Page 4 - report 2021
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CHAIR’S REPORT
When the pandemic hit, I remember saying Change is easy till it happens to you,
to Marion, this will change everything. Scotland is facing a time of great change,
we can either treat it as a threat or as an
We took the time to review what we were opportunity, you know my answer.
doing in the foundation and decided to
change. We decided to pull forward our We are working with Columba 1400 to help
giving, as the need created by the pandemic prepare our leaders to navigate this change
had never been greater, but we also felt the and help Scotland and its people flourish.
chance for positive social change has never
been better. We decided to re-double our We have learned so much from Norman and
efforts in helping entrepreneurs start and the team at Columba 1400, thank-you.
scale their businesses. Entrepreneurs thrive
during periods of great change because they Thanks also to our team at Kiltwalk led by
are nimble, agile, able to see opportunity and Paul Cooney. 5 years in, £29m raised for
they are the life blood of our economy, we over 2,641 different Scottish charities. It’s the
have their backs. lowest cost platform for supporters of any
and every Scottish charity to raise funds for
Through our partnership with the Scottish the causes they care about.
Government backing Social Entrepreneurs
to find a better outcome for those they Our foundation tops up whatever they raise
seek to support we’ve learned a lot through by 50% though during the pandemic we
the pandemic as many traditional support increased that temporarily to 100% the need
mechanisms stepped back our Social was so vast.
Entrepreneurs stepped forward and simply
asked ‘How can we help?’ Please take our money.
They found a better way and we mustn’t go In April 2021, we lost a friend, a mentor and a
back to the old ways. It’s a privilege to help trustee, Vartan Gregorian, thank-you doesn’t
support these pioneers. You can read their cover it for this wonderful saint of a man. I
stories in our report. pay my tribute to him later in the report.
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