RFAs: Cloonty Community Benefit Fund (United Kingdom)

The Cloonty Community Benefit Fund supports local community projects in Northern Ireland that address priority needs such as young people, families, older people, and community partnerships. The fund is administered by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland and offers grants of up to £5,000 for eligible projects within 6km of the Cloonty Wind Farm site. The application deadline is 1:00pm on Thursday 22 October 2026. Opportunity at a Glance

- Funding opportunity name: Cloonty Community Benefit Fund

- Administered by: Community Foundation Northern Ireland (CFNI)

- Purpose: Local community benefit funding linked to the Cloonty Wind Farm, encouraging inclusive community ownership, partnership working, and sustainable solutions to local issues

- Grant size: Up to £5,000

- Eligible location: Projects within 6km of the Cloonty Wind Farm site (straight-line measurement)

- Priority themes include:

- Skills development for young adults and/or the unemployed - Inter-generational projects - Collaborative projects - Tackling rural isolation - Community arts - Improving utilisation of community space

- Application deadline: 1:00pm on Thursday 22 October 2026

- Application portal: CFNI’s Fundseeker Portal (applications and monitoring)

About the Opportunity

The Cloonty 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.

The fund aims to encourage:

- Stronger, more inclusive communities by ensuring local people have ownership and involvement in designing and delivering projects - Partnership working with community, voluntary, and statutory agencies to support a coordinated approach - Sustainable solutions that address local issues Funding and Benefits

- Maximum grant amount: Up to £5,000

- Funding scope: The fund supports projects addressing issues within the following theme areas:

- Older people - Families with young children - Young people - Environment and living spaces - Community Partnerships - Additional benefit emphasis (not a funding amount): Priority is given to projects aligned with the listed priority areas (skills development, inter-generational work, collaboration, rural isolation, community arts, and community space utilisation). Who Is Eligible? The fund is for locally based not-for-profit, voluntary, or community groups working in Northern Ireland to improve the quality of life for local people. Applicants must meet the following requirements (as stated in the source):

- Location requirement: The applicant organisation must be located within a 6 km radius of the Cloonty Wind Farm site using straight-line measurement.

- Governance: The organisation must have an active management committee, with no two related cheque signatories.

- Governing document: The applicant must have a governing document (e.g., a Constitution in the name of the applicant organisation).

- Bank account: The organisation must have a current bank account in the name of the organisation. If submitting a bank statement that is overdrawn, an explanation must be provided.

- Financial reporting: The organisation must have up to date annual accounts.

- Grant compliance: The organisation must have complied with conditions of previous grants, including submission of monitoring returns.

The source also states the following eligibility exclusions:

- Not eligible: Applications from individuals

- Not eligible: Applications from statutory organisations

- Not eligible: Salaried posts

- Not eligible: Retrospective funding

- Not eligible: Substitution for statutory funding

- Not eligible: Trips abroad

- Not eligible: Vehicles

- Not eligible: Activities that duplicate existing services

- Not eligible: The advancement of religion (including organisations whose purposes include the advancement of religion)

- Not eligible: Establishment of endowment of any school or institution providing further education within the meaning of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1972

- Not eligible: Provision of assistance to any Housing Association within the meaning of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1976

- Not eligible: Promotion of religious or political activity, including flags and emblems associated with such

- Not eligible: 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 must be unrelated

Additional restriction:

- Applicants with 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. Cloonty Wind Farm coordinates (as provided): 55.1562, -6.4971

6km boundary description (as provided): Bounded by B17 Straid Road (north), B62 Ballybogey Road (west), and B147 Kirk Road / Ballintea Road (south and east).

Eligible Activities or Priority Areas The fund supports projects addressing issues within these theme areas: - Older people - Families with young children - Young people - Environment and living spaces - Community Partnerships Priority will be given to projects that include one or more of the following: - Skills development for young adults and/or the unemployed - Inter-generational projects - Collaborative projects - Projects tackling rural isolation - Projects based around community arts - Projects that improve the utilisation of community space Why This Opportunity Matters This grant opportunity is designed for local community-led projects that can demonstrate community ownership, partnership working, and sustainable responses to local needs. Because funding is restricted to projects within 6km of the Cloonty Wind Farm site, it is particularly relevant for Northern Ireland groups serving communities in the immediate Cloonty area. The priority themes also indicate a focus on skills, youth and inter-generational engagement, rural i