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articleindex followcenterhttps://www.communityfoundation.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/S-King-CFTWN-NEECC-Pledge-March-21-scaled.jpgcentermodule_group modules Array 1 https://www.communityfoundation.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/S-King-CFTWN-NEECC-Pledge-March-21-scaled.jpg Sandra King, Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Community Foundation makes a pledge on behalf of the Foundation.
The North East England Climate Coalition (NEECCo) launched last week with the ambition of making the North East ‘England’s greenest region’. The Coalition received seed funding from the Community Foundation in January 2020, which helped first establish the organisation.
The Coalition’s aims include agreeing ambitious targets to develop and deliver climate and environmental initiatives to tackle the climate emergency, reverse ecological collapse and deliver a just transition to a new green economy.
Sandra King, Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Community Foundation explained why the Foundation backed the project at the very beginning:
“To tackle the Climate Emergency we need to see big, bold and joined up actions. This is exactly what the Coalition is doing in North East England. We could see the passion and ambition right at the start of this initiative and we wanted to show our support with the seed funding”.
Now an organisation in its own right, the Coalition began life as a climate change project spearheaded by Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East (VONNE).
Carol Botten, Chief Executive of VONNE explained how the funding first benefited the group:
“The £10,000 grant from the Community Foundation was the first funding we secured for the North East England Climate Coalition back in January 2020. This funding was instrumental in the early days of the Coalition, enabling us to fund a part time Project Lead and a part-time Administration Support Officer to bring together the initial partners, recruit a broader range of partners and to carry out the early development thinking of the role and purpose of the Coalition.
“We are truly thankful to the Community Foundation for supporting us in the early days. Thanks to their support we have gone from strength to strength and our public launch last week is the most recent milestone”.
The Coalition is a cross-sector initiative with an extensive range of partners in healthcare, education, business, regional government agencies, utility companies, voluntary sector organisations and trade unions.
The unique history of the North East as the birthplace of the industrial revolution and innovations such as steam engines, deep pit mining, electric turbines and power stations which built the historic wealth of the region through coal, places a responsibility and an opportunity for the region to be at the forefront of the next industrial revolution – one based on a green economy with good jobs, better quality of life and enhanced natural assets for everyone to enjoy.
The Coalition is calling upon every individual, household, business and organisation in the region to sign up and make a pledge to work together. Working together at a regional level will help the Coalition to attract significant and sustainable investment, including from government, to build a £1.5 billion portfolio of investable projects by October 2021.
You can learn more, sign up to support NEECCo as an organisation and/ or as an individual and make your pledge at neecco.org.uk.