Funding to support charities reducing welfare impact to continue

Charities from across Scotland have been granted additional funding to continue the delivery of projects which aim to reduce the impact of welfare cuts and poverty. SCVO, through the Community Capacity and Resilience Fund, has awarded £135,000 to 14 organisations to build on the success of their initial pilot work, which will see the organisations scaling up and consolidating their services. The £1.9 million Community Capacity and Resilience Fund was announced by the Scottish Government in February of last year. The successful organisations are - Art Angel, Centipede, Fife Arabic Society, Hillhouse, Lanarkshire Deaf Club, Midlothian Financial Inclusion Network, Minority Communities Addiction Support Services, Outside the Box Development Support Ltd, Senior Citizens Scotland, STRIDE, The Community Bureau, The Maxwelltown Information Centre, The Ridge (Scotland) CIC, and West Dunbartonshire Minority Ethnic Association. Since its launch in June 2015, the fund has made grants of £880,000 to third sector organisations throughout the length and breadth of Scotland who have been tackling the impact of welfare reform, poverty and social inequalities. Irene Connelly, Programme Development Manager at SCVO, said: “The Community Capacity and Resilience Fund clearly demonstrates that delivering funding directly to frontline organisations with unique insight into the needs of their communities has a huge impact on local areas. “We are delighted to continue to support these 14 organisations to build on their success and deepen their impact, which is beneficial to them when applying for more sustainable funding in future.” Applications to the fund from new projects are open now, full information can be found here. The fund is open to from Scottish third sector organisations, with an income of £250,000 or less. Awards range from £1,000 to £10,000, with the average award being £8,000. The Ridge, Dunbar, East Lothian The Ridge is a training social enterprise, with community cafe, garden and employability training provision. The organisation first received CCRF funding in January 2017 for an eight-month pilot of its Plenty project, which helps people move on from the indignity of dependency, equipping them to take more control in their lives, and giving them opportunities to contribute/give back, rather than simply being beneficiaries. Following the success of the pilot, The Ridge received further funding to up scale the project and deliver it for a year (Sep 2017 to Aug 2018). They have now been awarded funding to continue the delivery until September 2019. Director Kate Darrah said: “Being awarded continued funding is very important to us. We are collaborating with other agencies and try to work closely to ensure that all our projects are aligned. “The issues are not going to go away but we are attempting to mitigate them and helping people to budget so they can make better use of limited funds.” Hillhouse, Kilmarnock Hillhouse has been working for 41 years with young people and families who are experiencing financial hardship. Their 'Mother and Bairn's project provides boxes to vulnerable women going into hospital to have their baby, which include sanitary and clothing items for both mother and baby. CCRF funding enabled Hillhouse to pilot the ‘Mother and Bairns’ project in December 2017 for an eight month period, and following the success of the pilot they have now received further funding to up-scale the project and deliver it for a year, helping 250 women. Business Development Manager Sarah Hall said: “The Community Capacity and Resilience Fund has made a huge difference to us. Our first grant allowed us to provide mother and bairn boxes for some of the most vulnerable women in our area, including those who have problems with addiction, have escaped abusive relationships or those with mental health issues. Being awarded continued funding has meant that we can now support all new mums facing financial hardship in Ayrshire, ensuring that they can have the resources they need, regardless of their financial status. It helps to reduce stigma for those who have less, and helps them to maintain their dignity.”