From supporting the installation of solar panels on a community building to helping prisoners gain qualifications as bike mechanics – this is part of what community benefit means for us.
These important projects are among successful awardees of our Megawatt Community Energy Fund, which we have run every year since 2017 along with Low Carbon Gordano. We offer the grants to community groups in South Gloucestershire, Bristol, North Somerset, and Sedgemoor District in Somerset. Grants of up to £4k are available to encourage and support community action on projects like reducing energy use, supporting energy efficiency measures like LED lights, carbon literacy and more. We work with Quartet Community Foundation to administer the grant.
Last month a panel of seven people deliberated over the applications. It was a tough job, with so many important projects needing support. After a gruelling few hours, we made our decision and awarded funding to 12 projects.
Among them is Windmill Hill City Farm in Bristol, a much loved feature of Bristol, which includes a working farm, community gardens, family centre and open access outdoor play area among other things. They received the grant to develop a new climate action education workshop to deliver to 600 children and produce public interpretation boards on reducing carbon impact. The workshop “will bring the topic to life for hundreds of school children each year,” Helen Baines, fundraising manager at the farm said.
“It is one of the first, vital steps we are taking on our climate action journey and one which will benefit our local community for years to come,” she added.
Another project to receive the grant is Life Cycle UK, a charity focussed on getting more people cycling.
“The grant we received from the Megawatt Community Energy Fund will help our ‘Bikes Beyond Bars’ bike recycling project save 11,400 kilos of metal from landfill and over 78,000 kilos of carbon emissions this year alone – all while giving prisoners a chance to gain a qualification as bike mechanics,” said Jake Wilson, fundraising coordinator at the charity. “Grants like this are what make our transformative work possible, so we are very grateful for your support!”
This year we received 36 applications for the fund, with a total request of over £155k. We had over £42k worth of funding to distribute, of which BEC members voted to contribute £30k at last year’s AGM. Requests have increased year-on-year, as the cost of living bites and other sources of support dry up. Against a backdrop of hardship, we are very proud to be helping these vital services that hold our communities together.
You can read more about this year’s awardees here.
