Shetland Charitable Trust agrees additional grant funding

July 10th 2020

Over half a million pounds in extra grant aid is being paid out by Shetland Charitable Trust to boost services for vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the islands.

Shetland Charitable Trust agrees additional grant funding

Over half a million pounds in extra grant aid is being paid out by Shetland Charitable Trust to boost services for vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the islands.

The new funding for local charitable organisations was awarded by trustees on Thursday following an application process that had to be halted temporarily with the advent of Covid-19.

A total of £530,173 will go to the 16 successful projects which aim to fill gaps in existing services and reduce social isolation and inequality in Shetland.

Trust chairman Dr Andrew Cooper said: “Trustees and staff were impressed by the vision and hard work that local charities put into their wide-ranging proposals, which are about supporting those of us who need a helping hand in life.

“Putting their plans into action will be all the more challenging with social distancing and stringent hygiene requirements to contend with so we wish all these organisations well in their endeavours.”

The extra funding made available for the projects is part of the charitable trust’s £8.2m Main Grants Scheme for 2020/21, which helps pay for the operation of the rural care model, Shetland Recreational Trust, Shetland Amenity Trust, Shetland Arts and a number of locally based charities.

The budget was increased from £7.3m last year due to the trust’s success in steering its reserves back to a self-sustaining level of over £300m for the first time since 2000.

Please see list of grant awards here

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.