Funding boost for community scheme offering interest-free loans

A successful loan scheme which has helped scores of Shetland community groups get their special projects over the line is to be enhanced with a pot of up to £1.5m to call upon.

Shetland Charitable Trust’s (SCT) Capital Works Bridging Loan scheme has been running successfully for almost 12 years, giving out nearly 50 interest-free short-term loans worth over £4m.

The loans help groups avoid cashflow problems when projects have to be completed before grants attracted from outside Shetland are released by external funding bodies, such as governments, the National Lottery and the EU.  Around £16m in grants has been levered into Shetland as a result of the provision of the SCT loans.

Recent recipients include the Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary, loaned £366,000, and the Community Development Company of Nesting, which borrowed almost £176,000.

Currently, two large new projects are being considered which require loans totalling around £900,000. As a result, SCT trustees agreed on Thursday to raise the maximum fund pot from £1m to £1.5m to ensure there would still be spare funding available for other projects that may come along during next year.

SCT chair Dr Andrew Cooper said: “This really is an excellent scheme which has quietly helped so many community groups achieve their ambitious goals. With various new sources of funds coming on stream, we want to ensure that Shetland is best-placed to make the most of these valuable opportunities.”

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For more information, contact John Robertson on 07775 407 796 or email noostmedia@gmail.com