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Latest News

November 16, 2020

Politicians aren’t going to save the planet – BrewDog backs ALT COP

A politics-free alternative climate crisis conference created because environmental action can’t be postponed 10th NOVEMBER, UK: BrewDog and The Hunter Foundation have announced today they will be backing ALT COP, an alternative climate crisis conference held on 16th November, created following the news that COP26 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We are on

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September 24, 2020

Scottish Edge Announcement

Scottish EDGE is delighted to reveal that the UK’s leading bioscience entrepreneur, Professor Sir Chris Evans will join philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter of The Hunter Foundation in conversation at the EDGE16 Final and Awards. Professor Sir Chris trained as a microbiologist at Imperial College and has used his scientific and business skills to develop advanced new

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September 22, 2020

Kiltwalk raises £5 million for Scotland’s charities

Scotland’s Kiltwalkers and The Hunter Foundation have raised a massive £5 million for over 900 Scottish charities in 2020.   The Covid-19 pandemic saw all four of Kiltwalk’s planned events, in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh cancelled, but Kiltwalkers all over the country took part in virtual events to support their chosen charities.  The fundraising deadline

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July 24, 2020

Edinburgh Kiltwalk goes Virtual to support cash-strapped charities

Sir Tom Hunter adds a 50% fundraising boost Kiltwalkers have been urged to don some tartan and take part in a weekend-long virtual version of the Edinburgh event after this year’s walk was cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions. The Big Virtual Kiltwalk Weekend will take place between September 11-13. Participants are being challenged to get

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July 8, 2020

Virtual Kiltwalkers Step Out For £600,000+ Bonus For Charities

More than 200 charities were given a massive boost today when they raised over £300,000* at the weekend’s Dundee Virtual Kiltwalk which was then doubled to £600,000 + by Scots philanthropist, Sir Tom Hunter. In a video message to walkers via the Evening Telegraph today (July 7) Sir Tom said he was so blown away

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June 23, 2020

Response To Benny Higgins Economic Recovery Report

At the Hunter Foundation our philosophy has always been that the best social policy ever created is a good job; entrepreneurs create them. Evidence from the Kauffman Foundation indicates over the next five years more or less all net new job creation will come from the SME sector, an extraordinary and important point when we

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June 23, 2020

COVID-19 – Scotland’s Entrepreneurial Response

CONTEXT The response to Covid-19 from the Scottish Government and the private sector will define Scotland’s economic future for generations to come. Globally according to the International Labour Organisation, 1.6 billion people are “in immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed”. McKinsey note the following; “Our analysis, based on occupation-level data, estimates that the COVID-19

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May 6, 2020

Coronavirus-hit Aberdeen charities to receive £300,000 Kiltwalk funding boost

100% top-up from The Hunter Foundation will help those most in need More than 150 charities in the North East struggling amid the coronavirus crisis will share a much-needed £300,000 cash lifeline in the next 24 hours, thanks to the Aberdeen Kiltwalk. Despite the postponement of the event following the pandemic lockdown, generous Aberdeen and

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April 1, 2020

Coronavirus-hit Scottish charities to receive £1.4m Kiltwalk lifeline

The Hunter Foundation announces 100% top-up boost to help those most in need Over 500 Scottish charities hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak will share a £1.4m cash windfall in the next 48 hours, thanks to funds raised from the Glasgow Kiltwalk. Despite being forced to postpone the Glasgow Kiltwalk due to the pandemic lockdown,

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February 16, 2020

Hunter Global Leadership Centre At Strathclyde University

Following on from local community consultation The Hunter Foundation plans to lodge a planning application for the Hunter Global Leadership Centre at Ross Priory in March of this year.  The University of Strathclyde has been in discussion with the Hunter Foundation regarding the opportunity to develop a world class leadership centre aimed at boosting the

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February 14, 2020

Scotland’s Climate Champions Winners

The Hunter Foundation triples Sir David Attenborough dinner prizes – awarding three Scottish schools tables at event Denny High School, George Heriot’s School and Perth Grammar School each win top prize A competition for one school to win a table at a charity dinner event with Sir David Attenborough received such strong entries that judges

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February 3, 2020

Scotland’s golden chance to show we really care for our children

The 5th of February marks a landmark day for Scotland – our opportunity to change the world, the future, for probably Scotland’s most disadvantaged of all; those child ren in the care system. That system as it stands runs on processes and procedures, no doubt logical but the  outcomes that prevail for those with no

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January 20, 2020

Nicola Benedetti And Hue And Cry To Perform At Sir David Attenborough Dinner

Nicola Benedetti CBE will perform at the Hunter Foundation’s charity dinner with Sir David Attenborough and Scottish pop sensation Hue and Cry next month. The award-winning classical violinist from West Kilbride started learning to play the violin at just four years of age and at 16 she won the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year

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January 12, 2020

The Hunter Foundation Announces Sir David Attenborough As Speaker For Charity Dinner

Sir Tom Hunter’s philanthropy The Hunter Foundation (“THF”), has secured renowned broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough to speak at its latest charity dinner to be held at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh on 18th February 2020.  The event – which will see Sir David interviewed on stage, followed by several performances from

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November 27, 2019

Magnificent £7 million raised by Kiltwalk in 2019

Sir Tom Hunter joined by ‘Magnificent Seven’ supporters to celebrate charities boost Over 1,300 Scottish charities will share a “magnificent” £7 million raised after a record-breaking 25,000 heroes took part in this year’s Kiltwalks in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh.  The walkers raised £5 million in sponsorship, with a further £2 million donated by Sir

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October 16, 2019

BBC Children in Need & The One Show’s Rickshaw Challenge returns for 2019

Team Rickshaw returns for the ninth year as they take on a challenging 400 mile route from Holyhead to London as they Pedal for Pudsey The Rickshaw Challenge has launched today (Wednesday 16th October 2019) with a new route, a new team, and a newly modified Rickshaw, as announced live during The One Show.  The

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October 16, 2019

The Hunter Foundation (THF) announces pledge of funding to BBC Children in Need

The Hunter Foundation (THF) has today (Wednesday 16th October 2019) pledged to donate additional funding to donations that the public make to The One Show’s Rickshaw Challenge.  In an exciting first for the fundraising challenge, THF has pledged to give 40p for every £1 donated by the general public to the Rickshaw Challenge* helping to

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October 7, 2019

£2,561,732 RAISED BY STV CHILDREN’S APPEAL 2019, MAKING A TOTAL OF OVER £21M SINCE LAUNCH

The STV Children’s Appeal 2019 has raised £2,561,732 for children and young people living in poverty in Scotland. Presenter Lorraine Kelly announced the incredible fundraising total at the annual STV Children’s Appeal live show on Friday 4 October. This takes the total amount that the charity has raised since launching in 2011 to more than

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September 16, 2019

Edinburgh turns tartan for final Kiltwalk of 2019

6,000 walkers raise £1.7 million for charities in Scotland    Scotland’s capital was a sea of tartan (today) as 6,000 people took to the streets for Edinburgh’s biggest ever Royal Bank of Scotland Kiltwalk. Scots rugby legend Doddie Weir and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter gave rallying cries to the brave walkers as they set-off from

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August 19, 2019

Kiltwalk on the march with Dundee event helping 375 charities with £850k

Biggest ever event saw 3,000 walkers take to the streets of Dundee, Fife and Angus North Fife, Dundee and Angus turned tartan this weekend as 3,000 Kiltwalkers walked from St Andrews to Monfieth for over 300 charities, raising an incredible £850,000. This was the area’s biggest Kiltwalk to date and every penny of the £600,000

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June 5, 2019

Breathe Easy Eden

At birth, Eden was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Now at 9 years old, she not only maintains a blog to help understand what it’s like to live with the condition but fundraises non-stop to help raise awareness and support charities whose work helps make a difference to the lives of others living with Cystic Fibrosis.

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June 3, 2019

BIGGEST EVER ABERDEEN KILTWALK TURNS THE GRANITE CITY TARTAN

More than 3,000 walkers took to the streets of Aberdeen to raise funds for Scottish charities A record-breaking 3,200 walkers took to the streets of Aberdeen city and ‘Shire today (Sunday, 02 June), raising more than £800,000 for charities across the North East. 1,650 walkers gathered at 9am at Potarch Green in Banchory to take

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April 29, 2019

Biggest ever Kiltwalk raises £3.5 million for Scottish charities

13,000 walkers took to the streets of Glasgow at 2019’s first Kiltwalk event A record breaking 13,000 walkers took on the first Royal Bank of Scotland Kiltwalk of 2019, raising more than £3.5million for charities across Scotland. At 9am this morning, more than 6,500 kind-hearted Kiltwalkers gathered at Glasgow Green to kick-off the 23-mile Mighty

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July 24, 2018

Scottish EDGE Lucky Round 13 Launch Video

It’s the launch of Round 13 today and we’re trying to get the word out with our Round 13 Launch video created by our very own Robert Zemeckis, Jack Proctor, and featuring a mix of EDGE winners, staff, board members and some well-kent faces!

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July 11, 2018

TWO “INCREDIBLY POWERFUL” FILMS WIN THE HUNTER FOUNDATION SCHOOLS COMPETITION TO EACH WIN A TABLE AT DINNER WITH FORMER FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA

TWO “INCREDIBLY POWERFUL” FILMS WIN THE HUNTER FOUNDATION SCHOOLS COMPETITION TO EACH WIN A TABLE AT DINNER WITH FORMER FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA In the Year of the Young People and in celebration of the former First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to Scotland, The Hunter Foundation (THF) has awarded not one but two winners of

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July 2, 2018

The Hunter Foundation names 100 Disrupters Winners from Across Scotland

From a café set up to create a safe and supportive atmosphere for dementia sufferers and their families, to a school cheerleading club to promote fun health and fitness, philanthropy, The Hunter Foundation (“THF”) has awarded 113 grants of £1000 to youngster disrupters in Scotland to support their ambitious ideas. Launched in May this year

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June 19, 2018

Rob Brydon, Beverley Knight, Deacon Blue And Dame Katherine Grainger To Feature at EICC Gala Dinner 17th July

Music sensations, Deacon Blue and Beverly Knight, and legendary comic, Rob Brydon are set to play at Scotland’s largest charity gala dinner hosted by The Hunter Foundation (“THF”) on the 17th of July at the EICC. Five-time Olympic medallist Dame Katherine Grainger will act as moderator of the conversation with former First Lady Michelle Obama.

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June 7, 2018

The Hunter Foundation Launch Schools Competition To Win Table At Dinner With Former First Lady Michelle Obama

In the Year of the Young People and in celebration of the former First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to Scotland, The Hunter Foundation (THF) invites school pupils to submit a short essay, video, picture or poem on the theme: ‘If I ruled Scotland the one thing I’d change to enable more young people to succeed

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May 24, 2018

Former First Lady Michelle Obama To Participate In Moderated Conversation At Event With UK Business and Philanthropy Leaders In Scotland

Former First Lady Michelle Obama will participate in a moderated conversation at a dinner in Edinburgh on July 17th at the EICC with philanthropy and business leaders. Mrs. Obama is a lawyer, writer, and was the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Hosted by the philanthropy, The Hunter Foundation (thehunterfoundation.co.uk), all profits from the event will be

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May 22, 2018

£1 Million Fund Offers Child Poverty Projects In Scotland A Hand Up

The Innovation Fund (TIF), a collaboration between the Scottish Government and venture philanthropy, The Hunter Foundation (THF), has announced up to £1 million that will be invested in up to ten organisations to support ambitious work tackling child poverty. Applications are open to projects across Scotland that are either at the ideas stage with significant

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May 14, 2018

BBC Children in Need and The Hunter Foundation Announce £2M Partnership to Help Prevent Young People Engage With The Care System

Dundee Council Set to be the First Council Partner   BBC Children in Need and THF have announced an ambitious £2m partnership in Scotland which they hope will transform young people’s lives and prove a model of intervention that can be adopted at scale across Scotland and beyond. In the first phase of the partnership,

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March 29, 2018

The Hunter Foundation Announces Poverty Innovation Fund Of £7.5M In Partnership With The Scottish Government

Venture philanthropy, The Hunter Foundation (‘THF”) has announced the creation of a £7.5m Innovation Fund aimed at delivering systemic change in child poverty – THF will contribute up to £2.5m over four years with the Scottish Government contributing £5m.    The focus of the fund will be to either trial new approaches or attempt to

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March 12, 2018

THE HUNTER FOUNDATION SUPPORTS YEAR OF YOUNG PEOPLE 2018

The Hunter Foundation (“THF”) has launched a ‘100 Disrupters’ competition to support the Year of Young People 2018 in Scotland (YOYP2018.scot) Open to any young person up to the age of 26, THF will award 100 grants of £1000 to individuals or groups who are positively disrupting Scotland. Commenting, Sir Tom Hunter, founder of THF,

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March 6, 2018

The Hunter Foundation partners with new FutureX Impact Summit

Economy | Business | Entrepreneurship Edinburgh, 6th March 2018 The Hunter Foundation pledges three years of financial support to new Impact Summit. The first FutureX Impact Summit will take place on 9th of May in Glasgow’s Barras. Summit organisers seek to inspire the reinvention of how we live, learn, work and play. Over 300 entrepreneurs,

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September 25, 2017

KILTWALKERS RAISE RECORD £2.3M FOR SCOTTISH CHARITIES IN 2017

2018 SEES KILTWALK AGAIN ADD 40% TO CHARITY TOTALS  Kind-hearted Kiltwalk heroes are the toast of 780 Scottish charities as it was revealed today they raised £2.3 million in 2017 – with donations still coming-in. And 2018 is set to be even bigger with walkers able to add 40% to whatever money they raise for

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September 11, 2017

If I Ruled Scotland

The Hunter Foundation, founded by entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter, has published an ebook containing all the entries received to its Scottish school competition to win a table at a business dinner with President Barack Obama. The entries, which come from every corner of Scotland, have been collated into a free to download book

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June 12, 2017

£670,000 RAISED FOR SCOTLAND’S CHARITIES BY PRESIDENT OBAMA DINNER

Kiltwalk charities set for a minimum 40% increase in funds The charitable fundraising dinner hosted by the Hunter Foundation with President Barack Obama has raised £670,000 for Scottish charities. Funds will be allocated as follows: £570,000 will be shared with all charities who have or will participate in this year’s series of Kiltwalks – equivalent

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April 24, 2017

Scottish Secondary Schools Invited To Compete For A Table At Hunter Foundation Dinner

Sir Tom Hunter is calling on Scottish secondary school pupils to compete to win a table at Scotland’s most amazing dinner in May this year. The Hunter Foundation is donating one table of ten to a secondary school group. Sir Tom challenged pupils, saying, “If you ruled the world…Oh okay then, Scotland… what would you

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April 21, 2017

Outstanding entertainment line-up announced for The Hunter Foundation Dinner

OUTSTANDING ENTERTAINMENT LINE-UP ANNOUNCED FOR THE HUNTER FOUNDATION DINNER 26TH MAY, EDINBURGH… ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND TO SUPPORT THE EVENT…EVENT NOW FULLY SUBSCRIBED President Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, will deliver the keynote address at the dinner. Sir Tom Hunter, founder of The Hunter Foundation, hosts to the forthcoming dinner in Edinburgh,

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April 6, 2017

President Barack Obama to Address UK Business and Philanthropy Leaders in Scotland

President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, will address philanthropy and business leaders at a dinner in Edinburgh on 26th May 2017 at the EICC. Hosted by the philanthropy, The Hunter Foundation (thehunterfoundation.co.uk), all profits from the event will be invested in charities supporting young people in Scotland. Sir Tom Hunter, founder

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April 4, 2017

It’s time to Scale-up Scotland

The Hunter Foundation and Entrepreneurial Scotland have joined forces to deliver a new scale-up leadership programme. This new initiative aims to respond to the growing body of evidence that Scotland needs to increase the number of scale-up companies as a means to create more high quality jobs, improve productivity and drive overall economic growth. Sir

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March 29, 2017

Digital Matching Service Linking Young People And Employers

Founders4Schools goes live in Scotland on Marketplace Scotland’s national skills agency is linking up with The Hunter Foundation on its digital matchmaking service for schools, colleges and employers. Marketplace is a free, one-stop shop for collaboration between employers and young people through their teachers and lecturers. It aims to improve the volume, access and quality

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March 23, 2017

The Hunter Foundation Commits £1M to Head Teacher Leadership in Scotland

Excellence in Headship Investment in school leadership. A new package of training support for head teachers is set to be announced by Deputy First Minister John Swinney alongside a commitment of £1m from philanthropy, The Hunter Foundation. The Hunter Foundation will partner with the Scottish Government supporting leadership academies delivered by Columba 1400, benefitting 320

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February 9, 2017

Scottish EDGE Round 10 opens, offering funding of up to £150,000

Scottish EDGE is today, Wednesday 1st February, launching its next competition round. Applications to Scottish EDGE Round Ten will be accepted through the competition website until 8th March, 2017 at 2pm, requiring an application form and a short video pitch. All applications will then be assessed by a number of independent, expert panels before being

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January 31, 2017

Kelvingrove Art Gallery And Museum Receive Substantial Award From The Hunter Foundation To Develop A Ground-Breaking Interactive Experience

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has received a substantial award from The Hunter Foundation to build on the success of The Centre of New Enlightenment (TCoNE) and design a pioneering, interactive learning experience accessible to all visitors.  The first stage of the redesign is underway as Glasgow Museums appoint a Digital Curator who will drive

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August 5, 2016

Leonardo DiCaprio to Keynote Scottish Business Awards

Academy Award® winning actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio was confirmed today to keynote the 2016 Scottish Business Awards on 17 November. Mr. DiCaprio will join Scottish Business Awards chairman Sir Tom Hunter in addressing an audience of over 2,000 people at the UK’s largest business awards dinner. Past keynote speakers have included actor George

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April 18, 2016

Sir Tom Hunter Joins EU Debate With Free Detailed Book Aiming To Clear Up The Facts On The UK’s Future

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter is joining the EU debate with a new free book entitled ‘Britain’s Decision: Facts and Impartial Analysis’, which aims to give readers “an informed, constructive overview of the critical issues at hand for UK voters.”

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April 13, 2016

Brewgooder breaks crowd fund target in three weeks

Hunter Foundation and licensed trade back new clean water beer initiative Brewgooder, the new craft beer brand launched by two Scots-based social entrepreneurs, has successfully crowd funded its first production run less than three weeks after launching. Billed as the world’s first craft beer to donate 100% of its profits to clean water projects, Brewgooder’s

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November 2, 2015

Communities Aim To Eradicate Food Poverty

Innovative scheme to provide food and support to those in need. Communities in Ayrshire will be able to access affordable food through an innovative scheme aimed at tackling food poverty. The new project, which will provide meals, advice, support and mentoring in Drongan and Fullarton in East Ayrshire and Pennyburn in North Ayrshire, will seek

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October 1, 2015

HRH The Duke Of Cambridge Launches WRU Coach Core Apprenticeship Programme

The Duke of Cambridge today (Thursday 1 October) launched the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) Coach Core apprenticeship programme. Coach Core was created by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2012 as part of the Olympics Legacy and it aims to improve the quality and availability of sports coaching, especially in

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September 15, 2015

The Kiltwalk Charity Announces New Board And Support

The Kiltwalk, the charity that has in the past three years raised more than £ 4.7m for Scottish children’s charities has moved to its next stage of development. Having successfully built the Kiltwalk into a major series of Scottish walking events, the current Trustees have determined its time to pass the continued development of the

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September 15, 2015

The Sentry

The Enough Project is launching The Sentry, an initiative seeking to help dismantle the networks of perpetrators, facilitators, and enablers who fund and profit from Africa’s deadliest conflicts. We hope to lend greater support to broader accountability measures as well as provide leverage to peace efforts aimed at ending Africa’s deadliest conflicts. Watch The Sentry’s

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September 14, 2015

Sir Tom Hunter One Year After Referendum

The Hunter Foundation releases Stirling University report examining what’s changed in the year since the Scottish Independence Referendum and what the country would look like if it had voted Yes Last year The Hunter Foundation (THF) set up scotlandseptember18.com to offer objective advice to voters on Scotland’s Yes-No vote for independence. A year on THF

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June 14, 2015

ScotEdge 2015 Winners

SCOTLAND, 14 June 2015 – Thirty six Scottish entrepreneurs are celebrating this weekend after landing over £1million in funding and prizes at the Scottish EDGE awards. The overall winners scooped £900,000 after a gruelling Dragons’ Den style finals day to select the most promising start-up businesses that will bring the maximum return for the Scottish

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August 14, 2014

Social Enterprise, Social Bite Receives Significant Backing For Roll-Out Of Concept

The Hunter Foundation, Sir Tom Hunter’s philanthropy, is investing £200k in Social Bite, an innovative social enterprise delivering high quality sandwich shops and corporate catering. The pioneering sandwich shop chain offers employment to homeless people and donates 100% of its profits to charity. This funding, and new debt finance support from Social Investment Scotland, has

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August 5, 2014

£3.2M BOOST FOR HIGH GROWTH BUSINESSES IN SCOTLAND AS THE EDGE FUND (“SCOTEDGE.COM”) ENTERS NEW PHASE

  Hundreds more Scottish entrepreneurs and small businesses are set to get a boost to their business plans as Royal Bank of Scotland plc (“Royal Bank of Scotland plc”) and The Hunter Foundation (“THF”) invest £ 2.5m and £ 0.7m respectively to develop scotedge.com and take it to a new level through to the end of 2017. Styled as

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April 4, 2014

Glasgow’s Commitment To Sport Given Royal Seal Of Approval

Glasgow’s commitment to delivering world-class sports facilities and creating coaching opportunities for young people has been given the Royal seal of approval by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they launched a new coaching programme in the city today (Thursday). Their Royal Highnesses spent the morning meeting young people at the city’s recently opened

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June 29, 2012

Entrepreneurial Spark Fires Up With Ayrshire Expansion

Launched only 4 months ago, Jim Duffy’s Entrepreneurial Spark has ignited its own fast track growth with news that Sir Tom Hunter is to back a parallel facility at his head office at the Olympic Business Park in Ayrshire. Hunter and Willie Haughey came together to support Duffy’s first facility in Glasgow. Hunter’s commitment over

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