Dingwall's GlenWyvis Distillery launches GoodWill Fund to benefit local causes as first round applications for £10,000 invited
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GlenWyvis Distillery has today launched its GoodWill Fund to benefit good causes in the local community.
The first funding round of £10,000 is now available to apply for via the GlenWyvis Distillery website.
A further two rounds of funding will be launched throughout 2023, making a total of £30,000 available this year, with further funding rounds being launched each year.
The GoodWill Fund, which is administered by the GlenWyvis Distillery Community Benefit Society, is made up from five per cent of all online sales of GlenWyvis whisky and gin, and is available for communities and organisations to apply for until March 3.
Applications are being accepted from Ross-shire communities and organisations for initiatives with educational, cultural or entrepreneurial benefits, as follows:
- Educational: To support the learning needs of disadvantaged children in Ross-shire, to provide laptop computers or other IT support to children at school who would not otherwise be able to afford them and whose education would suffer without such equipment. Awards of up to £400 can be given to educational initiatives.
- Cultural: To provide education and information about the culture, history and society of Ross-shire. This is open to community groups for projects that provide engagement in these cultural facets. Awards of up to £2500 can be given to cultural initiatives.
- Entrepreneurial: To encourage economic activity in the IV postcode area and support the recovery or development of new or existing sustainable businesses which benefit the community. Grants will be awarded with the hope that these businesses will flourish in the future and will themselves contribute to the GoodWill Fund. Awards of up to £2500 can be given to entrepreneurial initiatives.
Dr Jock Ramsey, management committee member for the GoodWill Fund, said: “This is a significant step forward for the GlenWyvis Community Benefit Society as we are now able to start giving something back to the community through the GoodWill Fund – something we have been working towards since GlenWyvis Distillery was created.
"We will be promoting the GoodWill Fund to schools, community groups and sustainable businesses in Ross-shire and I would encourage anyone interested to get their applications in before March 3, 2023.”
All applications will be vetted objectively by the GoodWill Fund sub-committee with oversight and input from the Board.
Dr Ramsey added: “This first call for applications to the GoodWill Fund is just the start. Sales of GlenWyvis four-year-old Single Malt Whisky are going very well so we are now building up the GoodWill Fund for next year. I look forward to seeing how the GoodWill Fund will benefit educational, cultural and entrepreneurial initiatives in our community this year and well into the future.”
Any individuals, organisations or businesses interested in applying for the GoodWill Fund can do so by filling in an application form here: https://glenwyvis.com/goodwill-fund/
In a nutshell:
The GoodWill Fund is a core function of GlenWyvis Distillery Community Benefit Society as set out in the Society’s rules, which is “to exist in order to carry on business for the benefit of the community”.
The GoodWill Fund was built up by putting aside five per cent of online sales of GlenWyvis whisky and gin.
£30,000 of funding is available in 2023, offered in three rounds of £10,000.
Applications are being accepted from communities and organisations in Ross-shire for initiatives with educational, cultural or entrepreneurial benefits. Applications for the first round of funding are open from 17th January until 3rd March 2023.
Nestled beneath Ben Wyvis, GlenWyvis Distillery was established in 2015. The idea was to unite the community of Dingwall through the creation of a distillery principally owned by local people.
Dingwall’s last whisky distillery closed in 1926. After a 90-year absence, GlenWyvis Distillery revived the town’s lost distilling tradition, and made its own history in 2016 by running a record-breaking open share offer. More than 3,000 like-minded people invested in GlenWyvis to create the first ever 100 per cent community-owned distillery.
