Our Regional Community Benefit Fund Reopening 20 August 2025

The Transmission Regional Fund aims to support strategic projects across the north of Scotland. These projects are expected to have a significant and transformational impact beyond more than one community. The panel is also interested in seeing innovative projects which could be replicated in the future, maximising the overall impact of the scheme.  

Local Funds are available solely to communities who are situated close to new infrastructure. These funds support projects that aim to positively impact local communities. The focus for each of these funds is developed through discussions with communities, ensuring that local priorities are supported. 

You can find out more about our local funds here. 

SSEN Transmission conducted an extensive  consultation to identify these themes. This included aligning with local area needs assessments and regional community planning reports, engaging with local authorities and third sector organisations, and engaging with local communities.

A total of £2 million is available in this round. Funding is available for projects from £40,000 up to £500,000. 

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be a legally constituted community group, a non-profit organisation, or a registered charity. Applications will only be considered is they benefit communities within the SSEN Transmission network area, fall under the identified themes, and fit the fund assessment criteria.  

Applications will not be accepted from statutory bodies (e.g. local authorities), however, these organisations are able to participate as a partner, with another organisation taking on the role of applicant. We will accept applications from universities and colleges. 

Applications will not be considered if they fall under the following categories: 

• The advancement of religion or politics (including requests to support the core activities of religious or political groups) 

• Direct costs of energy consumption 

• The repayment of loans or payment of debts 

• Trips abroad 

• Costs already incurred or activities which will take place before a funding decision has been made (retrospective funding) 

• Payments towards areas generally understood to be the primary responsibility of a statutory authority 

The decisions on who should receive funding are made by an independent panel. The regional panel is made up of four independent panellists and one SSEN Transmission employee. The panellists were selected through an open recruitment process, and all have a record in supporting communities and local people. The panel are united in their vision to deliver genuine support to communities across the north of Scotland. 

The Chair of the panel is Peter Peacock, former Scottish Government Minister and Convenor of Highland Council. The remaining panel members are: 

• Louisa Macdonell (Vice Chair) 
• Lucy Conway 
• Nicholas Gubbins 
• Christianna Logan (SSENT representative) 

Governance processes are in place to ensure that all panel members understand their roles and responsibilities. Panel members will serve for 3 to 6 years. 

All applicants will be contacted with information about the application outcome after the Panel meeting in February 2026. A list of all successful applications will then be published on this website. 

Adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. These goals have been put in place to transform our world and are integrated within SSE Group business goals. 

Applicants are asked to align with one or more of the UN Sustainability goals as these form the basis of all outcome measures for funded projects.

Yes – all funds are separate. Therefore, you can still apply for this fund if you have previously applied for, or are currently in the process of applying for, any other Community Benefit Fund. 

Funding is available for both revenue and capital costs. Where necessary, full cost recovery is also available, meaning that you are able to apply for all your organisation’s costs, including the direct costs of your project and  associated overheads  

SSEN Transmission are a Real Living Wage funder, meaning that any salary costs applied for must be the Real Living Wage as a minimum. If you are considering applying for multi-year funding, please ensure that any uplifts in salary costs, due to inflation, are taken into account. 

Applications of this kind will be considered by the panel; however, applicants should take into consideration the strategic nature of this fund. As such, it is important that applications demonstrate that there will be a wider benefit to any apprenticeship/training provision/scholarship, beyond a singular individual.  

Yes, but projects must be able to evidence a wider strategic impact (as detailed in the assessment criteria above). This can be done through a project working across multiple communities (e.g. an island group) or showcasing that a project is innovative and has the potential to be replicated across other communities in the future.  

Housing projects will be considered where they are of a strategic nature, addressing broader housing shortage issues (e.g. innovative projects that are focussed on solutions to solve the housing crisis). 

Funding will not be available towards the costs of individual housing construction projects.  

Path and active projects will be considered where they are of strategic importance (e.g. as part of a wider path network, or being named within a regional/national plan).  

As part of your application, you will need to answer a series of questions designed to help us understand your project and its potential impact on the community. To assist you in preparing, we have provided a document that outlines all the questions you will encounter in the online application process.

We strongly encourage applicants to familiarise themselves with these questions and prepare their answers in advance to ensure a smooth and efficient application experience. You may wish to copy and paste your answers into our online application form for ease. You can access the document here to review the questions and begin your preparation.

Taking the time to thoroughly prepare your responses will help us better evaluate your project and its alignment with our funding goals.

You will be asked to upload the following documents as part of your online application:

Required documents:

• A signed copy of your organisation’s constitution
•  Your organisation’s latest annual accounts (independently verified)
• A bank statement belonging to your organisation from within the last 3 months
• Your Project Budget Plan
• Detailed cost breakdown of the entire project, specifying which elements you are seeking funding for from this fund. Where possible, include quotes or supporting evidence.

Optional documents/if applicable:

• A copy of your organisation's latest AGM minutues
• Your Business Plan (or similar document which provides context on the project and organisational priorities, explaining how you will achieve them)
• Three quotes for relevant pieces of work
• Your organisation’s Child Protection/Vulnerable Adult Policy
• Letters of Support
• Any other documents you believe would support your application

We can 100% fund projects or we can part fund along with other funders. Our fund can also be used as one of several funding sources including other SSE group community benefit funds.

Funding projects for more than one year is possible with our fund, however, as we expect demand to be high, applicants should note that multi year funded projects will need to be of an extremely high standard and deliver exceptional outcomes. Multi-year applications can apply for funding up to a maximum of 3 years. 

The Regional Fund will not provide funding for projects of this nature as they tend to benefit individual communities. These projects are recommended to apply to local funds where available.