Working with others

Partnerships to distribute grants

The Society is planning on piloting “Partnership Grants” where we work with other charities or organisations who are already supporting women whereby our direct financial assistance to those women can complement the support the other organisation is already providing. It is hoped that this will create synergy between the two leading to better outcomes for the woman concerned.  This approach is modelled on one adopted by the Smallwood Trust.

We envision that these partnerships:

• Are about providing financial support to the women whom the partner organisation is supporting, NOT about funding the work of the partner organisation (although we will be happy to make a contribution to their administrative costs);
• Will be tailored to best fit with the model of support that the partner organisation is delivering.  This will be reflected in the specific Partnership Agreement which will cover such issues as the maximum grant that any individual woman can be given, the type of support the partner will provide alongside the grant, the outcomes hoped for from this partnership, how partners will decide if women are in financial need (as we would not expect them to have to use our “Qualifying Income” approach); the reporting arrangements, etc;
• Could be fully delegated (whereby the Society provides the partner with a lump sum which the partner would in turn distribute to women in need and report back to the Society on how they have done so), or some other arrangement (for example, whereby the partner identifies the women who should be supported and how, but the Society pays the grants to them directly).

Please contact our Chief Executive via "Contact Us" if you would like to explore the possibility of setting up such a partnership with your organisation or charity.

Supporting smaller charities and trusts

The Society is keen to support other charities / trusts who give grants directly to people in need.  We know that some such organisations, often smaller and more historic ones, can struggle to find Trustees and/or identify prospective beneficiaries.

In contrast, the Society is one of the largest benevolent organisations providing grants directly to individuals in need operating in Scotland.  We have a well-developed infrastructure in place that allows us to be both efficient and very effective in our provision of support including:

• Low-cost professional management of our investment portfolios
• Experienced Casework team based across Scotland allowing for regular reassessment of grants, and, equally importantly, adding value to grants through advice and support as needed.
• Central Edinburgh administrative base
• Professional management and HR support
• Cloud based CRM and bookkeeping services allowing for easy reporting.
• Diverse and highly skilled Trustees and the advantage of a Royal Charter to help us attract new Trustees.
• The honour of having had Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as our Patron.

The Society is well aware of how fortunate we are, and we are keen to do what we can to support the work of similar charities.  This could take many forms including:

• Providing advice and support
• Sharing our office base and / or other resources such as management expertise or administrative support at low cost
• Providing administrative support, and the management of funds and grants scheme, on behalf of Trustees of other Charities (in a similar way that firms of Solicitors or Accountants may currently offer, but we suggest in all likelihood at a lower cost and with far greater added value to the beneficiaries)
• Exploring full merger including the ability to provide ongoing support to any existing beneficiaries of the other charity / trust as appropriate.

Please contact our Chief Executive via "Contact Us" if you would like to explore any of these, or indeed, any other ways that the Society may be able to support your work.

Sharing our offices

The Society is very fortunate to own office accommodation in central Edinburgh.  This is due to be refurbished in early 2024, but after that we are keen to make available space to other Charities who work mostly or exclusively to support women (or women and children) to increase our impact.  We would offer this at a significantly discounted rent and ideally each organisation would have their own space within a shared floor of our building with scope to share services.

Please contact our Chief Executive via "Contact Us" if you would like to explore the possibility of sharing office space with the Society.