It was set up to tackle the climate emergency and produce affordable energy.
Now the Glasgow Community Energy co-operative is using its powers for even more good by channelling proceeds from selling renewable energy into a new grant scheme.
Named after a much-missed local campaigner who died in 2022, the Cathy McCormack Community Activism Fund will take proceeds from energy generated by solar panels and fund community organisations.
The £10,000 pot has been generated during the last three years by the co-operative, which has solar panels installed on the roofs of two schools in Greater Easterhouse and Pollokshields, supplying green electricity to Glasgow City Council.
Gary McCormack, Mrs McCormack's son, said: "We’re absolutely chuffed and honoured – as mum would be too.
"In the final years of her life, she got so much joy from seeing the next generation of community activists take up her fight for social, economic and environmental justice in Glasgow and across the world.
"We hope this new fund will inspire and support more local people to get involved."
Organisers said they hope the grant scheme will ensure Cathy McCormack’s legacy lives on in the city where she was a well known community activist and anti-poverty campaigner.
From Easterhouse, she was known for her campaigning against damp housing conditions in council-owned schemes and for making the connections between these local social injustices and the global climate crisis.
In the early 1990s she helped to secure funding for a pioneering solar heating project on the Easthall housing scheme, the first of its kind in the world.
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In the first five years, the Cathy McCormack Community Activism Fund grants will be awarded to community organisations close to the two schools.
These include The Pollokshields Trust, St Paul’s Youth Forum, Connect Community Trust, East End Flat Pack Meals and Fuse Youth Café.
These organisations will be encouraged to use funds for projects or activities inspired by Cathy’s radical spirit, aimed at addressing the root causes of poverty, not just the symptoms.
Neil Young at St Paul’s Youth Forum said: “We are honoured to be one of the recipients of the first Cathy McCormack Community Activism Fund grants.
"Cathy was an inspiration to many in SPYF as a local person who stood up against political forces to ensure that there was justice for all.
"We strongly believe in the power of local people coming together to make a difference.”
"This grant will enable people suffering from depression and other mental health issues to tackle both food poverty and the climate emergency through growing together in our new community farm.
"We’ll tackle the challenges of our time by building strength and resilience."
He added that the grant will be used towards a social area in the farm where people can sit and socialise but also a decorative area for quiet reflection and some pollinator friendly plants.
Mr Young added: "We’re delighted to be able to support so many of Cathy’s passions with this funding.”
From 2027 onwards, the aim is to open up the grant scheme across Glasgow to give others the opportunity to apply.
With Glasgow Community Energy’s plans to expand, developing new renewable energy sites across the city over the next few years, the hope is to create a much bigger funding pot with the possibility of delivering more radical change across the city.
Fatima Uygun, a volunteer with The Pollokshields Trust, said: “We are honoured to be a recipient of the Cathy McCormack Community Activism Fund.
"The grant will be used in Cathy’s spirit to improve greenspaces for our community to ensure they are accessible and inclusive for all. Glasgow Community Energy is an incredible project that has brought huge benefits to communities across Glasgow and we are delighted to be involved."
The Glasgow Community Energy co-operative was established by local people on a largely voluntary basis and as a result of a community share offer in 2021, it now has 182 members across Glasgow and beyond.
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