Burnham & Weston Energy’s Sunshine Fund 2022 is now open, with £50k available to local organisations who want to benefit their local community and the environment. Those interested in applying for a grant are asked to submit their Expression of Interest by Monday 31st January 2022.

They are looking to support new and exciting community-led projects that will enhance local people’s quality of life and protect or improve our local environment.

What type of projects do they want to fund?
They imagine they will fund projects that focus on activities such as:

Growing local food – community gardens or orchards

Improving our natural environment – projects such as nature trails, rewilding, and re-planting that highlight and improve our natural environment, and help people enjoy it more.

Repair, reuse and sharing – repair cafes, libraries of things, and other opportunities that build communities around reducing the amount of unwanted items that go to landfill.

Climate education and communication – events, activities and installations that engage and interest people in the environment and taking climate action such as art and media projects, climate citizens assemblies, citizen science projects, youth climate action, forest schools, workshops, film nights and talks.

Low carbon skills – building your community’s capability to become a low carbon community and to ensure a fairer, greener, future for all. This could include Carbon Literacy Training, supporting people in your community to develop skills such as Electric Vehicle maintenance, repair, sustainable making and manufacturing.

Sustainable transport – helping people to travel more easily using sustainable transport options and to leave their car at home more often whether they’re wanting to get their shopping home, or travel to school or work. This might include community electric car clubs, community charging hubs, local walk or bike to school groups, or community borrow-a-(electric)-bicycle schemes.

Improving resource efficiency – energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction – projects, including renewable energy, that improve places (such as halls, centres, allotments, parks and empty spaces) by reducing carbon emissions, and encourage more use of the space and so strengthening their community.

Community net zero plans and actions – community-led projects that help your community plan and implement actions to reduce local carbon emissions or adapt to the local impacts of climate change.

However, Burnham & Weston Energy is open to your ideas – you will undoubtedly have great ideas they haven’t even thought of! They want to encourage you to think big in terms of the positive impact you will have on your local community.
For more information about the Sunshine Fund, and whether Burnham & Weston Energy is the right funder for your project, please read the Sunshine Fund 2022 Guidance notes http://www.burnhamandwestonenergy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Sunshine-Fund-2022-Guidance-notes-2.pdf

If you choose to apply, they are asking interested community organisations to send them an Expression of Interest by Monday 31st January- http://www.burnhamandwestonenergy.co.uk/sunshine-fund/sunshine-fund-opens-2022/.

Burnham & Weston Energy’s Sunshine Fund is supported by: