Foundation Scotland

Charity Detectives strike again... The Revitalising Trusts project, a collaboration between The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and Foundation Scotland, has so far released over £5 million of dormant funds for public benefit since the project launched in 2021.  Scotland is well-known as being a nation of givers. Across generations families, individuals and businesses the length and breadth of the country have set up charitable trusts for the benefit of others. Donors often choose causes which they are connected to, are concerned or passionate about. However, for many different reasons a trust can become inactive, meaning that funds effectively lie dormant rather than delivering charitable benefit as intended. It can be difficult to recruit new trustees, find time to run the charity or as times change, it can be impossible to identify beneficiaries befitting the original deeds of the trust. The Revitalising Trusts project has to date identified over 300 inactive charitable trusts of varying sizes and purposes, with forgotten funds often lying dormant in accounts for several decades and in some cases well over a century. Read more about the crack team, tracking down Scotland's missing millions. https://lnkd.in/gx2ushca

Charity Detectives strike again... The Revitalising Trusts project, a collaboration between The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and Foundation Scotland, has so far released over £5 million of dormant funds for public benefit since the project launched in 2021.  Scotland is well-known as being a nation of givers. Across generations families, individuals and businesses the length and breadth of the country have set up charitable trusts for the benefit of others. Donors often choose causes which they are connected to, are concerned or passionate about. However, for many different reasons a trust can become inactive, meaning that funds effectively lie dormant rather than delivering charitable benefit as intended. It can be difficult to recruit new trustees, find time to run the charity or as times change, it can be impossible to identify beneficiaries befitting the original deeds of the trust. The Revitalising Trusts project has to date identified over 300 inactive charitable trusts of varying sizes and purposes, with forgotten funds often lying dormant in accounts for several decades and in some cases well over a century. Read more about the crack team, tracking down Scotland's missing millions. https://lnkd.in/gx2ushca

We're hiring.... We have three really interesting opportunities to join our Foundation Scotland team: Participation Lead with the extraordinary Edinburgh Regenerative Futures Fund; Community Funds Manager within our Communities Team; and a brand new, exciting post as Local Place Co-ordinator in East Lammermuir, also in our Communities Team. We're a pretty unique organisation and a brilliant team so why not think about joining us. You can read more about all three roles here: https://lnkd.in/estffYSu

The Burnhead Community Benefit Fund, linked to our Burnhead wind farm in Falkirk, has helped a local community group triple the number of households it can support with food and other essentials. Martha's Pantry, a community-led initiative, received a start-up grant from the Burnhead Community Benefit Fund, which enabled it to buy essential equipment and initial food stocks, and increase its operations. From an initial 30 families, Martha's Pantry now serves over 100 households a week. Local residents can buy a range of food items, toiletries, and household goods for a nominal £2 fee. The team has also started offering cooking demonstrations too, helping locals to develop valuable life skills. Read more at https://lnkd.in/ePQ_qchU Foundation Scotland #AcceleratingCleanEnergy #CommunityBenefitFund #CostOfLivingCrisis

We're hiring.... We have three really interesting opportunities to join our Foundation Scotland team - Senior Social Investment Executive, Design and Communications Manager (both closing at 5pm on Friday) and a Grants Officer with our Philanthropy team (closing 31st October). We're a pretty unique organisation and a brilliant team so why not think about joining us. You can read more about all three roles here: https://lnkd.in/estffYSu

Are you highly skilled in both comms and design? If you work in comms, you'll know that, often, the skillset required as a professional is enormously broad. Some of those skills you may have gained through education, learning or advanced courses, and others on the job. Foundation Scotland is currently recruiting for a Design and Communications Manager. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in traditional comms (web, socials, copy writing, press - you know the drill) and also in design, from publications and social media assets to stop motion graphics, video editing and branding (amongst many other things). If you are interested, you can read a full job description here: https://lnkd.in/estffYSu

Foundation Scotland has a new Chair Today we are warmly welcoming a new Chair at Foundation Scotland, following the departure of Barry Sillers after eight dedicated years serving on the Board. Mamta Patel has been a Trustee of Foundation Scotland for three years and has extensive professional and personal experience which she will bring to her new role. “I was honoured to be asked to take on the role of Chair of Foundation Scotland. Barry has done an immense amount of work in the role, working alongside trustees and staff to ensure that Foundation Scotland is always evolving and responding to community needs, and I know that he will be missed, both professionally and personally. “The Chair role brings new responsibilities and I am conscious of the trust being placed in me to do the job well. In the three years I have been a Trustee, I have come to look forward to my interactions with Foundation Scotland’s Board and staff because I know I will meet dynamic, committed people intent on doing their best for Scottish communities.” We are also welcoming five new fantastic Trustees to our Board. Between them, they have an enormous amount of talent and experience and we’re very much looking forward to their input and guidance. They are Deborah Paton, Susan Murray, Carlos Miranda, Mairi Mickel and Kim Atkinson.  We’ll be introducing them all properly very soon. 

Join us at our FREE Trustees’ Week 2024 conference in Edinburgh on November 5. We’ll be bringing together trustees and charity and governance expert speakers to celebrate the work trustees do and share all of our experience and knowledge. https://buff.ly/47BqLT0 @ACOSVO

Good timing to read Foundation Scotland's recent case study on the Highland and Islands Climate Hub after a weekend in Skye and the surrounding areas, where I spotted a number of community climate initiatives, including Hamish Macbus the community electric minibus! The Highlands and Islands Climate Hub takes a holistic approach to climate action. Rather than treating climate initiatives as isolated projects, the Hub integrates these efforts into broader community development strategies. https://lnkd.in/eAM4Y9ST

Transformational role ahoy!