SVA Community Grants Scheme
The Community Grants Scheme has been established to restructure and reorganise the SVA's grant giving. It incorporates income from the Keith Owen Fund, which is its main source of funding.
Keith Owen' Legacy to the SVA
Keith Owen was a Devon man with relatives in Sidmouth. He moved to Canada and became an Investment banker. On a visit to Sidmouth in May 2007, he discovered that he had a terminal illness with only months to live.
He contacted the Association to tell us that he wished to place his life savings into the care of the SVA so that the income could be used as a permanent endowment for the benefit of the people and organisations in the Sid valley.
Thus was established the Keith Owen fund, with a then capital of £2.256m. This has subsequently been managed to balance sustaining the capital of the Fund with the generation of yearly income which is administered through the SVA Community Grants Fund.
What is the Scope of the Fund?
The SVA Community Grants Fund committee considers every application received and makes its recommendation to award grants in accordance with the SVA Objects. These recommendations are reviewed by the SVA Management Committee.
The SVA Objects are:
In the valley of the River Sid in East Devon and its environs, to:
- Promote for the benefit of the public, the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment,
- Advance the education of the public through the establishment and maintenance of a museum and by facilitating research into the history of Sidmouth and the Sid Valley and publishing the results to the public.
- Provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare for the recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have such need of their youth, age, infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances with the object of improving their condition of life.
