WHO WE ARE

This page is dedicated to the Friends of Benmore Outdoor Centre, a charitable organisation established to support outdoor learning and related activities at Benmore Outdoor Centre in Argyll. Friends of Benmore is a constituted organisation run by volunteers. The group is independent from the city of Edinburgh council, education and children’s services sports and outdoor learning unit and experience outdoors.

The charity was set up by headteachers and other individuals who have experience of the powerful positive effect residential outdoor learning has on the personal, social, and academic development of children and young people. Such experiences are peppered with memorable and lamp-bulb moments that are taken back to the classroom and/or transferred into daily life.

Our primary purpose is to provide support for children and young people who might otherwise lose an opportunity to attend residential outdoor learning at Benmore through family financial hardship or another disadvantage.

However, our charitable purposes also include these related activities:

• training courses for those delivering outdoor learning through volunteering,
• collaborations with Benmore Centre’s local community, such as day visits for special needs groups.
• outdoor learning CPD for teachers,
• courses in environmental and sustainability education for those with an active interest in protecting the natural environment,
• preservation of Grade B Listed Benmore House.

Please join us in supporting children and young people and others on their outdoor learning journey. We will keep you up to date on our activities in outdoor learning and related activities through our Newsletter to Members and our Facebook page

Membership of Friends of Benmore Outdoor Centre is available to individuals and groups, such as schools. The membership fee from individuals may qualify as a charitable donation and attract tax relief for UK taxpayers. Members are invited to our Annual General Meeting and can vote of resolutions put forward at that meeting or at any Extraordinary General Meeting that is organised in accordance with our Constitution.

We welcome donors who do not necessarily wish to become members. Donations attract tax relief for UK taxpayers. It would be normal to enter a discussion with a donor to identify any preference they have for recipients of awards made from their donation.

We welcome enquiries with respect to applications for our support. At this stage we are a new charity and focusing on raising funding from established Funds and Trusts for targeted projects of benefit to children and young people identified by ourselves and Benmore Centre. Once we have a broader inflow of funds we will be seeking to provide support to individuals as defined by our primary charitable purpose.

Until we establish a social media presence, please contact the Chair of Trustees for current news, developments and plans, or visit our Blog and Friends of our Centres.

Friends of Benmore Membership Application form

Friends of Benmore Constitution

Friends of Benmore Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development policy

Friends of Benmore Social Media Policy

*A Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Two Tier), charity number SC048918.

‘With regard to people’s protected characteristics, the Board of Friends of Benmore Outdoor Centre recognises the importance and value of equality, diversity and inclusion in all their forms. This will be reflected in the appointment of Trustees or employees, in the charity’s actions and in the demographic spread of its beneficiaries. All concerns about departure from this policy will be taken seriously and responded to appropriately.’

The content displayed and any data is the responsibility of the charitable organisation. The City of Edinburgh Council has no responsibility for the handling and storage of data associated with the friends of organisation.

Further information on Friend of Benmore Privacy notice can be viewed here link to FOB Privacy (please link to the following content below)

Data held by Friends of Benmore will be held securely, not open to compromise, and in keeping with the charities legal obligations, especially under GDPR. This includes membership data, Trustee data (e.g. contact details), donor details, grant application details, financial data etc. Data files will be password protected.

The risks associated with breaches of this data policy will be regularly reviewed by the Board of Trustees as part of our Risk Register. Any such breach will be immediately reported to the appropriate authority.’