Response Recovery & Resilience Fund – The NEN

Foundation Scotland’s crisis support surpasses £6 Million

Over 1.3 million people reached to date and essential ‘winter-ready’ funding available

Foundation Scotland, Scotland’s community foundation, has announced the total amount distributed through their dedicated crisis fund now exceeds £6 million to date.

This significant level of funding breaks all its previous records and illustrates the continued and growing needs coming from groups supporting those most vulnerable throughout the country.

The community foundation is today stressing that the Response, Recovery and Resilience fund remains open.

Foundation Scotland is now particularly eager to support groups to get ‘winter-ready’, so they’re better equipped to deliver essential services through the darker, colder, winter months ahead.

For example, to enable groups to extend counselling and wellbeing services remotely, to purchase all-weather protective clothing, to create virtual energising activities through the cold dark months or to offer phone-based companionship for the isolated.

Helen Wray, Head of Programmes at Foundation Scotland, said: “It’s been a long seven months since the crisis began, we hoped we’d be able to get back to a little more normality by now. However, it looks unlikely that restrictions will ease any time soon and we’re painfully aware the next few months will bring even more significant challenges as the nights get longer, darker and colder.

“The emotional, physical and financial impacts of lockdown are becoming increasingly problematic, lives have been turned upside down. Sadly, there are even more people in Scotland experiencing extreme hardship, isolation, loneliness and fear.

“However, we’re always encouraged by the resilience and strength we see in our communities. Groups across the country are coming together to urgently deliver essential and critical services to those most in need.

“We understand our support is needed more than ever. Crisis grants enable dedicated groups to offer vital services in protecting the most vulnerable from long-term impacts. Therefore, our fund will remain open to applications for support where it is needed most.

“For example, wellbeing services like virtual counselling and befriending will be even more important. Volunteers might need all-weather protective clothing to support those in need safely and awnings and heaters to provide services outside. We are, however encouraging groups to apply as soon as they can.”

The community foundation’s Response, Recovery and Resilience fund, delivered in partnership with the National Emergencies Trust, has to date supported over 1.3 million people across Scotland.

A total of £4.6 million in small grants have been distributed to 1,188 dedicated organisations delivering vital support to some of the most isolated and vulnerable people across the country. A further £1.4 Million has been invested in strategic grants to national charities such as Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland, Shelter Scotland and the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) to deliver higher-level strategic support throughout the pandemic.

With the pandemic likely to impact on services well into 2021, the Foundation is now preparing to enter the Resilience phase of the fund.

From 1st December the fund’s renewed focus will be on providing support to organisations to look even further ahead, to future proof their services more long term.

The continued restrictions will undoubtedly increase demand for many services delivered by small organisations, so it’s vital they’re equipped to continue meeting the needs of their local communities. More details on the Resilience phase will be available on the Foundation’s website in the coming weeks.

Since launching the dedicated Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund in March, the Foundation Scotland team have worked hard to assess an overwhelming level of applications ensuring vital support reaches those most in need as quickly as possible.

Recent figures revealed that since the start of the crisis the Scottish funder has received almost the same number of applications in the last six months as it received in the whole of the previous financial year.

The Foundation Scotland Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund continues to welcome applications between £1,000-£5,000 from constituted community groups and registered charities.

The funder is eager to distribute funds quickly and is appealing to eligible groups to apply as soon as they can. Unlikely many other funding streams previous applicants are eligible to reapply to access further support needed.

For more details, eligibility criteria and to apply online visit https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/

Demand for funding has almost DOUBLED since Covid crisis

Over 100,000 local people benefit from more than £610,000 awarded to the region to date

Foundation Scotland, Scotland’s community foundation, has noted a significant increase in the number of funding applications submitted in the last six-months compared to the same period last year.

Since the start of the crisis the Scottish funder has received almost the same number of applications in the last 6 months as it received in the whole of last financial year. The number of Scottish charities and community groups receiving funding across all the charity’s funding programmes has grown by a staggering 92%.

The community foundation was quick to respond to the impending crisis. Their Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund launched at the end of March and was the first source of community funding to open as the coronavirus pandemic hit the country.

Working in partnership with the National Emergencies Trust (NET), a new and additional £3.6 Million has been awarded to the sector in Scotland so far. This sizable new source of funding has to date enabled over 900 organisations to deliver key services to over one million people through the crisis the length and breadth of the country.

Locally, this support has reached over 100,000 locals across Edinburgh and the Lothians. 152 projects have shared a total of £616,246 in the region to date. Local organisations such as Open Door Accommodation Project, Brock Garden Centre SCIO, Edinburgh Women’s Aid and Bikes for Refugees have all received essential support.

Edinburgh-based Street Fit Scotland received £5,000 to provide digital devices, online fitness classes and peer support sessions to 30 local people to help reduce isolation, self-harmful behaviours and suicide risk whilst supporting their mental and physical well-being.

Michelle Reilly, Founder, Street Fit Scotland, (above) said: “This life-changing award could not have come at a better time for Street Fit Scotland. Thanks to Foundation Scotland we are now able to deliver free outdoor fitness sessions in the Meadows to support the homeless community and others to re-engage back into society supporting them to get fit active and healthy.

“This is a great opportunity giving people the chance to recover from periods of isolation. All or sessions are socially distanced, and we have created the safest environment we can following all government guidance.”

Foundation Scotland distributes charitable funds on behalf of over 400 individuals, families, companies, public bodies and charitable trusts including this key partnership with NET. The foundation manages over 120 funding programmes and has distributed £100m to the third sector since its launch in 1996.

Helen Wray, Programme Manager at Foundation Scotland said: “We could see the impact that COVID was going to have and we knew we needed to move extremely quickly so that we could continue to deliver reliable financial support to groups delivering essential services across the country.

“Fortunately, our partnership with NET meant we were able to respond immediately and could open and offer new funding opportunities. At the same time, we have kept all of our other important funding streams open as normal.

“We are working relentlessly to get support to where it is needed most through this challenging time. Since April this year, we have assessed the same volume of applications as we did through the entirety of 2019.

We appreciate that funding is becoming harder to secure and demand for essential services is often higher than ever before. So we are delighted that due to an increase in funding from NET, we are able to continue to offer these essential awards to allow groups to apply for support where they need it most. We are however encouraging groups to apply as soon as they can.”

The Foundation Scotland Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund continues to offer grants of between £1,000-£5,000 to constituted community groups and registered charities.

The fund is currently in its ‘recovery’ phase supporting organisations to plan ahead, to continue their operations in the ‘new normal’, re-establish or re-design their activities to comply with new regulations.

Examples of projects include those needing support to restart face to face services, counselling groups helping those experiencing mental health issues, bereavement and domestic abuse support services and organisations needing to increase hygiene policies to safely reopen.

Foundation Scotland is eager to distribute funds quickly to communities in need and is appealing to eligible groups to apply quickly as they respond and recover from the crisis.

For more details, eligibility criteria and to apply online visit https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/

Royal approval for Scotland’s Response, Recovery and Resilience

It’s not every day our future king requests a personal call but that’s exactly what happened this week when the Duke of Cambridge, Patron of the National Emergencies Trust, contacted two projects who have received funding from The Foundation Scotland Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund in partnership with the National Emergencies Trust.

The Duke first spoke to Cor Hutton, Founder of Finding Your Feet, which is a Paisley-based charity that provides physical and emotional support to amputees and those with limb absence across Scotland.

A swift response from The Foundation Scotland Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund saw the organisation awarded £5,000 at the very beginning of the pandemic allowing them to adapt their services, providing online and telephone counselling, as well as online lockdown classes.

Next on the video call were PEEK Project, who have provided 123,000 nutritious meals since lockdown began to families requiring assistance in East Glasgow. The Duke got a peek into their food truck – called PEEKACHEW – where they are making around 300 meals a day.

A £5,000 grant from The Foundation Scotland Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund enabled PEEK to respond to demand for hygiene and wellbeing packs, such as sanitary products and soap which are being provided alongside the food deliveries.

Across Scotland all of NET’s Coronavirus Appeal funds are distributed by The Foundation Scotland Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund to small charities and grassroots groups that are delivering real results for the most vulnerable and affected during this crisis.

To date Foundation Scotland have supported 550 community projects with total funds in excess of £2m. Among the local projects to have benefited are SCRAN Academy and FSU Circle, who both received £5000, Ferrywell Youth Project (£2917) and Leith’s Greatway Foundation, who were awarded £4600.

Giles Ruck, Chief Executive of Foundation Scotland said: “We are delighted to see the real impact these funds are making in Scotland and to receive recognition directly from the Duke this week is wonderful.

“Foundation Scotland distributes dozens of funds from National Emergencies Trust every week and we’re privileged to be their sole partner in Scotland. We remain committed to supporting the ongoing needs of small charities and groups to help them adapt and recover to create more resilient communities across Scotland.”

To watch the interviews between the two organisations and the Duke of Cambridge please click here.

Foundation Scotland launched the Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund on Friday 27th March 2020 with funding from the National Emergencies Trust (NET). The overall aim of the Fund was to help those most affected by the recent coronavirus outbreak.

In order to quickly evaluate the initial impact of the RRR Fund, and understand the next set of challenges in the short, medium and longer-term, FS worked in partnership with Scottish Community Development Centre to survey the recipients of all funds distributed in the first 12 days. Within this time we distributed just over £1m in grants to 300 different projects.

The online survey went out to 291 recipients and was completed by 135. In addition, there was also a series of 31 telephone interviews with a cross-section of the grantees.

The high response to both the survey and interviews was very encouraging and shows how important this funding has been to the recipients and their commitment to continuing to support those people who are most vulnerable and at risk during the crisis and in the aftermath.

This report highlights what the key impacts of the funding are, and the main challenges that the grantees are now facing.

The review has set out a list of recommendations for Foundation Scotland (and other funders) to consider when developing and delivering future phases of the Fund. The report combines an overall analysis of the findings with illustrative examples, along with a set of key findings and recommendations for Foundation Scotland and their partners in the RRR Fund.

To read more, please choose from one of the following links:

To find out more about the RRR Fund, how to apply and where the funds have been distributed to date please click here

If you’d like to know more including how to apply for funds please visit our The Foundation Scotland Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund page.