BAA Communities Trust

The BAA Communities Trust was set up in 1996, and to-date its independent trustees have distributed almost £4 million to causes in the communities close to BAA’s airports. The Trust’s grant is index-linked to the company’s turnover –   currently around £800,000 a year. This is distributed between BAA’s seven airports, with Heathrow receiving up to £200,000 a year.

The Trust focuses its spending on local community projects, on initiatives put forward by BAA staff, such as the I-Volunteer scheme, or on global youth volunteering programmes. The Trust aims to:

• Create opportunities for young people, either within the community, in collaboration with BAA staff, or internationally
• Help to protect the environment
• Promote active local communities
• Break down barriers to employment.

Recent examples of support in the Heathrow area include:

• The Fulcrum project that took a group of local school children to India in October 2006 and the Global Exchange programme that brings young people from around the UK and overseas to do community work in Hounslow
• Work with the environment charity Groundwork Trust on community schemes around Heathrow
• Redeveloping the local community centre in Bedfont
• Funding for the Green Corridor initiative to restore derelict land at Hanworth Park
• Developing skills centres in Feltham and Hayes.

The Trust looks at bids four times a year, and the bids are received from the charities themselves or through the Heathrow community relations team.

Please contact heathrowcommunityrelations@baa.com or call 020 8745 5791 for more information.