Wessex Water Foundation

We donate more than £500,000 to community and environment-related projects every year.

What is the Wessex Water Foundation?

The Wessex Water Foundation provides funding to projects that strengthen communities and benefit the environment.

It has never been more important to both respond to the needs of our communities and make a firm commitment to support them now and in the future, and the Wessex Water Foundation allows us to do just that.

The foundation was launched in 2020 in partnership with the Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset and Quartet Community Foundations, which help to ensure our funding goes towards the communities that are in most need of support.

Grants totalling at least £500,000 are distributed through the Foundation to support core debt advice services and environment Partner Programmes and through our Community Fund and Environment Fund.

  • Nearly £570,000

    donated to charities in the 2023/24 financial year

  • Over £100,000

    worth of grants donated to environmental projects in 2023

  • £167,000

    worth of grants donated to community-based projects in 2023

Community Fund

The Community Fund supports charitable activities that aim to build stronger communities and improve the lives of local people. In 2023, 59 charitable and community groups benefited from £167,000 of funding from our Community Fund.

Community Fund
Game Changer members playing video games

Game Changer, Taunton, Somerset.

Game Changers is a group that meets across Somerset. We met Alex Rowland, the founder of the group, at Taunton Library to find out more about why and how it was set up.
Person being shown support leaflet by team member

Dorset blind association

We talked to Jonathan Holyhead, Chief Executive Officer at the Dorset Blind Association, to find out how the charity supports blind and partially sighted people.
Person serving plates of dinner

Rock Community Centre

We talked to Ash Hughes, Centre Manager at Rock Community Centre, who explained the important role the community centre plays in the lives of local people.
Youth club members baking cakes

Westbury and Warminster Youth Club, Wiltshire

We visited the busy Westbury and Warminster Youth Club to talk to Senior Youth Leader Beth Mullions to learn about the important role it plays in the local community.

Environment Fund

The Environment Fund supports green initiatives that aim to improve the environment and build more sustainable communities. In 2023, 61 community groups benefited from over £100,000 of funding from our Environment Fund.

Environment Fund
Seeds For Success Charity Worker Smiling

Environmental volunteering in Wiltshire

We have provided Seeds4Success with a grant from our Environment Fund 2022 to help them hold conservational and environmental volunteering sessions.
Loop:Frome composting charity worker riding composing bicycle

Recycling food waste in Frome

We have provided Loop:Frome with a grant from our Environment Fund 2022 to support their food waste collection and composting service.
Bristol Muslim Girl Scout

Support for scouts in Bristol

We provided Bristol Muslim Scouts with funding from our Environment Fund 2022 to help them purchase new equipment for an environmental project.
Sustainable Wareham Charity Worker

Improving sustainability in Wareham

Sustainable Wareham received a grant from our Environment Fund 2022 to support their activities to encourage residents to be more environmentally friendly.
Oceans To Earth Volunteers cleaning a beach

Creating a cleaner Dorset

Oceans to Earth received a grant from our Environment Fund to support a project to clean oceans and coastlines across Dorset.
Wiltshire Bat Group volunteers in a field

A boost for bats in south Wiltshire

We provided Wiltshire Bat Group with a grant from our Environment Fund to help them with their South Wiltshire Greater Horseshoe Bat Project.

Partners Programme

Applications for our Partners Programme, which provides funding to projects that conserve and enhance biodiversity and the aquatic environment, are now open.

Apply now
Image of a river flowing with trees overhead

Avonmouth Area Community Fund

Applications for our Avonmouth Area Community Fund, which is designed to support activities that will benefit communities in the Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston Ward, including Shirehampton, will reopen on Monday 30 June – 21 July 2025.

Avonmouth Area Community Fund
Couple Smiling With a Baby

  • 61

    groups received funding to improve the environment in 2023

  • £70,000

    spent supporting five-year environmental projects in 2023

  • £230,000

    spent supporting debt advice partners in 2023

The Wessex Water Foundation annual report

Our annual report for the Wessex Water Foundation outlines the projects we have supported across our region through our grant funding. Find out about these projects and their work within local communities.
Read our Annual Report 2023-24

Other support we offer

Community Drop-Ins

If you want advice or have a question about our services, you can speak to us in person at one of our community drop-in sessions.

Water and sewage education

Book a free school visit, site tour or virtual session to learn about water and sewage treatment, while also exploring our educational resources and activities.

Volunteering

If you know a local charity that needs a helping hand, our teams of WaterForce volunteers are here to get to work in your local community.