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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, or contact Trust Director Caroline Nicholls for further information and guidance:

Email: caroline_nicholls@baa.com
Address: The Compass Centre, Nelson Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW6 2QQ

Aberdeen Community Fund

Contact: sarah_campbell@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.

Aberdeen Community Fund

Community panel:

Chair: Sarah Campbell, Aberdeen Airport
Margaret Mackenzie, Aberdeen Airport
Dan Peck, Aberdeen Airport
Geoff Morrison, Aberdeen Airport
Alex Gauld, Scottish Business in the Community
Brian Adam, MSP
Phyllis Stuart, British Airways
Cllr John Reynolds, Aberdeen City Council
Belinda Miller, Aberdeenshire Council

Examples of recent grants awarded

VSA Easter Anguston Farm

A major grant of £50,000 is supporting this farm, which provides employment and vital services to people with disabilities and mental health problems plus their families to completely refurbish their Education Room and to build a brand new machinery workshop – both major undertakings which will make the farm more accessible to other groups, at the same time as ensuring it becomes a safer working environment for the regular users.