Scottish community fund hits £1m in donations
Melanie May | 4 August 2021 | News
A community fund that has supported dozens of projects in Scotland has hit a landmark total of £1 million.
Procurement specialist Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) is behind the fund. As a not-for-profit organisation, any surplus generated by SPA is re-distributed into its Community Benefit Fund – with SPA’s 14-strong Executive Board members (made up of local authorities and registered social landlords) eligible to apply for a portion of the fund each year to use for projects in their local community.
SPA work in partnership with the Lintel Trust which manages the fund and ensures projects and causes support local needs and communities. Information on how to apply to the fund is available here.
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In the three years since it was launched, the fund has distributed £560,000 across 66 community projects – particularly those focused on social inclusion, employability, and digital technology.
In its last financial year (2020-21), an additional £140,000 was distributed to 16 projects across Scotland, benefitting nearly 23,000 people directly. Added to the £390,000 overall match funding, this takes the total fund value to over £1million.
In recognition of the impact of the pandemic, the fund was also repurposed to ensure it supported and applied greater flexibility towards Covid-19 relief projects, especially those centred on social isolation.
This saw the SPA Community Benefit Fund donate, for example, £10,000 to Social Bite to support delivery of fresh food packs to those in need; £10,000 to Clyde Valley Housing Association’s Chris’s House project which takes people from suicidal crisis to recovery and support for South Ayrshire Council’s Holiday Hunger programme which has seen nearly 14,000 meals delivered to families in need.
SPA Director Clive Feeney said the fund was dedicated to improving and promoting social value in communities throughout the country.
“With over £1m being given back to communities in terms of grants and matched funding, it is clear the SPA Community Benefit Fund is playing a massive part in supporting vital projects that are bringing direct benefits to thousands of people across Scotland.
“We are proud to see the Fund continue to grow and widen its reach – and we look forward to seeing even more communities and projects benefitting for years to come.”
Kate Christie, of the Lintel Trust said:
“Very early on in the pandemic, Lintel Trust and SPA recognised the impact that lockdown was likely to have on funded projects already being delivered and those community-based projects that were due to start.
“We offered the option for organisations to repurpose their funding to help their communities address more pressing needs caused by the pandemic.”
This year has also seen Lintel Trust come under the wing of SPA, whilst maintaining its independent status as a Scottish registered charity and continuing its work supporting Scottish housing associations and their communities.
More Scottish funding
Big Issue Invest
Applications are open until 17 September for Big Issue Invest’s Power Up Scotland programme.
The lending scheme is offering investment and support to 12 early-stage social ventures across Scotland with £500,000 worth of investment.
Big Issue Invest’s Power Up Scotland programme was first launched in November 2017 and has supported 19 social business to date with a total of close to £500,000.
The programme is funded by partners, abrdn, University of Edinburgh, Experian, Places for People and the Scottish Government with legal support from Brodies LLP.
Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said:
“We are really excited about this year’s Power Up Scotland programme. It’s a tough job starting up a social venture and early stage finance is hard to get. We are so pleased, working with our brilliant partners in Scotland, to be able to support those organisations with the investment and business development expertise that they need in order to make an even greater difference within their communities in a post-Covid world.”
The Power Up programme is open to organisations across Scotland. The funding available is to enable organisations to build on the good work they currently do within their communities. Whether it’s buying equipment, hiring new talent, or progressing with business development plans. Successful applicants will also receive mentoring and business development support to social ventures for the two-year period.
The programme has been designed for early-stage social ventures, regardless of company structure – social enterprises, charities, and private enterprises are all welcome, with social value creation being the key criterion. The expectation is that many applicants will be accessing finance for the first time.
Bank of Scotland Foundation Reach programme
The Bank of Scotland’s Reach programme opens again to applications in September, with a short window – noon on Monday 20 September until noon on Friday 24 September.
Charities addressing disadvantage or social exclusion in Scotland and with an income of £1.5m or less can apply for funding of £1,000 to £25,000 over one year.
STV Children’s Appeal
The STV Children’s Appeal has distributed £152,000 to 50 projects throughout Scotland following a recent campaign to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people across the country.
The campaign was launched in May in response to concerns among the Appeal’s charity partners over the damaging lasting effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on young minds. For the one in four children living in poverty in Scotland, the impact has been acutely felt.
46 projects have received awards to the value of £2,000, which will be used to provide children and young people with opportunities to improve their mental health through counselling sessions, peer support groups and leisure activities.
The remaining four projects – based in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Greenock and Perth – all focus specifically on child counselling and have received special funding awards to the value of £15,000 each.
Starting in mid-May, the STV Children’s Appeal ran regular adverts on STV’s broadcast channel and social media platforms which highlighted the impact of a year of lockdowns on youth mental health and encouraged donations from viewers to support the recovery phase.
The campaign received celebrity backing from a number of famous Scots including James McAvoy, Gail Porter and Douglas Stuart, with the latter recording a video message in which he recounted his own experience as a child living in poverty in Scotland.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.