From the board of ELCAN: The next steps in creating an inclusive community and increasing agency of individuals in climate and nature action, across East Lothian.
Dear friends,
During the recent gathering, the Board of ELCAN consulted members on an important decision:
ELCAN intends to register as a charitable organisation in Scotland (SCIO).
This structure allows ELCAN to become more permanent, apply for funds and impact more communities in climate and nature action across East Lothian.
We hope to discuss the benefits, what it means for membership and the future success of the network. It’s an exciting decision that opens up new recognition and funding opportunities for ELCAN.
The opportunity for both individuals and organisations to become ELCAN members has also been proposed. We see this as a way to increase reach, agency and the impact of members on climate action within East Lothian.
We look forward involving ELCAN’s membership in this process and discussing how it supports the goals of building stronger, resilient communities in East Lothian and addressing the climate and nature emergencies.
Thank you to all of you who attended the recent ELCAN Gathering at the Fraser Centre in Tranent. It is one of East Lothian’s many brilliant community-gathering spaces and hosts its own annual “Wee Green Festival”.
Warmest regards,
ELCAN / The East Lothian Climate Hub
Building stronger communities in East Lothian through local climate action
Background from the Board
Until now we have depended on one of ELCAN’s members, Low impact Living (LiL), to provide the legal structure for employing the East Lothian Climate Hub team. We are grateful for the support LiL has provided, which has been vital in getting us to where we are now.
We feel that it is now essential that ELCAN becomes its own legal entity, as soon as possible:
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So that ELCAN develops its own clear identity
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To develop clear governance structure that gives ELCAN members full control over the running and development of ELCAN as a network (including guiding the work and priorities of the hub staff team)
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To open up wider options for future funding of ELCAN including opportunities only available to charities
We plan to draft a SCIO constitution based on that of the Edinburgh Community Climate Action Network (ECCAN), who have already gone down this route, and to register with OSCR (Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator) as soon as possible.
To do this, we need to define the ‘charitable purpose’ of ELCAN around the officially recognised charitable objects. These could include “the advancement of citizenship and community development” and “environmental protection”, emphasising our aim of supporting and enabling community-led action to address the climate and nature emergencies.
We propose that membership of the SCIO should be open to individuals as well as community organisations, as we believe that developing a strong network is all about strong relationships – and relationships grow between people, as individuals, rather than between organisations.
We suggest membership should remain free, for the time being, but wish to explore options for enabling people and organisations that can afford it to contribute financially to the development and running of ELCAN in future.
The ELCAN Board
