Cash boost for Scottish voluntary groups comes with strings attached

The Scottish executive has unveiled £18m of funding for
regenerating the country’s most deprived communities, but voluntary
and community organisations will only be allowed to bid for a share
of the cash if they are commercially competitive.

The executive wants voluntary organisations to become
“self-sufficient businesses”, where they are able to make a profit
that will be reinvested back into the communities.

Priority will be given to projects for and run by young
people.

It hopes to help 500 organisations develop their services over a
two-year period with an emphasis on allowing the sector to gain
equal access to service delivery contracts.

The communities minister Margaret Curran said: “This is not about
handouts for failing businesses, or giving one sector preference
over another. It’s about laying out a structure of support to drive
forward progress and supporting those who really deliver on the
ground.”

The funding will be managed by a new Social Economy Unit, located
in the executive’s regeneration agency Communities Scotland. It is
expected to be available from October.

It includes a £12m fund that will allocate cash to
medium-sized and large organisations. Around 70 per cent of this
fund will go to capital investment projects, which will allow
organisations to access alternative sources of funding.

Another £4m fund will allow smaller, community-focused
organisations to develop their services. It will also provide
grants of up to £5,000 to enable individual entrepreneurs to
turn ideas into live projects.

An additional £1m has also been allocated for training and
£1m to fund a support programme.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
said: “The announcement is good news for Scotland’s communities
because the funding means the sector should find itself in an
enhanced position when competing with for-profit organisations to
deliver public services.”

– Futurebuilders Scotland report from www.communitiescotland.gov.uk