National Carers Week: raising awareness of hidden carers is more important than ever
Inspiring Scotland supports East Ayrshire Carers Centre (EACC) to work with young people with a caring role at home. This guest blog is from EACC Co-Chief Executive Officer Fiona Robson.
It’s National Carers Week, and the theme this year is to “Make Carers Visible”. The irony of our current situation is not lost on us – but it is perhaps more important now than ever before to raise as much awareness as possible about hidden carers and helping people self-identify so that they can be supported.
It’s going to be a very different Carers Week for us all this year. As we can’t see our lovely carers face to face, we are currently preparing care and fun packages for our young carers and packages for our adult carers to enjoy during Carers Week.
We know from our wellbeing calls every week that unpaid carers are generally feeling more isolated and are feeling the financial strain of lockdown. They are worried about the mental health of the people they care for and are struggling with their own mental health too.
Where some carers had been fairly positive and sure about what has expected of them in the fight against the pandemic, some are confused about what they can and can’t do with regards to matters such as leaving the house.
Young Carers are missing their peers and, in many cases, have taken on lots of extra responsibilities, especially for younger siblings. Lots of them are terrified that the person they care for will catch coronavirus and die. They are missing their school friends too, and of course are missing attending young carers groups.
Fiona with EACC Young Carers Natasha and Isla, pictured on a pre-lockdown trip to Edinburgh.
Our employability service is having to adapt as a lot of the young people we support have been furloughed or just let go, and where they had meaningful volunteer opportunities and work experience placements, they have now lost this too. We are concentrating on keeping them motivated and positive and have purchased online training and to help them increase their skills.
We are busier than we have ever been – making hundreds of phone calls every week to carers and offering information, support, and advice. We are completing benefit forms and helping with housing, blue badge applications, fuel poverty, and accessing external funds for carers and their families.
We are completing wellbeing phone calls and offering emotional as well as practical support. We are signposting to various community groups for vulnerable and shielding people, directing those carers who are able to support their own shopping and deliveries rather than rely on community groups they may not need.
The most challenging part of all this is helping people understand that they are ‘unpaid carers’. They just get on and do it, but it means they don’t always seek support or understand what their legal entitlements are. By making hidden carers more visible, we can help them live a life alongside their caring role. That’s why it’s massively important that we continue to raise awareness through initiatives such as National Carers Week, even if things are very different for all of us this year.
EACC provide holistic, personalised support that ensures that a young person can manage their caring role whilst fulfilling their potential. Young Carers do not have the freedom that most young people take for granted and their education and future opportunities can be affected. The social enterprise activity provides supported employment opportunities and the highly skilled staff are a consistent source of support to young people as they navigate their future and earn their own income. Support is long term, intensive and holistic based on the individual circumstances of each young carer.
Scottish Tech Army: free digital help & advice during COVID-19
Entrepreneur Peter Jaco, co-founder of the Scottish Tech Army explains how his volunteer force of technologist can help charities and public sector organisations with any coronavirus-related challenges they might be facing – free of charge.
When Alistair Forbes and I launched the Scottish Tech Army (STA) on 28 April, we had no idea it would grow so big or so fast. We now have a rapid response army of over 700 highly skilled furloughed or out of work technologists who have volunteered their time to support charities, local authorities, and the Scottish Government. Many of these organisations are facing a number of technological problems during these challenging times, and the STA can help.
As a not for profit company, STA wanted to harness the world-class tech skills we have in Scotland to support people and organisations in the front line of fighting the coronavirus. For instance, many charities might have furloughed their technical staff or have problems accessing databases or communicating with donors and the people that benefit from their services. The STA can give these organisations the resources and skills they need now, as well as during the post-pandemic economic recovery.
So, if you are working for an organisation that needs some digital or technological help, the STA would love to hear from you. We have a very easy process: just get in touch via our website to tell us more about your project. We will then arrange for one of our business analysts to call you back for more details to see if it is an appropriate project for them. If we both agree to go ahead, STA will put together a team of technologists to help you build your project.
The STA have already got over 25 projects up and running both for Scottish charities and central Government. For instance, we are helping small businesses and charities to get online so they can keep trading during this period. We are looking at building apps that can help volunteers deliver services to the vulnerable, and we are supporting Argyll and Bute Council on a tourism project.
Another example is Get2gether, a charity that arranges safe-environment social activities for disabled people in Edinburgh and Lothians. They had problems with their website, which STA volunteers were able to sort out for them. Get2gether events co-ordinator Mojca Becaj said:
“Wow, I am impressed. These STA guys are magicians, they fixed our website overnight and offered to help with any other tech problems we might have.”
If you are a technologist reading this and want to volunteer your skills, we would welcome your help.
For many people in the STA who have offered to volunteer, these projects are giving them a sense of purpose and achievement in these challenging times. We want to help STA volunteers to keep their skills fresh while developing new ones and build a network of like-minded people across Scotland.
Our aim is to help Scottish organisations that have been hit by coronavirus technology challenges while also helping the many STA volunteers return to the workforce as soon as possible.
We know that sometimes technology can be a bit daunting, but we’re a friendly bunch and are very happy to have a chat with you. So, if you need help, get in touch with us.
To find out more about how the STA can help with your project or how to volunteer for the Tech Army, go to www.scottishtecharmy.org
How your professional expertise can make a difference
Did you know that Inspiring Scotland’s specialist volunteer opportunities enable you to use your skills and expertise for the greater good? Specialist Volunteer Executive Elaine Crichton explains how you can make a difference.
Traditional volunteering roles aren’t for everyone – whilst many of us want to share our time and skills with charities and other organisations, sometimes it’s hard to make a long-term commitment. That’s where specialist volunteering (or pro bono) projects can come into play. Pro-bono work has long been the norm within the legal world, and the rise of venture philanthropy (concept) is making it an increasingly popular way for other professionals to donate their time and knowledge to organisations that need it.
Expert input
Founded in 2008, Inspiring Scotland pioneered venture philanthropy in Scotland. Applying the principals of venture capitalism to the voluntary sector, they work with organisations that work with disadvantaged people and communities, to help them make a difference. But it’s not just about investing money, as Inspiring Scotland’s Specialist Volunteer Executive, Elaine Crichton explained to members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales at their 2019 Festive Networking event.
It’s a rewarding role, explains Elaine: “My background is financial services managing large pension funds. I’ve only been in the charity sector for four years, but I have more “high five” days now than I ever did before – delivering specialist volunteering services to charities is immensely rewarding and fulfilling. I truly love my job!”
In her talk, Elaine highlighted the fact that charities and organisations often need expert advice or guidance which generally they are not able to secure on a commercial footing due to operating on very tight budgets. Inspiring Scotland have a pool of expert professional volunteers – which includes photographers, business managers and, of course, accountancy professionals – who are willing to share their knowledge to help Scotland’s charities overcome problems.
Making a difference
This is often done on a project-by-project basis, with volunteers helping solve a specific problem or work on a certain task. For example, financial professionals involved in the scheme have helped a charity review its financial policies and processes, and create a new process to help protect them against fraud; completed an annual report and accounts for a new charity, and given the advice and support they needed to be able to prepare such documents themselves in future; and provided advice on issues such as VAT.
As Elaine discussed during her talk to members, Inspiring Scotland are always keen to connect with new experts who are willing to share their time and knowledge.
This blog by Jane Walker first appeared on icaew.com. Reproduced with kind permission.
Celia Tennant thanks intandem charities and volunteers.
Inspiring Scotland recently commissioned Blake Stevenson to carry out an Independent Evaluation of our intandem programme. Established to support children and young people who are looked after at home, intandem provides them with a mentor they meet once a week, with whom they can have a positive and trusting relationship free from some of the pressures that life has thrown at them.
I am pleased to say that the report is overwhelmingly positive. It is clear that intandem is making a real difference to children and young people who are looked after at home by boosting their confidence, self-esteem, helping to re-engage them with education and getting them out and about in the community.
The feedback from children and young people, their families, and our volunteer mentors is excellent and demonstrates how important it is for all young people to have a strong and positive adult relationship.
53% of young people (mentees) said that their confidence had increased, 62% said that their self-esteem had improved, and 64% said that they had made more friends thanks to mentoring. J, one of the children who has had an intandem mentor since October 2017 said: “Instead of having something heavy on ma shoulders, ah can talk to someone about it”.
And the programme is proving beneficial for volunteers, too. 61% said mentoring gave them a sense of achievement, and 71% say they’ve learned new skills – skills that will prove invaluable for their career development. One mentor said: “mentoring has been amazing and helped me get the job I am in now”.
The evaluation also highlights the benefits for charities of our portfolio approach. The charities we support in intandem have been able to learn from our team and one another and have invested their learning to improve and increase the capacity of the services they offer to children, young people and families.
Looking forward, we’re keen to see intandem evolve and develop, thereby improving the lives of even more children looked after at home. Blake Stevenson has provided valuable feedback, and part of that feedback includes recommendations for how to improve the service in future, such as expanding the programme to children and young people in kinship care and extending intandem into new geographical areas. These are things for us to keep in mind, and I hope that soon we will be able to deliver on those recommendations.
For now, we are delighted to have proof of the difference intandem is making to the lives of children and young people looked after at home. The hard work and dedication of our partner charities, and especially the volunteer mentors who give up their time to support a young person, is really changing lives for the better. For all your unwavering commitment, I extend my appreciation and gratitude.
Celia.
Financial pro bono support: three case studies.
Case study one – Financial process review.
A fraudulent email was sent to a staff member at a charity that claimed to come from the chief executive, asking for a transfer of £28,000 to be made with immediate effect. As the staff member was new, alarm bells were not triggered until after the transfer had been made.
The pro bono request was for a review of the charity’s financial processes and policies. This came from the charity’s board of trustees. The pro bono supporter initially directed the charity to the Bank of Scotland website which posts regular updates on the latest fraudulent activity and hosts regular webinars. The pro bono supporter then carried out a risk review, which involved visiting the charity and talking to key staff members to establish what the existing processes were. The pro bono supporter collated this information into a short report detailing both the existing procedures and suggested areas where controls could be tightened. This covered donations, cash and cheque handling, bank account reconciliation with SAGE, expenses, and payroll. This report was then presented to the chief executive of the charity and the board.
As a result, this report is now part of the charity’s staff induction process and it has informed areas of the charity’s risk report which is reviewed regularly by the board. An invaluable pro bono contribution to this charity that clearly strengthened its governance, prosperity and sustainability.
The charity recovered £20,000 of the £28,000 they lost, but this was due to actions from their bank and not those of the pro bono supporter.
Case study two – Completion of annual reports and accounts for a small charity.
A newly registered charity panicked when asked to submit their first set of accounts to OSCR, the Scottish charity regulator. The pro bono request was to produce these accounts for them. As the charity was small and the operations very straight forward this was a relatively easy pro bono request.
The pro bono supporter looked at the OSCR website for available templates and sample reports and then visited the charity. The charity provided the pro bono supporter with the relevant financial information – primarily their bank transactions – and they completed the accounts. The accounts were returned to the charity with a template for the annual report and were signed off by the charity’s Senior Management Team before being sent to OSCR.
The charity originally thought they could go through this process themselves as it is relatively simple, but they lacked the confidence to do it. The pro bono supporter reassured them, got their accounts submitted, and gave them the necessary tools to enable them to post their own accounts in future.
Case study three – VAT Capital Goods Scheme.
More specialised VAT advice was requested from a charity embarking on an extension to their existing building. The request was for guidance around the rules on the Capital Goods Scheme and the specific record-keeping required.
The pro bono supporter advised the charity via a detailed email and a conference call; the email gave precise guidance on what was required and committed to follow up on any additional requirements under the new “Making Tax Digital” rules.
The pro bono support offered to the charity was invaluable, not only in terms of length of time spent by the pro bono supporters but by the simplification of complex issues for them.
We owe it to our young people to build a better Scotland.
Inspiring Scotland Chief Executive Celia Tennant explains the motivation behind Our Future Now.
Scotland’s future belongs to its young people. Today’s school children will be the community leaders, business people, teachers, politicians, entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow.
But far too many young people are at risk of being excluded from that future because of circumstances beyond their control.
Intergenerational poverty, the challenges of mental health, caring responsibilities and difficult family circumstances limit their opportunities and stifle their ambitions.
We need to reach those young people who need our support the most. We need to help them gain confidence, build resilience and learn skills so that the challenges they face can be overcome and their desire to succeed awakened.
We are committed to helping these young people. We will work with the local, trusted charities that we know support each and every young person in the way that works best for them. We will work with charities that we know will unlock young people’s skills, talents and aspirations. The charities that will help them to better engage with education, train for their future, and gain the sustainable jobs and careers they deserve.
If we want a positive future for Scotland, where all our young people contribute to a flourishing and sustainable economy and a supportive and inclusive society, this is not a choice.
By helping those at the greatest disadvantage, we can support an entire generation to thrive and – together – build a better Scotland for all of us.
Celia Tennant
Chief Executive
Celia Tennant writes about our obligations to young people for Holyrood magazine
Scotland does not belong to you. It does not belong to me. It doesn’t belong to politicians, public servants, business leaders or entrepreneurs.
Scotland belongs to our young people, our children and their children yet to come.
We are just caretakers. It is our job to build a country, and a society, our children and young people deserve.
That means a society that is fair and equal, where poverty is an anomaly not an inevitability. It means an economy that works for everyone, in which people’s ambitions are matched by opportunity and reward.
The Scotland we return to our children must look back at sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia as embarrassments of the past. We must create a society that values everyone as human beings, recognising and respecting them for their skills, talents and aspirations.
The communities our children grow up in must be safe and loving, where everyone’s voices are heard and listened to. Where shaping the future is everyone’s business.
But these things are not plans for the future. If we want to build this society, we need to do it now. And we need to start with those most in need. By helping those at the greatest disadvantage, we can build a better Scotland for all of us.
We need to support our young people to gain confidence, build resilience and learn skills today so that the challenges they face to do not persist tomorrow. We need to support our youngest children to grow, learn and develop in a way which ensures their health and wellbeing, opens up their minds to learning and gives them joy.
We have an opportunity – all of us, charities, businesses, government and communities – to build this Scotland today.
In many areas we are well on our way, but with uncertainty swirling around us, we must not stop now. We owe it to our children.
This piece appeared in Holyrood magazine on January 19th 2019
Building Collaboration Fund
[THIS FUND HAS NOW CLOSED]
We are excited to be managing the assessment of applications to a new £100,000 ‘Building Collaboration Fund’. Applications open on 4th February 2019, with grants of up to £25,000 available for groups of third sector partners working in collaboration, to improve the social care they provide.
The Fund is a joint initiative of the Coalition of Care and support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) and Scottish Government to support the development of collaborations in the social care sector. It is recognised that effective collaboration helps social care organisations provide better care and support. This is because when groups of organisations come together to improve their offering to the people they collectively serve, those services tend to be more personalised.
The fund is an important learning programme. In addition to grant funding, successful applicants will participate in a series of workshops. The workshops will look at how to overcome some of the barriers and challenges they may face as they collaborate. Knowledge from the different collaborative models and approaches will then be shared, to help inform future collaborations in social care.
All interested applicants can speak with CCPS before they apply. See http://www.ccpscotland.org/hot-topics/collaboration/building-collaboration-fund/ for more information– or contact Emma or Dee to discuss your idea. Dee.Fraser@ccpscotland.org. Emma.Donnelly@ccpscotland.org – (0131) 475 2676.
Applications must be submitted to us online http://sgiz.mobi/s3/Building-Collaboration-Fund-application-form-v2 by 5pm 18th March 2019.
An Inspiring Partnership: Venture Trust and Inspiring Scotland
This is a guest post written by a member of staff at Venture Trust
It’s the small things that really matter… relationships forged through a shared endeavour to help young people transform their lives for the long term.
For the past 10 years, Inspiring Scotland and Venture Trust have been working together to change the lives of some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged young people.
This partnership has supported those struggling with many and complex issues, outside mainstream support and unemployed, or who may have never been in employment. The focus is on an individual’s strengths, equipping them with essential life-skills and building confidence. By tackling a cycle of harm and inequality, vulnerable young people can move away from the margins of society to fulfil their potential.
In the last 10 years of delivering the Inspiring Young Futures programme, Venture Trust has received 2355 referrals, engaged 2115, and supported 1093 young people to achieve a first positive destination of education, training, volunteering or employment.
Venture Trust CEO Amelia Morgan says Inspiring Scotland has enabled the organisation to ensure its work is focused, targeted and impactful.
“Pro bono support and a dedicated team within Inspiring Scot
land connecting us with experts – willing and able to help us understand our organisation better and become more effective. Venture Trust has benefited hugely from a whole range of support from business continuity and IT security, to programme development and business development.
A Performance Advisor has guided us, supported us and challenged us to be bold and to focus on driving impact in our work. It’s not always easy but the honesty makes us better and for that we are very grateful. Being part of a wider family of charities has offered collective insight and voice to the issues facing young people and what we can do to support those struggling most.”
The partnership has given Venture Trust credibility and visibility with other stakeholders. This has led to being able to leverage additional investment – on top of Inspiring Scotland’s £5m the organisation has raised £5m in matched funds.
Being part of the Inspiring Scotland 10-year story means being part of a story where more young people have greater confidence, are clearer and more optimistic about their future, know how to ask for help and have a greater sense of wellbeing and the ability to build positive relationships with themselves and others around them.
Navigating all the challenges in life is not easy, so the focus continues to be on how needs drive behaviours and choices and in supporting young people to overcome setbacks. This can take time; helping young people to build the right foundations and protective factors to succeed for the rest of their lives. Where someone grows up, their family background or previous negative and damaging experiences – does not have to define them.
Looking ahead, there is still much to do, Amelia says.
“There are still 4,000 16-24 year olds unemployed for 12 months or more in Scotland*. They are missing from the workplace and all that potential is yet unrealised. The legacy of the 14-19 Fund is that together we support our young people, we highlight the challenges they face and empower them to share their experiences and together we tackle the inequality and adversity to break the cycle for others. But mostly we focus on greater compassion, opportunity and enabling everyone to see their potential.”
Read how Cassie is realising her potential with support from Venture Trust and Inspiring Scotland.
* Scottish Government, Office of the Chief Economic Advisor.
It’s good business sense for charities to be sustainable
MENTION the word “charity” to most people and they’ll immediately think of the grey-haired old lady with the sweet smile standing behind the second-hand shop counter. Yet today’s charities rarely fit into that and clichéd image; the third sector is big business in Scotland, employing more than 100,000 workers and turning over £5.8 billion last year.
Charities deliver essential services, which is why it’s so important that society supports its charities and not just by putting our hands in our pockets to make donations. Equally important is the sustainability of charities as professional organisations, whether through improved financial management, strategic goal-setting or worker policies and protections.
This is at the heart of work by Inspiring Scotland, set up in 2008 to tackle the issues that cause poverty in Scotland. As well as managing £140 million of funds, Inspiring Scotland is a pioneer of “venture philanthropy”: in the same way venture capitalists play an active role in the management of the companies in which we invest, so venture philanthropy provides hands-on support to the charities we support.
Many of Inspiring’s advisers come from a financial services background or one of the professions, such as accountancy or law, so bring relevant expertise to the table. They are backed by more than 300 volunteers who provide free advice. That support has been invaluable in transforming essential charities into extraordinary charities.
Last year Angela Bedi, a consultant at Prime Fiscal in Glasgow, cast her eye over the accounts of Move On, which helps vulnerable young people and those affected by homelessness. The charity had asked for help with how it treats VAT on the activities of its Fareshare social enterprise. Ms Bedi soon realised that the charity had been overpaying VAT for years and helped it reclaim a £40,000 rebate.
Our 14:19 fund, which comes to an end this month, has invested more than £50 million over ten years and secured a further £75.6 million in match funding. As of June, the fund had helped 33,000 young people into education, employment or training, including Toni Twigg, a volunteer with the Care Inspectorate. In September she was selected as Nicola Sturgeon’s next mentee under the “First Mentor” initiative, supporting the next generation of female leaders.
Our combination of investment and advice underpins venture philanthropy. That’s why it’s so important to support and sustain Scotland’s third-sector organisations, and to think beyond the charity shop.
Sinclair Dunlop is the chairman of Inspiring Scotland and managing partner of Epidarex Capital.
This article was originally published by The Times on the 26th December 2018.
This article can be accessed at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/it-s-good-business-sense-for-charities-to-be-sustainable-ddh0cj9xg