Voluntary sector secures funding for next year's activities

December 8th 2022

Voluntary sector secures funding for next year’s activities

Shetland Islands Citizens Advice Bureau, Voluntary Action Shetland and the social enterprise company COPE Ltd are among the charities being supported by Shetland Charitable Trust (SCT) next year.

Grants worth £1.46 million have been agreed by trustees to help 23 local projects across Shetland. The details were released this week after applicants were informed of their success following an SCT meeting last Thursday.

Most of the support goes to help vulnerable children and adults, disabled people and the elderly, which is in line with SCT’s emphasis on reducing inequality and social isolation in Shetland.

Projects range from helping with fuel poverty, addressing abuse and neglect, supporting children and families hit by cancer and providing support to unpaid carers who spend all year tending family members at home.

Grants will also support sea-going activities provided by The Swan Trust and encouraging community art for those with disabilities.

These grants to smaller organisations are part of SCT’s £8.7m Main Grant Scheme for 2023/24.

Last week it was announced that most of the funding would go to the three big trusts and the council, which secured £7.24m between them. Shetland Recreational Trust is to receive £3.3m with Shetland Amenity Trust getting £1.23m and £716,600 going to Shetland Arts Development Agency. The council receives almost £2m to keep up the enhanced level of community care provided in Shetland.

SCT says it aims to “benefit and improve the quality of life of all people living in Shetland and to preserve the trust reserves for future generations”.

Please see list of grant awards here.

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.