The Highland Council took receipt of £9,497 from the old Caithness Partnership earlier in 2019 on condition that these funds were set aside and used in a Your Cash Your Caithness funding event.

The Highland Council have topped this amount up to £10,000 now to let the local community once again decide for themselves which projects are needed in their area. Whether you want to organise a project for young people, a healthy living project, a crime prevention idea, a lunch club for older residents, a community art project, the only limit is your imagination.

To apply for up to £1,000.00, you must submit an application form before 5.00pm on Sunday 2 February 2020.  If your idea fits, the community will get to vote for the best ideas at an event to be held on Saturday 29 February 2020 in Thurso.

At the event you will be required to talk about your idea to the community. Those in attendance will then vote on all the applications and a decision will be made on the day.

Chair of the Caithness Committee Councillor Matthew Reiss said: “We are once again handing decision making back to the local Community and it is the first stage in returning community empowerment to the most local level. I would encourage as many individuals or groups as possible across Caithness to take part in this initiative to get the funding they are looking for. This will be the sixth Your Cash Your Caithness event held in the county with the first being held back in November 2015 and I have no doubt that this one will be every bit successful as the previous five.”

Application forms can be accessed online from the Highland Council web site at https://www.highland.gov.uk/ycyc or by contacting Yvonne@CVG.org.uk  or Allan@CVG.org.uk  at Caithness Voluntary Group, telephone 01955 609960, who will also be able to provide information and assistance with the application process or provide some guidance on public presenting if required.