Annual Overview 2021/ 2022

Chief Executive Introduction

2021 2022 was another year dominated by the impact of Covid-19 and the growing cost of living crisis. Despite these challenges, the commitment and response from Scotland’s third sector has been nothing short of inspirational. During this time, the focus for Inspiring Scotland was to be alongside our partner organisations, listening and responding to their needs in a flexible and responsive way, channelling support to build their strength, resilience, and reach.

We were pleased to be able to offer additional financial support to organisations, through new funding programmes and Covid-19 emergency funding. We developed more practical support to organisations, through organisational healthchecks, leadership and wellbeing focused programmes and by leveraging further support via our specialist volunteer network.

We have not done this work alone, we have continued to build partnerships and strengthen networks across all sectors.

A new partnership with The Distillers Charity brings new long term funding to the sector, dedicated to transforming the life chances of young people in Scotland. We have continued to partner with The Scottish Government on a range of strategic areas including equality and human rights and delivering equally safe.

But we must now be ready to address the longer term impact of Covid-19 and the growing cost of living crisis. Inequality is widening and challenges around poverty and mental and physical health are being exacerbated.

We have a new five year strategy, giving renewed focus and commitment to our vision that every person in Scotland is able to live a happy, healthy life free from poverty or disadvantage.

We will focus on:

-Improving the life chances for children and young people

-Supporting people to live flourishing lives

-Embedding the imperative of climate action into our work

-Continuing to challenging ourselves to develop, improve, and extend the ways we support the voluntary sector in Scotland

We know we can only do this by working across all sectors and we are committed to work together to drive social change and transform lives.

Thank you for being alongside us.

Our numbers in 2021/2022

19

Funding programmes managed

11

New funding programmes managed and launched

1,109

Applications assessed seeking £194.4m

£70m

Value of funds managed

£34m

Grants directly distributed

500

Organisations supported

Specialist Volunteer Network in 2021/2022

A network of volunteers ready to give their time and expertise to charities across Scotland

The Specialist Volunteer Network (SVN) is one of Inspiring Scotland’s unique offerings to the sector – providing free professional support to charities across the country.

With a network of over 500 Specialist Volunteers, Inspiring Scotland provides a free, personalised service to match the skills of a volunteer to the support needs of the charity, creating a relationship that is fruitful for all involved.

During the period Specialist Volunteers received over 500 requests for support from 200 organisations with 70 of those organisations not in receipt of Inspiring Scotland managed funds. A second corporate partnership was launched with Edinburgh-based global research and consultancy group, Wood Mackenzie with 21 employees signed up to support five charities.

In addition to individual SVN projects, mentoring relationships were formed and bespoke trustees training was offered. Specialist Volunteers delivered a wide range of training workshops on; Charity Accounts, Cost Benefit Analysis, Creating Outstanding Service User Experiences, Cyber Security, Excel, GDPR, Leadership, Overcoming Recruitment Challenges, Risk Management, Trading Models and Social Investment, and Wellbeing.

An overview of Specialist Volunteer activity

525

Specialist volunteers

2,000

Hours worth over £600k

210

Organisations supported

50

Organisation received bespoke trustee training

41

Trustees recruited

Funding Programmes in 2021/22

Overview of programmes delivered

Inspiring Scotland managed 19 different funding programmes, each focused on different areas of social impact but rooted to a strategic theme.

11 new programmes were launched in partnership with The Scottish Government and investors. These include: autism 2021, Creative Communities Phase 3, Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Small Grants Fund, Delivering Equally Safe, Equality and Human Rights Fund, Islands Communities Fund, Healthy Islands Fund, Rural Communities Ideas into Action Fund, Thrive (Community Outdoor Play), Urgent Response Fund (Survivors) and the Workforce Wellbeing Fund for Adult Social Work and Social Care.

We continued to partner with other independent investors to develop and manage a programme of grant giving through the Building Brighter Futures Fund on behalf of the Hub Community Foundation and developed a partnership with The Distiller’s Charity to launch the Youth Action Fund.

Our Future Now

Our Future Now builds on Inspiring Scotland’s track record in helping to reduce youth unemployment. Over the year the fund supported more young people than ever before, thanks to investment from both Scottish Government and private investors. The OFN portfolio of charities is supporting young people through Covid recovery and the cost-of-living crisis on a positive pathway to employment and a thriving life.

Grants made

£2.4m

Organisations

young people reached

6,388

CashBack for Communities

Inspiring Scotland is delivery partner for CashBack for Communities. The fifth phase of the programme funds 24 organisations to deliver diversionary work through to more in-depth support and intervention for young people and families. An independent evaluation published the lessons from CashBack for Communities delivery partners during the Covid 19 pandemic. Demonstrating the importance of ongoing youth, community development, creativity, physical activity, employability and justice-focused work to support young people to overcome the additional challenges presented by the pandemic..

Fund value

£6.5m

Organisations

People reached

21,000

Building Brigher Futures Fund

Since 2017 Inspiring Scotland has worked with Hub Community Foundation to fund mange and deliver Building Brighter Futures Fund (BBFF). Linking closely with other youth employability work, this fund invests in charities supporting young people to access opportunities to gain the skills and confidence to succeed through education, training and employment, throughout Scotland.

Grants made

£513K

Organisations

young people reached

657

Intandem

intandem supports mentoring for young people (8-14 years) who are care experienced and living at home. In 2022 Intandem marked its 5th birthday and renewed its commitment to support children, young people and families. Throughout the year intandem strengthened work to place young people’s voice at the heart of the program through Invoice forum. With funding from The Promise, a young person conducted a research project on ‘the support available to children and young people and their parents on a compulsory CSO’. Intandem also built on pilot activity supporting children and young people living in Kinship arrangements.

Grants made

£595K

Organisations

young people mentored

180

Youth Action Fund

Developed throughout 2022, by working with the Distillers’ Charity, the philanthropic arm of The Worshipful Company of Distillers, The Youth Action Fund has been co-designed, to make a positive impact on the lives of young people in their communities. Funding is raised by the proceeds raised from the Distillers’ Charity One of One auctions, the first of which took place on in December 2021, raising over £2m. Inspiring Scotland will work with the Distillers’ Charity by bringing together charities that provide young people with real opportunities to develop life skills, discover what they value and become work-ready.

Thrive Outdoors

Thrive Outdoors supports communities, charities, schools, outdoor organisations and public bodies to develop outdoor play and learning, sharing best practice and feeding into research to promote better understanding of the importance of outdoor play. During the year Thrive focused on The Active Play programme being delivered with Actify across Glasgow by 3 charities; PEEK; FARE; and The Jeely Piece Club. The Outdoor Community Play Fund supporting 25 charities to deliver free outdoor play sessions. Supporting local authorities Glasgow and social enterprises to develop and scale up outdoor nursery provision alongside supporting good practice to embed outdoor play-based childcare.

Grants made

£606K

Organisations

People reached

16,464

Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Fund

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health (PIMH) Fund was set up by the Scottish Government to support third sector services for new and expectant parents, carers and infants who are experiencing mental health issues in the perinatal period - during pregnancy, birth and up to three years of age. Inspiring Scotland work with the Scottish Government and the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board to deliver the programme. Following delays from COVID 19 in the first year of the fund, 2021 – 22 saw all services in full operation. In 2021 in addition to 16 organisations receiving main grants 16 organisations were funded through a small grants programme supporting grassroots organisations and funding vital core organisational costs.

Grants made

£900k

Organisations

People reached

2,552

Autism

Through the Increasing Understanding of Autism Programme, we are aiming to make Scotland a more accessible, inclusive and understanding place for autistic people to learn, work and live. The programme consists of a marketing campaign, managed by the Scottish Government, and under phase two, ten charities will receive funding. The programme is directed by autistic people’s lived experiences with the Autism Advisory Forum expanding from 50 to 150 autistic people in Scotland. During the year, 44 leaders within the autism & neurodiversity third sector were supported through two leadership courses: Inclusive Leaders & Wellbeing for Leadership.

Grants made

£246K

Organisations

People reached

3,000

Creative Communities

Creative Communities supports communities facing significant barriers engaging with culture. With funding from the Scottish Government’s Culture and Justice directorates Creative Communities has helped them improve their mental health, wellbeing and resilience since throughout COVID-19 when it was needed more than ever. An independent evaluation of the programme published in 2022 concluded that projects provided opportunities for people to engage in creative arts that they would not have otherwise.

Grants made

£1.1m

Organisations

People reached

6,564

Link Up

Link Up is a programme that supports local people to build flourishing communities. In 2022 the programme celebrated its 10 birthday with an event providing a chance for reflection on the fund’s impact having supported over 30,000 people to engage in activity across communities in Scotland. Link Up is now focused on its next phase of development - supporting Link Up to be fully owned and managed by local charities.

Grants made

£380K

Organisations

People reached

2,900

Inspiring Inclusion

Through the Inspiring Inclusion learning disabilities fund, we support a portfolio of charities with the ongoing delivery of national learning disability strategy – Towards Transformation Plan. This funding from Scottish Government is for organisational core costs which is critical to the effective operation of these charities. Inspiring Scotland supports the organisations and stakeholders to implement their expansion plans and reach across Scotland. The fund management support consists of monthly learning sessions, individual business and strategic development support and an active communications support programme.

Grants made

£527K

Organisations

People reached

5, 690

Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund

The Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund supports the recovery and resilience of adult survivors of childhood abuse by enhancing capacity and capability of organisations providing provide dedicated support. Building leadership capacity in the sector is an essential part of the fund, and 40 current and future leaders of organisations took part in the Inclusive Leaders programme, supporting their leadership journey and develop their skills.

Managed grants distributed

£2.4m

Additional grants made

£101k

Organisations

People reached

5,152

Support in the Right Direction

Inspiring Scotland is the Scottish Government’s delivery partner for the Support in the Right Direction programme. The aim of SiRD is to increase the delivery of independent support for people who require social care. 31 projects across 31 local authority areas in Scotland are delivering independent support to people and carers accessing social care, and to support them to exercise this choice and control. In February 2021, the report of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland was published. The report refers to the value of independent support and advocacy which SiRD projects, and others provide.

Grants made

£2.6m

Organisations

People reached

4,000

Equality & Human Rights

The Scottish Government’s Equality and Human Rights Fund is a strategic programme funding national and local partners to embed equality and advance the realisation of human rights in Scotland. 48 groups have been funded since October 2021 to deliver a broad range of activity including services for people who share protected characteristics that tackle inequality and discrimination, as well as capacity building for organisations to mainstream equality provision, and strategic work for local and national policy makers.

Grants made

£5.2m

Organisations

112

People reached

49,000

Delivering Equally Safe

Delivering Equally Safe is a Scottish Government programme that supports third sector and public bodies to contribute to the outcomes of Scotland’s Equally Safe strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls. Since October 2021, 112 organisations have been funded for a combination of project and core work to support survivors of gender-based violence, as deliver a range of prevention work, including campaigning, training, awareness raising, research and informing policy development.

Grants made

£13m

Organisations

People reached

19,000

Workforce Wellbeing Fund for Adult Social Work and Social Care

Launched in January 2022, the £1million Workforce Wellbeing Fund is focused on improving the wellbeing of staff working in adult social work and social care across public, private and voluntary sectors. Inspiring Scotland managed fund and the applications which opened in February 2022.

Rural Communities Ideas into Action

Rural Communities Ideas into Action (RCIA) was a £1.8 million investment from the Scottish Government to test future approaches to Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) in rural and island communities in Scotland over 2021-22. It enabled rural groups to try new approaches to genuine community development: tackling local challenges and creating viable and resilient communities. 120 projects supporting 389 community groups in 26 local authority areas were supported in the funding round. Inspiring Scotland has continued to work with the Scottish Government to develop support for rural groups and investment in this area.

Grants made

£1.7m

Organisations

120

Island Communities fund

As part of the Scottish Government’s National Island Plan commitment, Inspiring Scotland managed the one year Island Communities Fund, assessing 180 applications requesting over £160M. 35 projects received investment; from electric vehicles to projects supporting locally grown food and drink to textiles sourced and produced on islands all focused on supporting employment and community resilience through activities that deliver green economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grants made

£2.4m

Organisations

Healthy Islands Fund

The Healthy Islands Fund (HIF) was a £1.3 million investment from the Scottish Government as part the National Island Plan to improve and promote health, social care and wellbeing for Scottish island communities. The one year fund opened in August 2021 and assessed 96 applications requesting £2.5m. 56 community-led initiatives that promoted healthier lifestyles on the islands received funding and support.

Grants made

£1.3m

Organisations

Highlights from the year

A new partnership: Youth Action Fund

In 2021, Inspiring Scotland began working with the Distillers’ Charity and developed the Youth Action Fund to to make a tangible, long-term impact on the lives of young people across Scotland.

The role of Specialist Volunteering

For a charitable organisation, having access to a broad range of professional skills can be challenging when resources are already stretched. Whether seeking IT or marketing expertise, financial or legal advice, a trusteeship or practical help, Inspiring Scotland’s Specialist Volunteer Network (SVN) can step in. Elaine Crichton and Tommy Seymour share their highlights from the year.

Participation and involvement: listening to those with direct experience

Over the year Inspiring Scotland has been supporting the development of services and programmes that are directed by individuals and where people have a respected and equal voice in decisions that affect them. This can include choices about care, health services and employment opportunities.

10 ‘Beautifully Ambitious’ Years of Link Up

Andrew Magowan, Link Up Programme Manager shared his reflections on Inspiring Scotland’s Link Up Programme turning 10 in March 2022.

Celebrating 5 years of intandem

Inspiring Scotland’s Head of Development and Partnership, Julia Abel, reflected on the impact of intandem mentoring as the programme celebrated its fifth birthday at the end of 2021.

Thank you

Thank you to all the supporters who make our work possible.

Our investors, who include individuals, business leaders, companies, trusts and foundations and Scottish Government, for the vital financial investment which enables life-changing work to happen.

Specialist volunteers from across Scotland’s business community for giving their time, energy and expertise to support organisations to improve and increase their impact.

Thank you to the leaders and staff in in the organisations we work with, passionate and unwavering in your commitment to be there and support people and communities across Scotland.

Thank you for being with us and for helping more people across Scotland to have happy, healthy lives free from poverty or disadvantage.

Contact us

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