£1.3m safety net in place to help protect jobs and services

November 26th 2020

Shetland Charitable Trust has put in place a £1.3m safety net to help four of Shetland's biggest charities which are struggling to cope with the loss of customers during Covid-19 restrictions.

£1.3m safety net in place to help protect jobs and services

Shetland Charitable Trust has put in place a £1.3m safety net to help four of Shetland’s biggest charities which are struggling to cope with the loss of customers during Covid-19 restrictions.

The contingency fund for 2021/22 will be available in case Shetland Recreational Trust, Shetland Amenity Trust and Shetland Arts suffer a repeat of the financial hardship endured this year as a result of a drastic drop in trade and visitors. A similar arrangement is being offered to the social enterprise company COPE which operates retail outlets where sales have been hit.

Trust chairman Dr Andrew Cooper said: “The signs are positive that we might soon be able to resume the social and recreational activities denied to all of us during the pandemic. We have to hope so for many good reasons, but it’s important that Shetland Charitable Trust is ready to answer the call from the three trusts and COPE if restrictions on social contact continue to prevent us supporting their valued services.”

The one-off contingency fund was agreed by trustees who met today to set the trust’s budget for 2021/22. Overall, the trust is prepared to spend £12m, up from £10m this year.

Trustees agreed payments of £8.3m under the Main Grant Scheme, including annual funding packages for the three trusts and other major charitable organisations in Shetland. Details of the allocations will be released next week once applicants have been informed.

The trust’s five-year financial strategy put in place last year aims to use its funds to benefit and improve the quality of life of all people living in Shetland and to preserve the trust reserves for future generations.

The charitable trust’s funds invested around the world have shown strong growth since the losses of the first three months of 2020 when Covid-19 struck. Trustees heard that external investments by the fund managers leapt in value by £114.5m in the six months to the end of September, reaching a total value of £411.8m.

The trust is benefiting from investing in business sectors, such as technology, which have seen accelerated growth during the virus crisis. However, some UK investments have not fared so well with Brexit uncertainty contributing to a stagnant market, followed by concerns about the economy resulting from the Covid-19 crisis.

Since it began in 1976, the charitable trust has paid out around £330 million to local organisations. Priorities have remained the support of services to people in need, the elderly, children and young people, as well as contributing to maintaining and developing Shetland’s environment.

Contact: John Robertson

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Testimonials

The funding COPE Ltd receives from the Shetland Charitable Trust supports us in many ways. It allows us to develop and maintain a strong foundation to our core business and assists us to provide on-going employment skill development opportunities to people with disabilities living within Shetland. COPE Ltd highly values the support provided to our organisation by The Shetland Charitable Trust.

“The substantial grant made to us by Shetland Charitable Trust every year allows us to provide first-class facilities and dedicated staff to underpin sporting success among people of all ages and abilities in the islands.”

Having this core funding from the Charitable Trust means that we can use that money where we need it at any given time. It's multi-year funding which really takes the pressure off. To have the funding to keep going is really important as it is improving the lives of disabled folk in Shetland.

The funding that we get from the Charitable Trust pays for part of staff support and matching with other funders. Without local funders we wouldn't have national funders, and without either of those funders, we wouldn't be able to do this, so funding from the Shetland Charitable Trust is incredibly important.

The funding Shetland Arts gets from Shetland Charitable Trust is about making sure the organisation can thrive, access other funds, and deliver on behalf of the community of Shetland. Our funding from the Shetland Charitable Trust really helps us with our conversations with national funders because it shows that we're working on behalf of what the local objectives and priorities are.

The Access to Leisure scheme was introduced to allow folk to be able to get access to classes and activities for a lower cost. I feel that the SRT play a critical role in every community across Shetland and that's all down to the funding of the Shetland Charitable Trust that we're able to maintain that.

Unpaid carers do an amazing job looking after people 24/7 in their own homes, keeping them living at home safely, and they really need help to do that. Thanks to the funding from Shetland Charitable Trust, we've been able to employ a deputy manager, recruit more care attendants, and provide overnights. We're also really grateful for the funding because it means that everybody can get the service for free.