Common Good
Common Good funds
Common Good funds are generally made up of property (including land, buildings, investments and movable items) that belonged to the previous burghs of Scotland.
There are 17 funds in Aberdeenshire. Various common good properties and facilities generate income for these funds and the council has a policy in place which sets out how that income can be used. If sufficient income is available, funding can be provided for projects that benefit people living in the former burghs.
View the common good guidance (PDF 118KB) for more details.
| Area | Common Good fund and area covered | Estimate 2023/24 annual income |
| Banff and Buchan | Aberchirder | £182 |
| Banff and Buchan | Banff | £45,931 |
| Banff and Buchan | Fraserburgh | £3,089 |
| Banff and Buchan | Macduff | £4,171 |
| Banff and Buchan | Portsoy | £244 |
| Banff and Buchan | Rosehearty | £173 |
| Buchan | Peterhead | £21,973 |
| Formartine | Oldmeldrum | £218 |
| Formartine | Turriff | £1,021 |
| Garioch | Inverurie | £3,085 |
| Garioch | Kintore | £1,178 |
| Kincardine and Mearns | Inverbervie | £2,681 |
| Kincardine and Mearns | Laurencekirk | £1,755 |
| Kincardine and Mearns | Stonehaven | £4,941 |
| Marr | Ballater | £8 |
| Marr | Banchory | £1,714 |
| Marr | Huntly | £6,320 |
Who can apply
You must live or operate within the area covered by the particular Common Good fund and you can apply if you are:
- An individual
- A non-profit making constituted group
- A partnership of various groups
We won't accept applications from companies and groups that aim to make a profit.
What can and can't be funded
The council may be able to award you money if you can show that your project relates to at least one of the criteria set out in the common good policy (PDF 872KB).
Your project could combine a range of different activities but must show direct community-wide benefit.
We can't fund:
- Activities promoting religious or political beliefs
- Travel costs for exchange visits or trips unless there is a wider benefit to the local community
- Administrative costs for community councils over and above their annual grant from the council
- Organisation’s running costs or capital investments
- Projects which another organisation has a legal right or duty to provide
- Projects that do not benefit the wider community
How to apply
You can only make one application at a time.
You will need to provide supporting information with your application:
- Most recent accounts (audited if possible)
- Constitution or membership documentation
- Quotes for works over £5,000
To apply please complete the application form (available in two formats) and send it along with supporting information to the relevant area team:
View the Common Good fund privacy notice (PDF 164KB) to find out what we do with your information.
What happens next
Applications will take around 2 months to process so make sure you submit your application in plenty of time.
The timescale for processing a significant funding request may be much longer to enable the council to consider the priority of the project in relation to other requests against the particular Common Good fund.
Contact
Please contact the relevant area team with any queries or help completing your application.