Up to £25,000 available to eligible projects – closes 28th June
The Scotch Whisky Action Fund (SWAF) provides funding to eligible projects specifically set up to reduce the negative impacts of alcohol-related harm. Only open once a year, the fund is inviting new applications before the deadline at noon on Monday 28th June.
Managed by Foundation Scotland, SWAF has so far awarded over £800,000 to over 70 projects operating across the country since its launch in 2013. The fund is focused on supporting innovative initiatives and activities specifically designed to tackle alcohol-related harms in Scotland’s communities.
Groups such as Rowan Alba, Waverley Care, Edinburgh Young Carers Project, and Govan Youth Information Project have received project support.
Jennifer McPhail, Programmes Advisor at Foundation Scotland, said: “We’re delighted to be running this important funding stream again. Now in its eighth year, the Scotch Whisky Action Fund has already made a massive impact on individuals and communities affected by alcohol related harms.
“The alcohol industry plays an important role in Scottish society, and Scotch Whisky is at the heart of the industry. However, the misuse of alcohol through excessive or inappropriate consumption can have implications for health and a range of social problems, including anti-social behaviour, violence, family breakdown, problems with money and work. This can impact individuals, families and communities.
“The fund is not set up to support recovery or treatment of alcohol issues. Rather it’s for innovative projects that educate, raise awareness, and prevent future alcohol-related harm. Examples of projects include preventative training programmes and diversionary activities for young people, peer support groups for carers and family member counselling services.
“There are many examples of previously funded projects available on our website and we are advising interested groups to carefully read through all the guidance before applying. The closing date is coming up soon so we are encouraging those that are interested to progress quickly as the fund only opens once a year.”
Projects which secure funding from SWAF, and can demonstrate an impact after their first year of funding, may be able to receive further funding of up to £25,000 per annum for a maximum of three years, to support their initiative.
Following confirmation by the Scottish Government of additional funding for local authorities and, after making provision for the anticipated on-going financial impacts of the pandemic over the next two years, Council officers identified up to £21m which could be made available to address budget pressures, anticipated shortfalls in savings delivery and other member priorities in 2021/22 and 2022/23.
At yesterday’s meeting of the Full Council, political groups on the Council put forward and debated motions outlining their proposals for directing these monies. The motion by the SNP-Labour ‘Capital Coalition’ was carried, meaning the £21m will be invested as below.
Councillor Rob Munn, Finance and Resources Convener, said: “When our Council budget was agreed in February, the final local government settlement was not known in full. At the time we set a prudent Budget in the knowledge that we would have other decisions to make following clarification of the final settlement.
“That final settlement was more than we had anticipated and I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to agree these investments in Council today, helping us to meet our commitments and to ensure that we address poverty, well-being and the climate challenge.”
Councillor Joan Griffiths, Finance and Resources Vice Convener, said: “The Covid19 pandemic has had a very significant impact on local government budgets so it’s very welcome to be able to invest more money now towards our core priorities for Edinburgh.
“The proposals now approved will give a real boost to our work to achieve our core ambitions for the Capital – tackling poverty and inequality, boosting sustainability and enhancing wellbeing for everyone who calls the city home.
“I particularly welcome our decision to invest £250,000 in a fund to support carers after the extremely challenging time they’ve faced during the pandemic, as well as our £600,000 investment in prevention services and community engagement to support residents at risk of poverty.”
AGREED INVESTMENT OPTIONS:
Roads and Pavements Infrastructure – recognising the impact of prolonged winter weather the Council will invest an additional £2m extra in repairs to the roads and pavements network including local residential areas and an extra £4m to improve surface condition for all users – those walking, wheeling, cycling, using public transport and motorists.
Street Cleaning and gritting – we will invest £300k to improve both street cleansing operations and winter gritting making our streets cleaner and safer.
Communal Bins – £1.1 million in this programme to improve organisation and capacity in communal bins across the city, bringing forward investment to improve the service and address the funding shortfall in delivering the programme in full.
Public Conveniences – the £450,000 Council has already approved to invest will ensure a temporary network of public conveniences at key locations, meeting accessibility needs in premier parks and other locations where people need facilities.
Estate Energy Reduction – a further £500,000 to improve Council estate carbon performance to meet the climate challenge by identifying shovel-ready projects.
Carbon net zero engagement – £700,000 to take forward citizen communication and engagement to bring about behaviour change assisting the city in reaching carbon net zero target.
EV Infrastructure – £250,000 to expand EV charging infrastructure for the Council’s own fleet, ensuring that the Council leads by example by making our vehicle fleet carbon zero.
Up Recycling – £200,000 to improve the Council’s recycling performance.
20-minute neighbourhoods – £500,000 to drive forward the delivery of 20-minute neighbourhoods, making it easier for people to get to and access the services they need in their community.
Food Growing – £130,000 to be invested, recognising the increase in demand for local food growing opportunities. This is investment to expand provision.
Looked after Children – recognising the pressures of out of authority placement, the Council will invest £1.5m to improve the service and help ensure vulnerable children are accommodated in authority wherever possible.
Children & Families Development officers – £124,000 to provide service for disabled children in terms of holiday provision and positive destinations.
Carers’ Recovery Fund – recognising the extra challenge for carers during the pandemic, the Council will invest £250k in a fund providing additional support to carers
Edinburgh Summer Festivals – £300,000 to support resumption of festivals this summer including support for local community festivals
Books for libraries – £50,000 increase in this year’s allocation for new books in our libraries, improving choice and service to Edinburgh residents
Embedding Prevention and Community Engagement – £600,000 investment to improve delivery of prevention services through empowering frontline staff to co-produce service redesign across departments, reform current practice, and create a preventative service and community engagement model and develop a plan for wider roll out.
Diversity and inclusion – £100,000 to accelerate and embed the Council’s diversity and inclusion strategy, including training and development training
Taxi and Licence enforcement – £160,000 to meet demand and ensure robust enforcement.
Edinburgh Integration Joint Board – £2.5m funding to EIJB to address base budget pressures for social care.
Independent inquiries – £400,000 funding for these inquiries to bring them to their conclusion.
Place fees and charges reduced income – £559,000 to address issues with reduced income due to the Covid-19 pandemic changing behaviours and the impact on fees and charges.
Home to School Travel Demand – £600,000 to meet demand in this service while working to reshape and achieve savings.
Development and Business Services Loss of Income – invest £187,000 to cover loss of Planning, Building Services and Regulatory Services income.
Early Years Deferral – The Council will allocate up to £270,000 over the full academic year (two financial years) to offer the 40 nursery children who applied for deferral and were not among the 66 approved through application of appeal a funded place for another year due to lost time through COVID-related nursery closures.
All Ability Bike – Work is ongoing to find a solution to ensure the service is still available and the Council is investing £71,000 to help facilitate this and ensure transport is inclusive.
In addition to these investments, further funding has been set aside to address the following:
Edinburgh Bike Hire Scheme – the approved Coalition motion states: “We recognise the popularity of the current scheme and seek to continue with a cost-effective and robust scheme fit for the future.”
Trams Concessionary travel – the approved Coalition motion states: “Trams contribute to Edinburgh’s clean air and net zero strategy and will continue to press the Scottish Government to recognise this in its concessionary travel funding. We will continue dialogue with the Scottish Government on delivering free tram journeys for young people on the same terms as bus travel as we feel an integrated public transport system is key to Edinburgh’s future. If this is unfunded at a national level, we will look into the possibility of expanding free provision to young people in Edinburgh subject to affordability.”
Homelessness – the approved Coalition motion states: “We recognise the pressure on the service in the past year due to Covid and that pressures are expected to exceed the additional £10m allocated in February’s budget. We also recognise that should legislative protections change as restrictions ease, there may be a requirement for even further resources to improve outcomes for temporary homeless accommodation. We will continue to make the case for additional resources equivalent to those allocated to other local authorities for homelessness support from IBJ budgets. Following that process and depending on in-year position due to service demand, we will agree that left over monies can be used to meet the required supply to get the outcomes right for people finding themselves at risk of homelessness.”
Employability for disabled people – the approved Coalition motion states: “to plug the gap left by the loss of the European Social Fund due to Brexit and the lack of a direct replacement fund from the UK government”
Grassroots sports clubs and organisations in Edinburgh can apply for grants to help them bounce back from the pandemic, through Made By Sport’s ‘Clubs in Crisis’ fund.
Made By Sport, a charity which champions the power of sport to tackle social issues, is distributing over £4 million of grants to support the vital role that grassroots sports clubs and organisations play in communities.
Recent research indicates that 25% of community clubs may not be able to reopen due to the devastating impact of Covid-19. In an attempt to prevent this becoming a reality, Made By Sport are offering unrestricted grants of £2021 to those groups who do so much in communities to use sport as a vehicle for social good.
The pandemic has exacerbated many health and social issues. Research from mental health charity YoungMinds found that 83% of young people said the pandemic had affected their mental health, reporting issues with sleep, panic attacks and urges to self-harm.
In the face of these crises, sport is a vital tool to transform people’s lives. As well as helping to overcome mental health challenges, it is also a way to tackle important social issues such as reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, increasing life and employment skills and opportunities.
It also brings communities together and it is estimated that for every £1 invested in sport and recreation, there is a £4.34 return on savings in money spent on crime, truancy and ill health.
The #ClubsinCrisis fund, supported by the Cash4Clubs scheme, is now accepting applications and Sophie Mason, Made By Sport’s Chief Executive, urged clubs to apply.
She said: “We’re delighted to be able to provide £4 million worth of grants through our #ClubsinCrisis fund. With sport returning, now is the time to invest in grassroots sports and give our young people the best opportunity to thrive. Access to sport will provide them with more confidence, more resilience and better mental and physical health.
“We believe funders and policy makers should consider sport in a different context and Made By Sport will continue to lead the way in redefining what community sport can do as part of the national rebuild. Now more than ever, sport has a big role in reinvigorating communities and supporting young people post-pandemic.”
In order to be eligible, clubs must provide clear evidence of how they use sport to help young people develop life skills, employment opportunities, reduce crime and anti-social behaviour or tackle mental health issues.
27 Edinburgh-based projects are sharing in over £607,000 of National Lottery and Scottish Government funding through Creative Scotland in the March and April rounds of Open Fund awards.
Designed to support creative people, projects and organisations across Scotland to adapt and respond to the current changing circumstances brought about by Covid-19, awards made through the Open Fund are helping to sustain creative development at this challenging time.
Edinburgh-based artists and creative practitioners include:
The Cymera Festival – an annual celebration of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror (SFFH) writing, bringing together writers and readers to share ideas, create stories and share insights.
Cymera is the first of its kind in the UK, and 2021 is its third instalment. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the programme will once again be digital.
Festival organiser Ann Landmann said: “We are excited to return to the digital space from 3rd to 6th June 2021. Thanks to the funding from the Creative Scotland Open Fund, #Cymera21 is a jam-packed weekend and our most international programme yet, with speakers joining us from all around the world.
“From internationally bestselling authors to Scottish debuts, our programme is a smorgasbord of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror writers to suit all tastes.”
The Dance Audition! is a new interactive online performance piece. Inspired by A Chorus Line, the 1985 American musical drama film, The Dance Audition! will be choreographed by Dance Ihayami’s Artistic Director, Priya Shrikumar using popular Indian dance forms.
Audience members will be encouraged to follow the journey of performers, learn the choreography and participate as a judge to identify the dancers for the final 5-minute dance creation, choreographed by Priya.
Choreographer, Priya Shrikumar (top) said: “Now is the best and in a way a positive time for this form (Indian dance) to be viewed and enjoyed by a larger audience – something accessible and enjoyable.
“It will bring colour and wonder to a world which is a bit colourless at the moment, due to the pandemic.”
Re·creation: A Creative Opportunity for Queer Poets is a new work from Edinburgh-based writers Éadaoín Lynch and Alycia Pirmohamed, with independent publisher Stewed Rhubarb Press.
This project will identify and commission Covid-affected queer creatives to write poems, develop their craft, build a community of poets, and be published in a landmark poetry collection.
The project leads are also the co-editors of the anthology, planned for publication in summer 2022. Éadaoín Lynch is an early career researcher with a PhD in poetry from the University of St Andrews; Alycia Pirmohamed is co-founder of the Scottish BAME Writers Network, and winner of the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award 2020.
The collection is planned to include 30 poets: 10 commissions, and 20 selections from an open call for submissions. Workshops, 1-to-1 mentorship, and a round-table feedback session will be provided as part of the project. More information can be found on the website here: https://recreation-anthology.co.uk/
Project lead, Éadaoín Lynch says: “The project title has its roots in play, refreshment, recovery, restoration, invigoration, and creating, all of which are long overdue in a Covid-affected world, particularly for those in the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Funding has also been awarded to Edinburgh-based visual artist Alison Grant for a period of research to develop a new body of work looking at coastal communities across the 11,000 miles of Scotland’s shores.
From Viking graffiti artists who anchored in the best fishing areas to the contemporary work of today’s Blue Carbon visionaries, the project will look at best practice from the past to inform how we consider our coastlines in the future.
Visual artist Alison Grant says: “I am delighted to have received funding from Creative Scotland for 11000 Miles, a project conceived during lockdown this winter.
“It is important at this time of climate crisis to look locally to our own coastline for sustainable solutions to some of the problems we have created. I want to engage with these issues to use my creativity to communicate ideas, not just to as wide an audience as possible but also to our local communities, to look anew at our relationship with the sea.”
Strategy: Get Arts. 35 Artists Who Broke the Rules is a new work from Studies in Photography (part of the Scottish Society for the History of Photography).
Edited by Christian Weikop, Senior Lecturer, Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), this book will be the first print publication to consider the formation of the ground-breaking exhibition Strategy: Get Arts (SGA), staged at ECA in 1970, when thirty-five German post-war artists (including Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, Klaus Rinke, and Günther Uecker) staged a provocative takeover of ECA, transforming the college into a ‘total work of art’ through their ‘actions’ and installations.
Featuring essays by academics, senior National Galleries of Scotland staff, and those involved in curating the exhibition, the publication will include photographs by Monika Baumgartl, George Oliver, and Richard Demarco, many never seen before.
Alex Hamilton says: “As Chair and Co-Editor of Studies in Photography, I am delighted to be able to publish this book. The exhibition held for me, particular importance as one of the gallery assistants.
“It changed many people’s lives… After 50 years and during the anniversary of the birth of Joseph Beuys we are delighted that the amazing stories behind this ground-breaking event can finally be revealed.”
The work is due to be published later in 2021.
These examples are some of the 105 projects in total that have been awarded over £2.3million of National Lottery and Scottish Government funding through Creative Scotland in the latest rounds of Open Fund awards.
Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotlandsaid: “Thanks to the generosity of National Lottery players, who raise £30 million for good causes across the UK every week, alongside equally welcome funding from the Scottish Government, these Open Fund awards are helping artists, creative organisations and communities to develop and share their work, and to keep culture and creativity at the heart of people’s lives as we look to recover from the challenges of the pandemic.”
Major funder announces integration with Resilient Scotland creating significant social investment opportunities to help Scotland recover
Foundation Scotland, Scotland’s community foundation, is extending its dedicated support for the third sector. The major grant funder now offers innovative social investment opportunities to social enterprises in Scotland.
The move comes as Foundation Scotland and Resilient Scotland announce their integration. Social investment, offered through the experienced Resilient Scotland team, will expand on the community foundation’s core grantmaking services providing access to a greater range of funding options.
The new ‘Investing in Enterprise Fund’ offers between £10,000 and £500,000 to social enterprises as blended finance. Up to 50% of the funding will be through grants with the remainder through loans, enabling them to become more sustainable, accessing opportunities less reliant on grant funding. Support will help successful applicants to raise funds and only repay part of the total sum. Foundation Scotland will reinvest all returned funds for additional social investment.
Chris Holloway, formerly Head of Resilient Scotland and now Head of Social Investment at Foundation Scotland, said: “The integration of Resilient Scotland into Foundation Scotland makes perfect sense for us as an organisation. However, most importantly, the move will offer significant benefits to Scotland’s thriving social enterprises.
“Collectively our knowledge, support and experience will enhance the holistic support provided to Scotland’s social enterprises. Groups will be able to come to Foundation Scotland for traditional grants, which they continue to need, and now also innovative investment opportunities.
“This is great timing for us as we paused all new support through the pandemic; instead, we have focussed our support on our existing investees. A huge thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund for their continued support over the past 9 years.
“For now, it’s business as usual for our current investees, and we very much look forward to opening our doors to new investees.”
Giles Ruck, Chief Executive of Foundation Scotland, said: “Across the last few years, we have witnessed a shift change from our donors. They have understood that the funding landscape is changing, and they’ve shown an increased appetite to provide communities with wider, longer-lasting funding opportunities.
“Across our 25-year history, we’ve never been needed more. We understand that the sector needs our committed, innovative support to help them build back better. Our integration with Resilient Scotland will support this and will bring many benefits to the third sector.
“We are encouraging all social enterprises that are looking for additional investment to visit our website or contact our team directly to discuss your eligibility”.
Foundation Scotland is offering new social investment opportunities across 13 of the most disadvantaged local authority areas across Scotland. The Foundation expects to extend the service to the whole of Scotland at a later date, and welcome even more new enterprises to Foundation Scotland.
Later this month, the Foundation will be publishing a full evaluation highlighting the impact of Resilient Scotland’s social investments since 2012.
For more information, including details on how to apply for the Investing in Enterprise Fund visit: foundationscotland.org.uk/social-investment
Foreign Secretary announces £8 million of funding for BBC World Service to tackle harmful disinformation, challenge inaccurate reporting around the world and improve digital engagement.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announces multi-million pound uplift for BBC World Service
Funding will help to tackle harmful disinformation and inaccurate reporting around the world and enhance its digital offer
This follows the UK Government’s Integrated Review, which underlined the need to fight disinformation to protect the UK against state threats
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced £8 million of new funding for BBC World Service projects to tackle harmful disinformation, challenge inaccurate reporting around the world and improve digital engagement.
Funding will support the BBC World Service’s investigative journalism, expanding the reach of its work to report in an unbiased and impartial way. This follows the success of their “Reality Check”, “Africa Eye” and “Arabic Investigations” programmes, which have challenged fake news around the world.
The new package will also help to build international audiences, improving the digital platforms available to people in countries such as India, Kenya and Nigeria.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “In a world where states and criminal gangs twist the news to exploit others, it is vital to safeguard independent and objective news reporting around the world.
“This new funding will allow the BBC World Service to take impartial journalism to many more people around the world, by countering those who distort the truth to mislead the public.”
This new support comes shortly after the publication of the Government’s Integrated Review, which underlined the need to fight disinformation to protect the UK against state threats. Today’s announcement will help support efforts to counter those.
Some states are using internet bots to push out disinformation on social media platforms, such as spreading fake news around the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in harmful content, that is often shared widely by tens of thousands of people on social media.
This includes encouraging scepticism around vaccines or in some cases prime-time news outlets in some states are blaming the US for artificially creating – and profiting from – the pandemic.
Welcoming the announcement, BBC Director General Tim Davie said: “We welcome this investment in the World Service which builds on the significant results achieved since the funding programme began in 2016.
“Through this partnership, the World Service has achieved an all-time record audience of 351m, in 42 languages including English, with the BBC’s global News services now reaching 438m every week.
“More than a third of the total BBC News global audience – 151m – access BBC News digitally and this additional support will enable us to further strengthen our digital offer and tackle global disinformation.
“As the world continues to fight the Covid pandemic, the positive role of the World Service in providing trusted, impartial news has never been more critical.”
Yesterday’s funding announcement comes on top of previous funding for the BBC’s World2020 programme from the FCDO since 2016, which has meant impartial news is available in 12 additional languages.
The additional support has helped increase the service’s international reach by 40 per cent to 351 million people each week, including across Asia and Africa.
Edinburgh Festivals – the biggest combined festivals in the country – will benefit from £1 million from the UK Government this year
Half a million pounds will fund a new digital platform to promote UK talent and content to both international and domestic producers
£500,000 will be made available for Festival organisers to increase their digital capabilities
The UK Government will fund two new projects to expand the digital potential of the Edinburgh Festivals with £1 million investment, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced.
The Edinburgh Festivals are the biggest combined festivals in the UK, attracting audiences of nearly 5 million every year, generating £313 million for Scotland’s economy alone, and providing unparalleled opportunities for artists across the country.
Last year many shows at the Edinburgh Festivals had to move online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The challenge of moving to a combination of physical and online events, and the increased demand for British virtual cultural content around the globe, revealed the need to expand the Edinburgh Festivals’ digital capabilities as part of the cultural sector’s post-Covid recovery.
The UK Government is providing £1 million in funding for digital improvements that will enable more ways for people to virtually access the events across the country, increase opportunities for UK artists and ensure Edinburgh’s landmark events will continue to be major contributors to the UK’s economy and cultural landscape.
The 11 festivals in the Festivals Edinburgh event portfolio will be able to apply for a share of a new £500,000 fund which will support innovative virtual solutions to the challenges of commissioning, producing and promoting festival programmes in an increasingly digitised cultural sector.
The funding will help encourage collaboration between events and develop hybrid events with live and digital elements.
Another £500,000 will be provided to create a new digital platform that will help national and international buyers and producers search for talent and content from the festivals’ hugely varied programmes, which showcase thousands of artists and performers every year, and promote the work of British artists and performers around the world.
The funds will be available to Festivals Edinburgh this financial year. Events with live audiences at limited capacities in Scotland will return no earlier than 17 May, and further details about the planning for this year’s Edinburgh Festivals will be released in due course.
This funding builds on £100,000 previously awarded to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018 to better connect UK artists with international producers. As part of ongoing support for culture in Edinburgh, the UK Government provided £10 million for the Dunard Centre, through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.
It will be the city’s first dedicated new space for music and the performing arts in 100 years. Scotland also received £97 million from the UK Government’s Culture Recovery Fund to provide support for the nation’s arts and cultural sectors.
Lothian MSP candidate for Edinburgh Southern, Miles Briggs, said:“This funding from the UK government is a very welcome investment into the arts and supporting the Edinburgh festival.
“It has been an exceptionally challenging year for artists and performers, many of whom have needed to adapt to virtual audiences.
“This investment will pave the way for hybrid Edinburgh Festival performances, which will allow people around the globe to see the creativity and talent on show in Edinburgh.”
Oliver Dowden, Culture Secretary, said:“Edinburgh’s Festivals have long been a springboard for the very best of British talent and a vital part of culture in Scotland and the UK.
“The UK Government’s investment will promote it to a worldwide audience online, helping the UK’s biggest combined festival build back better from the pandemic.”
“This is on top of £97 million we provided last year to the Scottish Government to support Scotland’s arts organisations through the pandemic. Like everyone else, I look forward to our fantastic arts and culture coming back better than ever before, as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Iain Stewart, UK Government Minister for Scotland, said:“Edinburgh is world-famous for its festivals, bringing wider benefits to Scotland’s economy, tourism and arts sectors.
“We know the last 12 months have been difficult for the culture sector. This £1 million funding boost will support organisations to improve their digital capabilities and engage with audiences here in Scotland and further afield.”
Sorcha Carey, Chair, Festivals Edinburgh, said: “While live events in Edinburgh will remain the backbone of our world-class festivals, it’s crucial that we enhance our digital operations and so we’re delighted with this incredible support from the UK Government which will help reposition our work, and the work of creatives, across the digital world.”
Sir James Macmillan, Composer, said:“I’m delighted and encouraged to see this significant and notable support being given to the Edinburgh Festivals at this crucial point.
“The arts have been seriously affected by the pandemic and it is wonderful that the UK Government is showing its tangible commitment to culture in Scotland by investing in one of Scotland’s and Britain’s most important arts organisations.”
A new £30 million fund is being established to support small businesses within the third sector, helping them to grow as Scotland recovers from the impacts of coronavirus.
The fund will be designed to respond to a need for third sector organisations to access loans to help grow and explore new forms of social investment and finance. It will also help support the sector to meet the challenge of the pandemic and to become more sustainable in the long-term.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “We have worked hard to support the third sector throughout the pandemic. This new fund will focus on those organisations with the potential to grow, contributing to jobs and making a positive contribution to our communities and the wellbeing economy.
“It also goes some way towards our commitment to explore other strands of social investment, including capital loans, to build upon Scotland’s world leading position in social enterprise.
“The fund will help this sector to ensure that it not only supports our communities, but is at the very forefront of our recovery, leading our communities and our country through recovery.”
Yvonne Greeves, Board member at Firstport & Chair of Catalyst Fund, said: “The Catalyst Fund is an exciting new addition to the social investment arena in Scotland.
“The patient, revenue-based repayment model is well placed to help certain social enterprises obtain the capital they need to start-up and grow, whilst offering them a more flexible repayment approach to match their ambitions.
“We welcome the support from the Scottish Government in backing this innovative model and we look forward to supporting social enterprises with potential for high-growth to enter new markets and deliver significant social impact.”
The Third Sector Growth Fund will build on more than £1 billion which has been invested in communities since the start of the pandemic, which includes a recent commitment to a further £14 million to allow the Communities and Third Sector Recovery Programme to continue to the end of June.
The Third Sector Growth Fund will have three elements:
The Social Catalyst fund, which totals £15 million, will help growing organisations which are not able to access finance through standard loans, offering investment which can be repaid based on turnover, rather than growing interest rates. This would suit small businesses and start-ups whose income is variable.
The Circular Economy Fund will support activity which builds on sustainability of social enterprises and enables growth through investment loans. Together with The Long Term Third Sector Finance Fund which will offer loans for social enterprises and Third Sector organisations over a period of 18-24 months. a total of £10 million will be available.
The Social Impact Venture Portfolio will offer investments of equity into mission-driven businesses, encouraging organisations to adopt a social enterprise model. This is worth £5 million.
The delivery partners are The Social Impact Venture Portfolio and Social Investment Scotland, a social enterprise and a charity offering loan funding and business support across the sector to make a positive impact on lives, society and the environment.
Social Investment Scotland will manage The Circular Economy Social Enterprise Fund and Long Term Third Sector Finance Fund.
The Impact Investment Partnership Scotland (IIPS), an entity owned equally by Firstport and Social Enterprise Scotland (SES), will manage the Social Catalyst Fund.
Access to the funds will be by application. Further details of the funds and how to apply will be published on the partner organisations websites later this Spring.
Women, families and children are among those who will benefit from separate funds worth a total of £18 million to improve drugs services.
Four schemes are planned for May with the funds coming from the additional £250 million announced by the First Minister to tackle the drug deaths emergency over the next five years.
The four projects will aim to develop consistent treatment standards around the country and ensure more people can get access to services that can reduce harm, provide treatment and ultimately save their lives.
The four funds are:
a £5 million Communities Fund to provide resources to community and third sector organisations to increase capacity
a £5 million Improvement Fund to support improvements to services for outreach, treatment, rehabilitation and aftercare, with dedicated support for women
a £3 million Families and Children Fund to support the families of those affected by drug misuse during treatment
a £5 million Recovery Fund for additional residential rehabilitation capacity
Minister for Drugs Policy Angela Constance said: “We have said a national mission is needed to tackle the drug deaths emergency and this coming year will see funding for alcohol and drugs support increasing to £140.7 million.
“This latest round of funding sees us build on the £1 million Communities Fund and £1 million Improvement Fund we launched in February. We want to make additional resources available to more community and third sector organisations so that we can support more people into treatment and offer support to their families.
“I am pleased we are also able to direct more funding to develop services specifically for women and children. We want to make it easier for women to access treatment by removing any barriers such as a lack of childcare.
“I have already committed to taking action on the recommendations from the Residential Rehabilitation Working Group and this will be backed by £100 million over the next five years.
“We recognise residential rehabilitation may not be for everyone which is why we are determined, as part of our national mission, to make sure that people can access whatever treatment is right for them in the right place at the right time.”
Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs CEO Justina Murray said: “There is an urgent need to improve support for children, young people and adult family members – all of whom are harmed by others’ alcohol and drug use, and all of whom have faced even bigger harms during the COVID pandemic.
“We know most family members remain hidden due to the stigma, shame and secrecy of substance use in the family, along with the lack of visible, high quality family support across Scotland.
“We look forward to working with the Scottish Government and with families to transform this situation, so that every family member in Scotland can reach the support they need, regardless of their situation or location.”
Cities and regions can apply for additional funding to help them recover from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Speaking ahead of the first meeting of the City Centre Recovery taskforce tomorrow (Thursday) Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop announced two new funds totalling £4 million.
Each city local authority has been invited to submit proposals focused on recovery planning to the £2 million City Centres Recovery Fund.
Proposals received so far include:
plans for more city centre based apprenticeships and training in Edinburgh
property repair, improvement and conversion in Perth City Centre
repurposing of Dundee City Centre properties through collaboration with Creative Industries sector
support for businesses in Glasgow applying for outdoor trading areas as restrictions ease
Meanwhile, a £2 million Regional Recovery Fund is calling for proposals focused on maximising local job creation, as well as accelerating delivery of City Region and Growth Deal investment and developing regional recovery plans.
Ms Hyslop said: “There is no denying the severe impact this pandemic has had, and continues to have, on our cities and regions. We recognise the sacrifices everyone has made to support our collective effort to get the virus under control and for that we are incredibly grateful.
“We know the pandemic has had differing impacts across Scotland, and this targeted support allows each local authority to put forward tailored proposals that meet their unique needs and support economic recovery.
“We have already provided £1.2 billion in economic recovery initiatives over the last year and the recently passed Scottish Budget sets out even more recovery measures to support the economy in the next year.
“Our City Centre Recovery taskforce will develop a shared vision for the future of Scotland’s city centres, with a focus on innovative actions to help them prosper over the next five years, in a way that encourages inclusive and sustainable growth.”
