BAA Communities Trust
Registered charity number: 1058617
Who we are and what we do
BAA has its own grant-making charity, The BAA Communities Trust. Funded by an annual donation from the company, the independently run Trust makes grants to support projects in the communities closest to BAA’s airports – Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heathrow, Southampton and Stansted.
We place a priority on funding projects linked to education, the environment and economic regeneration – areas for which local people tell us they most value Trust support. Through our grants we aim:
- To create learning opportunities for young people and so raise their aspirations
- To break down barriers to employment through skills development
- To help protect the environment
- To support airport staff active in the community.
The Trust has donated a total of nearly £7 million since it first started in 1996. During 2011 we made more than 500 grants to a total value of nearly £700,000 in the communities around each of our airports.
Trustees
- David McMillan, Director General Eurocontrol, Trust Chair
- Alan Coates, Ealing and Hillingdon Education Business Partnership
- Mary Francis, Learning and skills consultant
- Alison Moore, Education and Skills Manager, Hillingdon Borough Council
- Matthew Gorman, BAA Heathrow
- Clare Harbord, BAA Heathrow
- Punam Kharbanda, Business in the Community
- Alastair McDermid, Planning and Development Consultant
- Steve Ronald, British Airways
Airport Community Funds
The Trust has set up new community funds for each of the airports, with locally based panels helping Trustees with grant-making decisions. The panels each meet at least four times a year to consider applications.
How to contact us
You can download a short guide for grant-seekers and an application form,
For more information contact: edicommunications@baa.com
Airport Community Fund
Contact: edicommunications@baa.com
Who can receive grants
The Trust funds a wide range of community organisations and charitable groups and charities. These include:
- National/international charities, delivering projects in or involving people from the communities local to BAA’s airports
- Locally-based charitable organisations
- Schools and local authorities delivering community projects
- Grassroots community groups and organisations
- Local grant makers
- National/international charities in support of staff fundraising activity
Support for staff
The Trust supports BAA staff with their charity activity and community volunteering - employees can apply for grants of up to £250 to match their own fundraising achievements or donations towards local community projects they are working with. For more information e-mail caroline_nicholls@baa.com.
Edinburgh Community Fund
The Edinburgh Community Fund meets quarterly and the 2012 meetings will take place on 9 February, 10 May, 9 August and 8 November. All complete applications for grant funding must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of a meeting, otherwise they will be referred to the following meeting.
Community Panel:
- Gordon Robertson - Edinburgh Airport
- Anna Light - Edinburgh Airport
- Stephen Hutt (Chairman) – Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland
- Hilary Robb – Scottish Business in the Community
- Sheryl Bruce – Edinburgh Airport
- Terry Burns –Nu Trend
- Eleanor Gaw – City of Edinburgh Council
- Karen Davidson – Scottish Business and in the Community
- Natalie Hoy – City of Edinburgh Council
- James Stewart – Airport Workplace Chaplin
- George Barrett – St James’ Place
- Colin Keir – MSP
- Greg Dimeck – Hillwood Primary School
- Caroline Nicholls – BAA Communities Trust
- Kevin Murphy (Secretary) – Edinburgh Airport
- Victoria Barby – RBS
- Julie McKinney – Edinburgh Airport
Examples of recent grants awarded
Venture Trust
Venture Trust runs personal development programmes, combining outward bound with mentoring and in community and voluntary work, for young carers and young people leaving care to enable them to help develop their employment prospects as they move into adulthood.
Trees4 Scotland
Trees4 Scotland run woodland regeneration projects in central Scotland to help individuals, businesses and organisations offset their carbon emissions. Edinburgh Community Fund is supporting an education programme with five primary schools for the second year
Ocean Youth Trust Scotland
This group enables young people aged 12-24 from diverse backgrounds in Scotland to benefit from sail training. They aim to inspire positive change in young people by increasing key social and life skills including improved confidence, self esteem and communication, together with assessing risk and handling responsibility.
National
V-inspired National Awards
These awards, run for the first time by v the national volunteer youth service, celebrated the achievements of more than 700 young volunteers, aged from 16-25. The trust awarded grants of £1,000 for each of the winners in eight categories to donate to a charity or community project of their choice.
Do-it.org
Trust funds are helping the development of a national volunteering website, run by the charity Youthnet.
Worldwide Volunteering for Young People – Boost! bursary awards
The Boost! Awards are a new youth bursary scheme designed to help and encourage young people to volunteer in their local community. The awards will help young people aged between 16 and 19 who live within 25 miles of Heathrow, Southampton or Stansted airports to undertake voluntary projects by contributing to the costs of food, accommodation and transport.
Shelterbox – in support of relief efforts in Japan
The Trust has donated £5,000 to match, pound for pound, funds donated by BAA’s staff to this appeal.
