Community groups across the Central Fife area are quids in after 4 Winds announced their latest round of successful funding bids.

A total of £36,722 has been awarded to 19 groups serving the local community, from gala days to orienteering groups.

The successful organisations were invited to Lumphinnans Community Bowling Club recently for the handover from the 4 Winds trustees.

Cowdenbeath Civic Week will be putting their grant towards the costs of their next Gala Day on Sunday, June 9; while Lochgelly and District Amateur Musical Association theatre group will use funding for their upcoming show 'Anything Goes' at the Lochgelly Centre.

Foulford Primary Parent Partnership will invest their grant in a new sensory room in the school for children with additional or complex needs. And it’ll be all eyes on the greenkeeper at Lumphinnans Bowling Club as they receive investment for a new ride-on mower to keep the green in tip top condition throughout the 2024 season.

Eleanor Martin, acting chairperson of 4Winds, said: “It’s fantastic to see the scope of all these amazing projects in our community. We are very lucky to have groups like these operating in the area and doing so much hard work.

"There were so many excellent proposals in this funding round and we are just delighted to be able to support these organisations.”

The 4 Winds Trust was set up to distribute community benefits from the Little Raith Wind Farm.

Eleanor encouraged other community groups or good causes who serve either Auchtertool, Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly or Lumphinnans to get an application in before the next deadline of 5pm on Monday, May 27.

“We try to make the application process as straightforward as possible for the groups, as we know how difficult it can be for groups to gain funding,” she said.

"We run a fair process and expect each applicant to detail what they’ll deliver and how much it will cost, with detailed costings for each project. The applications are then scored by trustees against a set of criteria at each quarterly board meeting.”

This round of grants take the total investment in the four communities since the Little Raith Wind Farm launched in 2013 to an incredible £738,577. Recent analysis by the charity identified 136 groups had benefited over the past decade.

Any interested groups should check the eligibility and grant criteria at the website 4winds.scot or they can email the Secretary on admin@4winds.scot.

The full list of successful groups receiving funding were:

  • Central Park Community Trust - £3,500
  • Lumphinnans Floral Group - £1,350
  • The Clearing - £1,500
  • Lochgelly Albert Colts 2016s - £358.74
  • Lumphinnans Community Council - £3,914
  • Tartan Talkers - £1,500
  • My Cowdenbeath - £500
  • Kingdom of Fife Orienteers - £900
  • Cowdenbeath Events Crew - £3,000
  • Lochgelly United - £1,750
  • Radio Cowdenbeath - £500
  • Cowdenbeath Jujutsu - £1,500
  • Foulford Primary Parent Partnership - £1,200
  • Lochgelly and District Amateur Musical Association - £1,500
  • Cowdenbeath Baptist Church - £1,750
  • Rotary Club of Cowdenbeath - £1,500
  • Cowdenbeath League of Boardgamers - £1,000
  • Cowdenbeath Civic Week - £2,500
  • Lumphinnans Community Bowling Club - £7,000