Fundraising for our Support Services

Our support services are funded in the main through trusts and grants. We are aware that this funding stream has become more competitive in recent years and we have been trying to spread the risk by developing new ways of raising funds to pay for crucial support for our children and families.

The Good News – Fundraising Success

We are very grateful to the Scottish Government who have agreed payment through Corra of funding to deliver the Bluebird project for a fourth year. This vital funding supports parents who have lost permanent care of at least one child. In addition, we’ve been awarded funding from the National Lottery Awards For All Scotland fund which will allow us to continue to provide our Flock service for parents and children.

We were also delighted to receive funding from The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland through their Young Start programme. This funding helps build on our learning from the Our Rights, Our Voice, Our Arts Programme and provides group work opportunities for children and young people which provides them with opportunities to learn new skills and to gain recognised achievement awards.

The National Lottery has also generously agreed to fund some of our therapy and support services through their fairer life chances fund.

We are also in the final year of funding from the Robertson Trust and Henry Smith Fund which is paying for many of our support services and groupwork programmes.

With some of our main funding sources concluding at the end of the year we have been developing new programs to raise funds. Below are some ways that you could get involved.

So, how you can help?

Host a Fundraiser

Would you be willing to fundraise for us? In the post we’ve kindly had people from our community run marathons, walk the KiltWalk, undertake bake sales among other things! If this sounds like something you could do, drop Tina an email at tina@scottishadoptionandfostering.org for a fundraising pack or to get answers to any questions you may have.

Optional Payments – A New Way to Support Our Service (If You Can)

We wanted to share something new we’ve been working on and to reassure you about what it means (and what it doesn’t mean).

As a charity, we’re always looking for ways to keep our support services (therapy, counselling, workshops, etc.) available to everyone who needs them, now and in the future. One of the ways we’re doing that is by introducing a completely optional contribution scheme.

Here’s the most important thing to know:

Our support remains free and open to our children and families.

Nothing about the care someone receives will change based on whether they contribute or not. In fact, our therapists won’t even know if someone has chosen to give.

So what’s changing?

We’ll be gently inviting people to contribute towards the cost of their support if they feel able to.

Some people might give a little, some might give more, and some won’t be able to give anything at all and that’s okay. £0 is, and always will be, a valid choice.

It’s all about “pay what you can, if you can” no pressure, no judgement, and no expectations.

Why are we doing this?

As a charity we have to fundraise for pay for our support service. Traditionally funding has come mostly from trusts and grants. As this funding stream has become more competitive we have been exploring other ways to cover costs. By inviting voluntary contributions, we’re creating a way for those who can help sustain the service for everyone.

It’s built on trust

This approach is rooted in the same values that guide all of our work:

• Support is a right, not something you earn
• There’s no assessment of what someone “should” pay
• No one is treated differently based on financial contribution
• And no one is ever asked to explain their situation

Pilot First

In the first instance we will run a pilot and as part of that we will be checking in with people accessing our support services in the coming months to make sure that this change in practice is not placing barriers in the way of our children and families getting the help they deserve.

We will be sharing more details shortly.