The Bath & West Community Energy Fund has opened for applications from local organisations that want to shrink their carbon footprint or address fuel poverty and climate change.
Bath Share & Repair received a grant of over £3000 in 2017
The grant pot, around £30,000 this year, comes from Bath & West Community Energy (BWCE) as part of the work it does in supporting the communities in which it operates.
Award-winning company BWCE was set up in 2010 to own and develop renewable energy projects and has since become the largest community-owned energy company in England.
As a Community Benefit Society, it gives its surplus profits to the BWCE Fund, which has asked the Quartet Community Foundation to administer the BWCE Fund grant programme.
BWCE has awarded in over £145,000 in grants with money going to community groups and a variety of local environmental organisations.
The 2018/19 programme opened on 10th September 2018 and runs until 5th November 2018. Applications are sought for grants of up to £5,000.
Full details of the grants awarded can be found on BWCE’s website: www.bwce.coop/communityfund/
Interested projects need to apply through the Quartet Community Foundation website here.
Last year, ten projects received over £27,000 in funding to lower carbon emissions and address fuel poverty.
These included the Bath Carnival who received £4,790 to help them achieve their aim of becoming the greenest carnival in Britain, Wellow Village Shop Association who received £625 to replace old and outdated fridges and freezers and Camerton Community Hall who received £2,500 to improve the hall’s insulation.
People in Bath can now get regular help to mend items at the Bath Repair Café which runs out of Southdown, Larkhall and Weston.
Bath Share & Repair received a grant of £3,878 in 2017 to fund the Bath Repair Café to increase re-use by repairing items, saving them going to landfill.
This sociable “cafe” style event helps reduce isolation and build a sense of community.
Lorna Montgomery from Bath Share & Repair said: “We’re delighted to have started a third regular monthly Repair Café in Weston Village since April which has about 16 volunteers.
“The new volunteers include all kinds of repairers, seamstress, and volunteers providing refreshments and they will soon be able to run this monthly event seeing roughly 25 items and generally mending about 70% of them.
“We are incredibly grateful to BWCF for the grant to make this happen and start a Library of Things also in Weston.”
Chair of the BWCE Fund, Peter Harvey, said: “It’s very satisfying to not only give our members a reasonable return on their investment but to be able to use our surplus profits to fund a whole range of local projects.
“It is important to remember that carbon reduction does not just relate to energy projects, but might include local food, sustainable transport, or waste reduction.
“We are keen to support projects that will, by reducing carbon emissions, go towards protecting future generations from the effects of climate change.”
“We’re delighted to be working with the BWCE Fund”, said Quartet Community Foundation’s Chief Executive Sue Turner.
“This grants programme has the double benefit of supporting projects which reduce carbon emissions and those that tackle fuel poverty. It also often cuts groups’ fuel bills, helping them to carry on running their vital services well into the future.”
The deadline for applications is 5th November 2018. For full details of the fund and to check if your group is eligible to apply, visit and apply online at www.quartetcf.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant or you can call or email the Quartet Community Foundation on 0117 989 7700 or [email protected]
