JENNY GILRUTH MSP ENCOURAGES LOCAL CHARITIES TO APPLY FOR SUPPORT

Published date : 20 May 2020

Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP, Jenny Gilruth, has encouraged local charities to apply for a £10,000 grant through Small Business Grant Scheme to help with pressures caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Scottish Government has extended the scheme to charities and is expected to result in an additional £31 million being made available to more than 3,000 small properties occupied by charities – including day centres, workshops and halls.

It will apply to properties which are in receipt of any Charitable Rates Relief or Sports Relief, but are otherwise eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

The Small Business Grant Scheme is administered by local authorities. Organisations can apply for the scheme through Fife Council here: https://www.fife.gov.uk/kb/docs/articles/health-and-social-care2/coronavirus-covid-19/businesses-and-employers/scottish-government-business-support-fund.

Commenting, the Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP said:

“I welcome the Finance Secretary’s announcement outlining new support available to charities to help them deal with the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The coronavirus outbreak has had a severe impact on many charities’ ability to fundraise so I am grateful to the Scottish Government for widening the criteria of the Small Business Grant Scheme to include them.

“Charities are the backbone of our local communities here in Fife. I know that access to these Scottish Government grants will help many of our charities to mitigate the worst felt effects of the outbreak and enable them to continue to provide their invaluable services to local people.”

The Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Kate Forbes MSP, said:

“Our package of business support is under constant review as we look for improvements that can be made to existing scheme, or any gaps we are able to fill.

“It had become clear that many charities which run small premises, such as day centres and halls, had been hit hard by loss of revenue during the pandemic. This is particularly pressing for small and medium-sized charities which deliver health and social care support, and are heavily reliant on income from their retail operations.

“In order to support these vital charities we have therefore taken the decision to open up the Small Business Grant Scheme to allow them to apply for grants of £10,000 on the first eligible property and £7,500 on any additional eligible properties.”

ENDS

Notes for editors

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has put together a useful Coronavirus Third Sector Hub that includes a lot of information about funding available to charities during the coronavirus outbreak. You can access it here: https://scvo.org.uk/support/coronavirus/funding

THE SCVO hub provides charities with details of the Scottish Government’s support for charities during Covid-19 including their Third Sector Resilience Fund, Wellbeing Fund, and Support Communities Fund.

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