Five community projects share £20k boost from Shetland Charitable Trust

August 12th 2021

Five small charities are to enhance their activities with help from grants of up to £5,000 from Shetland Charitable Trust.

Five community projects share £20k boost from Shetland Charitable Trust

Five small charities are to enhance their activities with help from grants of up to £5,000 from Shetland Charitable Trust.

The much-visited community woodland in Aith, Michaelswood, is looking to replace one of its children’s attractions, Captain Blackbeard’s Galleon, which was removed after becoming worn-out over the years. A £3,000 grant will go towards the new pirate ship.

The MS Society Shetland and Shetland Stroke Support will spend their £4,973 grant on providing upper limb function classes for people with MS or who have had a stroke.

Shetland (Hurricanes) Amateur Competitive Swimming Club will use its £5,000 grant to make the cost of training as a competitive swimmer affordable and inclusive for all during this financial year as the club recovers from the impact of Covid-19.

Unst Partnership Ltd aims to extend its Unst Fair Food Fund until the end of 2021 with a £3,750 grant from SCT. The fund distributes food, toiletries and other essential items to folk in the island who find themselves in need.

The Young Mums Group will use a grant of £3,623 to provide fresh and local produce to those who attend the group, helping promote a balanced diet and support low-income households.

The grants to the five groups, totalling £20,346, come from the second round of SCT’s new-look Small Grant Scheme which helps small charities tackle their funding challenges or extend their services to more people.

A funding pot of £100,000 exists for 2021/22 with 12 projects benefiting from the first round of grants in April.

Meanwhile, larger charitable organisations with a turnover above £50,000 have until 30^th August to apply for a share of £200,000 still available under SCT’s Main Grant Scheme.

The key focus of all SCT grant funding is to tackle inequality and social exclusion throughout Shetland. During this financial year the trust expects to spend £8.5m in charitable grant aid.

Ends

(For the full list of grants – see below)

Contact: John Robertson on 07775 407 796 or email noostmedia@gmail.com

Shetland Charitable Trust

Small Grant Scheme 2021/22 – Round 2

Organisation	Grant amount £	Purpose
Michaelswood Public Amenity	3,000	To replace a well-used children’s attraction, Captain Blackbeard’s Galleon, at Michaelswood Public Amenity.
MS Society Shetland & Shetland Stroke Support	4,973	To provide an Upper Limb Function class for people with MS or those who have had a stroke.
Shetland (Hurricanes) Amateur Competitive Swimming Club	5,000	To make the cost of training as a competitive swimmer affordable and inclusive for all in the year to 31 March 2022 as the club recovers from the impact of COVID 19.
Unst Partnership Ltd	3,750	To extend the Unst Fair Food Fund for the five months to 31 December 2021.
Young Mums	3,623	To help provide fresh and local produce to the attendees of the Young Mums Group, encouraging a balanced diet and supporting low-income households.
TOTAL	20,346

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.