Support during the COVID-19 outbreak, 17 March 2020

The Agnes Hunter Trust recognises that the COVID-19 outbreak is an exceptional event that will have a lasting and varied impact on the provision of services in the third sector.  We acknowledge that there is still much uncertainty, and that there will be a number of concerns for the charities that we support – both now and in the future.

We wish to assist our grantees as much as possible in the coming weeks and months so that they can focus on the vital work of supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. Flexibility and communication is the key.

Therefore, we can offer grantees:

• Adjustments to the proposed use of grant monies

The Trust recognises that you may need to change the use of your grant. If you need to move money between budget headings to ensure your work can continue or to assist with the impact on staff costs rather than service delivery, please get in touch;

• Flexibility on project targets, activities & outcomes

We recognise that you may experience difficulties achieving some of the outputs or outcomes we agreed for your grant during the outbreak, and will be open to conversations around changing the scope of your project, modifying targets or changing the duration of your service if these approaches can assist;

• Alterations to report deadlines

If you think you will struggle to meet a submission date for either a Progress Report or End of Project Report, please get in touch with us so that we can agree a more realistic timetable for you. Please also be reassured that the Trust is aware that targets may not be achieved or services curtailed through no fault of your own, and we welcome honest reporting on such challenges.

The Agnes Hunter Trust will continue to monitor the situation and will update this News webpage as required.

Useful links for grantees include:

• Scottish Government guidelines – which includes advice for non-healthcare settings, including tips that apply to people working in hospitality settings, leisure facilities, entertainment venues and premises used by community groups
• The SCVO support page
• OSCR advice