Departing chair was ‘tremendous asset’ to Shetland Charitable Trust

June 1st 2023

Shetland Charitable Trust (SCT) has bid farewell to chair Dr Andrew Cooper after four years at the helm and eight years as a voluntary trustee on one of Scotland’s biggest charities.

When he started in 2015, trust funds were worth £207 million. They now stand at £374m. During the intervening period SCT has spent £99m helping to improve quality of life in Shetland.

SCT chief executive Ann Black said today: “It has been a genuine privilege working with Dr Cooper – for the staff and, I’m sure, for the trustees as well. He has proven extremely capable and a tremendous asset to the trust.”

During Dr Cooper’s period in office, SCT achieved its aim of returning its funds and its spending to a sustainable financial footing. In 2021 this stability meant SCT was able to double the number of organisations receiving grant aid. Last year £8.6 million was paid out to 32 local charities on top of a round of small grants.

A new strategic plan agreed during Dr Cooper’s tenure has placed more emphasis on tackling inequality and promoting social inclusion.

Dr Cooper, a retired medical GP, also presided over the trust’s gift of £500,000 to the community appeal to buy an MRI scanner to enhance medical diagnoses in Shetland.

A new chair will be elected from among existing trustees when they meet next Thursday 8th June.

For more information

Contact: Shetland Charitable Trust - mail@shetlandcharitabletrust.co.uk - Tel: 01595 744 994

Media Contact: John Robertson - noostmedia@gmail.com - Tel: 07775 407 796

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.