Funding through a crisis
Foundation Scotland had been in discussions with the National Emergencies Trust (NET) since 2019. NET recognised how well placed we were to help Scottish communities should any national emergencies trigger a national fundraising response. Planning had been around establishing a ‘NET Scotland’ to assist in the event of floods or terrorist incidents. We certainly didn’t expect our first response with NET to be a global pandemic.
As the coronavirus pandemic spread rapidly across Europe, we all watched the situation very closely. By March it was clear we needed to start distributing funds to those most in need of help across Scotland. Within days, we had developed a brand new fund, the Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund, opened it up to applicants and awarded our first grants on 27th March. We were the first funder in Scotland to make crisis support available; we even re-designed our application and payment processes to ensure community groups had their funds within a 72-hour window.
The next few weeks clearly illustrated the considerable rise in demand for emergency funding. From food bank supplies to laptops enabling groups to work remotely, we’d distributed £1 million in the first 12 days. Our fund offered grants between £1,000 and £5,000 to community groups and charities in every local authority across Scotland. Priority was given to groups with a low annual income to ensure support was delivered locally, at a grassroots level.
As some of the lockdown restrictions were lifted in the summer, we moved to our Recovery phase in August. Funding focussed more on enabling organisations to continue their operations in the ‘new normal’, and to re-establish or re-design their activities to comply with new regulations. However, as we approached the winter, and tighter restrictions returned, we needed to reprioritise again. Whilst the need for emergency support was still available, we began encouraging organisations to seek funding to help them be more sustainable in 2021 and beyond. With the situation worsening again, we knew short term projects could only be a temporary fix on a long road to recovery.
Whilst we worked hard to distribute the funds, NET were exceptionally busy making sure funds were continually available. From national fundraising campaigns to high profile corporate partners, NET could focus on generating funds whilst we took care of all the grantmaking. Locally and nationally, our fund received a high level of media interest and attracted several other Scottish donors who also wished to support. These included Scottish Gas Networks, Rockstar and Queensberry Trust plus donations from some of the Foundation’s regular donors.
The National Emergencies Trust was set up to do the best by the people when the worst happens - whoever and wherever they are. By offering truly national coverage and a strong commitment to equity, Foundation Scotland has enabled us to make good on that founding ambition. Thanks to their efforts, thousands of grassroots charities across Scotland have transformed Coronavirus Appeal donations into difference in their communities.
Mhairi Sharp, NET Chief Executive
The scale and urgency of the pandemic presented us with a unique funding challenge. Being flexible and adapting to the continually changing needs was critical for this fund. With our local knowledge and extensive grantmaking, experience NET chose us as their partner in Scotland, knowing we could efficiently distribute the funds to make a positive difference in our communities.
By the end of 2020, the fund had distributed £6.5 million through more than 1200 grants to organisations right across Scotland. To date, this has supported more than 1 million people in our communities.
For more information on the fund, visit the fund page.