The Next Chapter: Achieving Net Zero

by The Next Chapter, St John's Church Stoke, Guildford in Guildford, England, United Kingdom

The Next Chapter: Achieving Net Zero

Total raised £6,970

 
Gift Aid
+ est. £525.00
£50,000 target 21 days left
13% 17 supporters
Support Us

  Your donation will be matched

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 3rd March 2025 at 9:03pm

We are raising funds to make further sustainability improvements to our buildings as we are committed to become net zero by 2030.

by The Next Chapter, St John's Church Stoke, Guildford in Guildford, England, United Kingdom

 donated match funding
Aviva Community Fund is providing live match funding

Background:

St John’s is a vibrant church community based in the centre of Guildford. We are blessed with a grade II* listed church building, full of history and impressive features. Our attached community centre is a hive of many activities and offers valuable space for community groups to be able to meet. The centre is near full every day in the morning, afternoon and evening, with at least 500 people making use of the centre each week.

Our Project:

The Next Chapter is our church development project - to make our buildings fit for purpose for the future and as part of this we are committed to achieving net zero by 2030.

We have made some significant progress towards this goal so far by undertaking a variety works to reduce our energy usage, improve thermal insulation and reduce draughts. 

We will soon have a heating system in our community centre powered by renewable energy, created from a solar power system that will also be installed shortly.

However, we still have some way to go to reach our net zero goal and would like to raise further funds for more energy improvement works to reduce the energy we use and make our buildings as efficient as possible going forward.

Why net zero matters:

We believe that we need to nurture and care for our environment and have a responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint and the effects of climate change. We have an exciting opportunity to positively invest in our buildings to make them eco-friendly and set a positive example to our community and users.

We are committed to achieving net zero by 2030, in line with the Church of England's goal and our Next Chapter project team and eco group are working towards this. Our church has already achieved the Eco Church bronze award and we are now working towards the silver award.

Our Vision:

The Aviva Community Fund will match fund donations of up to £250, up to a maximum of £25,000, which means with your support we aim to raise £50,000 for the following works:

- Install further insulation in ceiling voids and roofs - to reduce heat loss and improve thermal insulation in the church building.

- Install secondary glazing to all historic windows throughout the church building - to reduce heat loss and improve thermal insulation.

- Install new external front and rear doors to our community centre - upgrading to secondary glazed aluminium doors and replacing a single glazed window with secondary glazing - to improve the thermal insulation, security and user experience of the building.

- Replace internal and external lights with PIR sensor energy-efficient LED lighting - to reduce energy usage and improve safety around the site.

- Replace our gas oven with a commercial electric oven / induction hob - to make this appliance safer for users and so that the community centre can stop all use of natural gas energy.

If we are able to raise £50,000 through the Aviva Community Fund we can also draw on other grant offers, which have been pledged to us and will part fund the works, allowing us to implement all of the works outlined, which are priced at £100,000.

The Impact:

By supporting this project you are helping to enhance and upgrade a vital community hub, assisting us in reducing our energy costs in order to maintain low rental fees for community groups and users. This will also enable us to invest these saved funds into projects like our community food project -  St John's Community Support, which supplies meals in the school holidays to local families in need. 

The initiative will reduce carbon emissions, lower energy costs and inspire others to consider environmental measures, as well as help us invest in our mission work.

Join Us in making SJS net zero:

St John's Stoke church have some fantastic buildings which are used extensively by the local community, which we wish to further enhance and make eco-friendly.
Please consider donating to our campaign and be a part of this journey.

Every contribution, no matter the size brings us closer to achieving our goal.
All donations will be matched £1 for £1 by Aviva up to £250. So if you donate £250 we will receive £500. If you donate £100 we will receive £200. If you donate £20 we will receive £40.

If you are able please Gift Aid your donation to make it go even further.

Get Involved:

Spread the Word - please share our crowdfunding campaign on social media and encourage your friends, family and neighbours to donate.



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