Subsidairy News
Cornwall Light & Power to provide long term community support
Wind farm operator Cornwall Light&Power is set to launch a charitable fund for communities close to the site of one of their new wind projects, taking advantage of a ground-breaking match funding programme in the process.
Cornwall Light&Power operates renewable energy plants throughout theUK, with the Loscar wind project, based at Harthill,Rotherham, currently under construction and due to start generating sufficient green electricity for thousands of local homes this autumn.
Working with the South Yorkshire Community Foundation (SYCF), the company has set up a charitable endowment fund which is currently worth around £60,000. This money will support community groups and projects based in Harthill, Thorpe Salvin,Wales and Woodall.
Through SYCF’s innovative Grassroots Grants programme, the firm’s original donation of £30,000 was matched pound for pound to create the bumper amount for the area. Cornwall Light&Power plans to make another equal donation in March 2011 which, when match-funded, will see the endowment value rise to nearly £120,000.
Matt Partridge, development director for Cornwall Light&Power, said: “The benefits of wind energy are often thought of in terms of a reduction in emissions that cause global warming and the national benefits of reducing imported energy. In developing the scheme at Loscar however, we have an opportunity to bring additional benefits to local communities living near the wind farm. The South Yorkshire Community Foundation has great links with local people and we look forward to seeing our fund support some vital causes in the area.”
The funding will prioritise community groups and projects that have an environmental flavour to their activities, such as those which focus on sustainable energy solutions, energy efficiency and tackling climate change.
The match funding has been made available by SYCF as part of the national Government-funded Grassroots Grants endowment challenge. ‘The Loscar Wind Cluster Community Grassroots Endowment Fund’ will sit as a permanent capital pot, with the interest on the fund going out in grants to local community initiatives forever from April 2011.
Bob Morgan, development manager for Cornwall Light&Power said “Having lived in the area in the past, I know that the community fund will be really important to the local community. From the start of our work at Loscar, we’ve been committed to ensuring that the local community feels the benefit, so I know that today’s news will be very well received.”
In addition to grants from the fund, the company will also provide over £6,000 in extra grant funds in the area each year for twenty years starting from April 2011.
The Grassroots Grants programme as a whole has entered its third and final year, with generous businesses and organisations throughout SouthYorkshirelooking at how the innovative programme can boost their charitable giving.
Through the first two years of the programme, more than £2 million of endowment funding has been raised to provide long term support to communities and projects inSouth Yorkshire.If the third year allocation of match funding is matched by the people ofSouth Yorkshire, there will be a totalamount of £3.4 million available to provide long term support for the area.
Pauline Grice, chief executive of South Yorkshire Community Foundation, said: “The Grassroots Grants programme has been a great success thanks to the generosity of people inSouth Yorkshire. Our work with Cornwall Light and Power is a shining example of how organisations with an interest in the development of the local area can get the greatest impact out of their money by taking advantage of this once in a lifetime giving programme.”
To find out how you or your organisation can pursue your charitable objectives through the South Yorkshire Community Foundation, visit www.sycf.org.uk or call 0114 242 4857.
