The countdown is officially on to Falkirk Funders Fayre 2024!

This week we’re highlighting some of our stallholders who offer support to the third sector around saving money on costs, including energy bills.

Spotlights

Utility Aid

While the team at CVS Falkirk has worked closely with Utility Aid across a number of areas, 2024 will be their first time at the Funders Fayre!

Utility Aid is the UK’s largest broker focusing on the third sector and not for profits, dedicated to helping them keep energy costs down (especially important these days), reclaim overcharges, and advising them on all energy-related matters.

“Every single member of the team is passionate about the Third Sector and we go home every day knowing we have helped a charity, somewhere in the country. Nothing beats that feeling.” (source)

With multiple offices across the UK, Utility Aid offers support for groups and organisations who are experiencing broker or billing problems, along with business energy switching, energy procurement and invoice validation – namely by processing customers’ invoices for the duration of their energy contract (with retrospective audits available up to 4 years). Utility Aid then checks the invoices against a comprehensive set of validators and if errors are detected, they report them back to their third sector customer, and then deal directly with the suppliers to claim their customer’s money back. All money recovered is paid directly to their third sector customer, not Utility Aid.

They also provide full market search to obtain tailored and competitive rates for groups and organisations’ energy needs, and their Account Management team is available to offer with tailored support and help with groups and organisations’ consumption data and copy bills.

For further information on Utility Aid’s services ahead of their visit to Falkirk District in March, please visit their website.

Coalfield Regeneration Trust (CRT)

CRT in Scotland provides support to former coal-mining communities (and there are a few of those across Falkirk District!), and helps create opportunities for the people living there, including:

their Investment Programme, which supports coalfield communities by pairing development support with small investments to help grassroots organisations tackle issues in their communities, as part of CRT’s determination to be “more than just a funder” in their target areas
- the programme also involves mentoring, coaching and hands-on one to one support, along with access to relevant information, materials and learning resources, plus a series of training workshops and seminars (open to all coalfield groups and organisations)
- ideally, CRT aims to assist the groups and organisations to explore opportunities for trading and to develop into social enterprises
the Community Futures Programme, an approach to local community action planning and sustainable community development which aims to encourage active citizenship and build local democracy, building on local assets and strengths to deliver sustainable community regeneration strategies and services
- CRT uses a place-based approach to planning and development, which includes identifying and leveraging a community’s cultural resources, strengthening the management of those resources, and integrating those resources across all facets of local planning and decision making
- part of the programme has been about encouraging widespread participation of local people in preparing a Community Action Plan (CAP) for their community, resulting in over 50 five year plans across Scotland – you can find out more about the CAPs CRT has supported in Falkirk District via their website (under “Falkirk”)
focused regeneration projects in coalfields communities, and community action

Visit their dedicated Scotland page for information on all their local services, and whether your community or project would be eligible for their support – or book your place at Falkirk Funders Fayre to speak to their local team in person!

We can’t wait to have both teams, and our other stallholders, join us for our 10^th anniversary event!

Event Information

Falkirk Funders Fayre will take place on Tuesday 19^th March, 10am – 2pm at the Bowhouse Community Centre, 130 Bowhouse Road, Grangemouth, FK3 0EU. The event is completely free, and open to any third sector groups and organisations working in the District. You can book your free place now via the Eventbrite page.