Opening Date: 1st August 2017, 11:00 am
Closing Date: 26th September 2017, 11:00 am
Maximum grant awarded: Small Grant: Up to £2,000. Large Grant: Up to £10,000.
Bristol Energy Cooperative’s Megawatt Community Energy Fund is open for application from 1/08/17 to 26/09/17. This Fund is a grant programme recycling profit from Bristol Energy Cooperative’s community energy business activity into community action on reducing the amount of carbon in our atmosphere, and/or making energy more affordable e.g. through focused fuel poverty initiatives.
The fund supports projects that aim to:
- Raise awareness of climate change, its solutions and how to reduce its impact (mitigation). This could include public outreach, talks, workshops and campaigns.
- Reduce the fossil fuel consumption of individuals, organisations and communities either directly through energy measures, or indirectly through the more efficient use of resources. Projects do not have to be energy projects but must have clear aims to reduce carbon in the atmosphere. This could include transport projects (eg encouraging cycling and public transport use), local food growing projects (which reduce our use of food transported long distances), horticultural projects (eg planting trees and plants which absorb carbon), community sharing and networking (e.g. lift sharing, projects to spread good ideas), IT (eg harnessing social media) and health projects (eg healthy eating & exercise)
- Reduce fuel poverty, to ensure everyone can access and afford the energy they need. This could include helping people on low incomes to understand their energy bills and how to reduce them, switching energy provider, and accessing grants to improve the energy efficiency of their home.
- Develop social, arts, cultural or sports activity that encourages or celebrates sustainability.
The Fund is open to groups or projects working in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, and Sedgemoor District (Somerset). It is particularly targeted at small organisations with charitable aims and you do not have to be an energy or environmental group to apply. Organisations can apply for either a small grant up to £2000 or a large grant up to £10,000.
Information about the Fund and how to apply can be found on the Quartet Community Foundation website at http://quartetcf.org.uk/?p=4658