BAA Communities Trust

The BAA Communities Trust is a registered charity established in 1996 to support community projects local to our airports. Following a strategic review, it has grown its area of benefit to include support for community initiatives brought forward by staff and global youth volunteering initiatives. 

The charity is run by a Board of Trustees that meets four times a year to consider grant applications.

The Trust places a priority on supporting community projects focussed within the spheres of education, environment and employment, but allow support for other charitable purposes that the Trustees think fit.

BAA plc is the main source of income for the charity giving 0.15% of pre-tax profits to the charity – around £800,000 for 2004/05. Income is also raised through a range of fund raising initiatives, including money donated by passengers at collecting boxes at security channels.

Grant giving policy
The Communities Trust focuses its fund giving into three main areas.  These are subject to regular review and do not replace or alter the objectives of the Trust.

1. Supporting local community activity
Grants are made to projects that benefit the general public in local communities around BAA's airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Wherever possible we look to support projects that mitigate against the airport's impacts, provide educational and training opportunities for 14-21 year olds and encourage staff to actively participate in local projects. Projects are brought forward to the Trust by the individual airport community teams.

2. BAA staff
Funding charitable initiatives proposed by BAA staff but not confined to a single charity of the year. The Trust supports an annual staff volunteering awards scheme, I-Volunteer which last year donated £75,000 to good causes supported by staff

3. International/national charities
The Trust works in partnership with VSO on the Global Xchange programme supporting overseas development and tackling areas of deprivation, at the same time creating development opportunities for young people in the UK, through aviation and travel. It also works with Fulcrum Challenge, a youth leadership development programme. Projects qualifying for support are sought on a proactive basis and budgets are allocated a year in advance.

4. Charitable appeals
A number of smaller donations are made throughout the year to charitable appeals that fit the current fund-giving framework.

Submit your business plan by e-mailing valda_edmunds@baa.com or writing to:

Valda Edmunds
Community Executive
3rd Floor Enterprise House
Stansted Airport
Essex
CM24 1QW