Annual report 2013 issuu

ANNUAL REPORT 2014 HELPING THE SCOTTISH COMMUNITY

weircharitabletrust.com Endowed with an initial ÂŁ5m, the Weir Charitable Trust aims to support Scottish-based community groups and small charities to provide services across Scotland to help the Scottish community.

Content

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Trust Manager’s statement

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The Weir Charitable Trust

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Animal Welfare

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Sport

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Culture

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Recreational Facilities

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Health

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Facts and Figures

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Auditors’ Report

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Back page

ÂŁ689,000 was awarded to 183 successful groups around Scotland

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Trust Manager’s statement On behalf of Trustees, welcome to the first Annual Report for the Weir Charitable Trust. It covers the period from when we opened for applications (4th February 2013) to our financial year end (19th December 2013).

W this new Trust, both in the kinds of projects e have been delighted by the response to

seeking help and in the numbers applying.

Incredibly, in our first two rounds of funding, we received over 1900 applications. As a result, £689,000 was awarded to 183 successful groups around Scotland.

No amount of money could meet the demand there is currently in Scotland to help many worthy and worthwhile projects. It would be easy to be drawn away from your purpose when faced with that level of need. However, as a result of our experience, Trustees have refined the criteria for awards to ensure that we remain focused on helping the people we originally set out to support - Scottish-based local groups and small charities that provide invaluable services across Scotland to help improve life in their communities.

I have been delighted to be involved as the Trust has gone from being a good idea to a fully functioning charity, that has started to make its mark on communities the length and breadth of Scotland. The Annual Report features just a few of them on the following pages.

With the Trust now firmly established on the charitable landscape of Scotland, the coming year looks to be as exciting as our first. The Trustees and I thank all those who applied in 2013, even if they weren’t successful. I am personally grateful to the Scottish funding community for making us so welcome.

The Weir Charitable Trust was set up in 2012 by Chris and Colin Weir following their £161m win on the EuroMillions’ draw in 2011.

The Trust, which has been endowed with an initial £5m, aims to support individuals, groups and charities, new or established, based in Scotland and providing services across Scotland.

Lorraine Tait Trust Manager

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Resources are focused on five main areas, known as qualifying categories Animal Welfare, Sport, Culture, Recreational Facilities and Health 6

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RESOURCES ANIMAL WELFARE: this focuses on the advancement of animal welfare by helping animals escape from a life of abandonment, cruelty and neglect or promote compassion for animals through education for pet owners and children.

SPORT: this should encourage and increase public participation in sport (activities which include physical skill and exertion). This includes exercise, play, dance, team sports and active living (walking, gardening etc). Targets include encouraging more young people, people with disability and over 65s into sport and physical activity.

CULTURE: supporting the heritage of Scotland through projects that encourage participation in and preservation of Scotland’s distinctive culture.

This includes projects that increase the profile and visibility of Scotland’s arts and culture or that bring people and communities together to celebrate Scotland’s culture.

RECREATIONAL FACILITIES: provision or organisation of recreational facilities (buildings, pitches or similar) with the aim of benefitting the whole community. Facilities should not be restricted to a particular group, should increase the opportunities for community participation in activities or provide low cost facilities for disadvantaged groups.

HEALTH: the advancement of health, including the prevention or relief of sickness, disease or human suffering. This is defined as improving the quality of life for those suffering ill-health or at higher risk of poor health as well as supporting projects that make a positive difference to health, no matter how small.

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Qualifying Categories:

Animal Welfare

Amongst the successful organisations was Mossburn Community Farm, based in Lockerbie. For almost 23 years, they have rescued and rehomed misused, abused, unwanted and neglected animals to give them lives that are cruelty, hunger and illness free.

The Farm wanted money for equine care – food, bedding, vets bills.

They run impressive “Learning with Horses” sessions, where humans and horses who have suffered trauma or abuse come together to help each other.

The Trust was happy to help and awarded £????.

MOSSBURN COMMUNITY FARM

Back in 1999, Frank and Ena Conyon set up Second Chance Kennels in Thornton, Fife, they wanted to give every dog that came into their care exactly that – a second chance for a new home after being rescued or unwanted.

The kennels vet check, vaccinate and micro-chip every dog that leaves their care, no mean feat for a small charity funded by the couple and their small team of volunteers.

The biggest outgoing is neutering and spaying the dogs so an application was put into the Trust for £6,000 to cover one year’s costs. When hearing of the work of Second Chance Kennels and the dedication of the Conyons to their dogs in their care, Trustees made an award in full.

SECOND CHANCE KENNELS

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There were

58 applications

made for help in support of Animal Welfare projects with

14 being successful with awards totalling £62,000

As the only dedicated centre of its kind in Central Scotland, Buddies Bunny Rescue takes in rabbits that are unwanted, stray or abandoned and houses them at their shelter in Edinburgh or with local foster carers.

As well as providing veterinary care, they run awareness events and assist other animal welfare organisations by providing advice or emergency accommodation.

The start of 2013 saw Buddies receive an average of 25 calls and emails a week from members of the public looking to rehome their pets.

That significant upsurge in demand for Buddies’ services put pressure on all concerned. The spare room of the manager’s house was being used to house all the “indoor” rabbits but that wasn’t a long term solution. So they applied to the Trust for money to build a 16’ by 10’ outdoor shed for the growing numbers of “indoor” rabbits and to give somewhere the public could come to view the bunnies for rehoming.

The new facility …

Buddies Bunny Rescue

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