Want to get more involved in the cooperative? This new opportunity to join the Megawatt Community Energy Fund panel is open to all members (investor shareholders). This comes as part of a drive at the cooperative to improve diversity, inclusion and representation at the cooperative. Being part of this decision-making team can provide a brilliant opportunity to learn more about the fantastic community activity going on in Bristol.
What is the Megawatt Community Energy Fund?
The Megawatt Community Energy Fund is a charitable pot of money fed by clean energy revenues. Those revenues come from Bristol Energy Cooperative and neighbouring community energy group, Low Carbon Gordano. Grants of up to £4000 are distributed to community initiatives to support carbon reduction and climate engagement activities. You can take a look at some of the fund applications this year to get a feel for the type of groups we have supported.
Quartet Community Foundation manage the fund. They do the lion’s share of the work promoting the grant and collating applications. The final decision about allocation of funds is made collectively by a panel. This panel is made up of representatives from Bristol Energy Cooperative, Low Carbon Gordano and Quartet Community Foundation.
Joining our panel
Members of the panel share a collective desire to distribute money in a fair and impactful way, true to the spirit of the grant guidelines.
Each panel member brings their own judgements, helping to make a well-balanced discussion. At the moment we believe that the panel lacks diversity in a number of ways. Improving the breadth of experience from our panel members would have a positive impact on our decision making.
The panel only meets once a year, so this opportunity to be part of the Megawatt panel could be a low-key but important way to contribute to the local community.
If you think you might be interested to volunteer for this role please email us with a CV and around 200 words explaining why you are interested in the role.
What is it like to be a panel member?
One of our current panel members, Hilary, explains a little more about what it’s like to be a panel member, and how much time it might take.
“I volunteered as a panel member to play a part in the allocation of grant funding, which is such a positive aspect of the work of BEC. You need to be a shareholder and attend a meeting lasting about 2 hours, once a year.
Reading the applications in advance takes a bit of time, so that panel members are well prepared for the meeting which decides the grant allocation. Through them I have encountered some interesting charities and organisations throughout the region, some I already knew and some who are active in communities I had little knowledge of.
The decisions about awarding a grant or not have to be unbiased, and Quartet gives guidance about this, with criteria agreed by BEC and Low-Carbon Gordano. Agreeing a grant can make a big difference to the work of some of the organisations, so it’s rewarding taking part in the decision and then maybe reading later how the organisation has effectively used the money. There is always less money available than applications for a grant, and saying no can be difficult, but there may be a chance for them to apply again next year.”
If you think you might be interested to volunteer for this role please email us with a CV and around 200 words explaining why you are interested in the role.
