statement that is overdrawn, an explanation must be provided - Have up to date annual accounts - Have complied with conditions of previous grants, including submission of monitoring returns Geographic eligibility (mandatory) - Projects must be located within 5km of the wind farm site. - Applicant organisations must be located within the 5km radius using straight-line measurement from the wind farm site entrance (Co-ordinates: 54.7811, -6.1719). Ineligible applicants and activities (mandatory exclusions)

The fund will not support:

- Organisations or activities that promote causes contrary to CFNI purposes, including (as examples) promotion of armaments, alcohol, human rights abuses, tobacco, or pornography - Advancement of religion (including organisations whose purposes include advancement of religion) - Establishment of an endowment of any school or institution providing further education within the meaning of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 - Provision of assistance to any Housing Association within the meaning of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 - Promotion of religious or political activity, including flags and emblems associated with such - CIC Companies Limited by Shares, or CICs without an asset lock clause - Eligible CICs must have at least three unrelated committee members, and/or the majority of the committee unrelated - Applications from individuals - Applications from statutory organisations - Salaried posts - Trips abroad - Vehicles - Activities that duplicate existing services - Retrospective funding - Substitution for statutory funding Re-application restriction - Applicants that currently hold a live grant are not eligible to re-apply in any new round until all outstanding information is provided for the current grant, including details of spend and monitoring. Eligible Activities or Priority Areas The fund supports local projects that educate, raise awareness, and demonstrate community involvement in work promoting environmental issues and healthier lifestyles. Priority will be given to projects that: - Address marginalisation and help tackle rural isolation - Are aimed specifically for children and teenagers (including pre-school children), providing skills development of local people and arts and cultural activities - Encourage greater community interaction and cohesion - Improve the utilisation of existing community space, including community venues and outdoor spaces - Improve local environmental and conservation management - Recruit and develop the capacity of volunteers to improve the sustainability of existing community organisations

Theme areas listed for the fund:

- Children and teenagers - Environment and living spaces - Community Partnerships Why This Opportunity Matters This grant is designed for community-led, locally based organisations in Northern Ireland that want to deliver practical activities connected to environmental awareness and healthier lifestyles. By prioritising rural isolation, children and teenagers, community cohesion, and environmental/conservation management, it aligns funding with community needs in the immediate area