Trust

Every year we’re humbled by the incredible generosity of our supporters and this year we’ve been blown away by the innovative and creative ways the people of Edinburgh and the Lothians (and beyond!) have found to keep fundraising and continue supporting us, despite restrictions.

Over the past 12 months we’ve faced the extraordinary challenge of sustaining services for patients and families while dealing with the impact of the pandemic on our revenue streams. The sudden and dramatic reduction of retail and fundraising income from charity shop closures and event cancellations continue to affect our fundraising efforts.

Our supporters found creative and inspiring ways to raise vital funds for us despite restrictions

To minimise losses associated with these income streams we:

Secured new sources of funding through Government Grants, Business interruption insurance and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to offset the reduction in fundraising income.
Furloughed staff where appropriate and benefitted from rates relief on our shop premises.
Amended our investment and reserve policies to maximise investment returns and ensure the long term financial stability of the Hospice.
Developed a diverse voluntary and retail income generation strategy to ensure flexibility and spread of income pathways.
Embraced new technology to ensure all finance records are digital in order to comply with Making Tax Digital regulations. Moving finance systems to be cloud based has enhanced accessibility for remote working.
Further rolled out the new Hospice branding to our shops’ signage to enhance community awareness.

We rolled out our new Hospice branding to enhance community awareness

With most of our voluntary income channels either curtailed or stopped due to the pandemic, Trusts and Foundations became a very important source of potential income. We were therefore delighted when over 50 Trusts and Foundations responded very positively to our application for support during the crisis. A number of notable gifts were received from Trusts alongside increased giving from many of our regular Trust supporters.

A collective effort to secure support through our Scottish Hospices Together partnership resulted in a £1 million funding boost from Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford, global specialists in asset management and investment trusts. The much welcomed funds were split across the 12 members of the partnership to help support the increased need for hospice services across Scotland at this time.

Our first ever virtual pet show proved a huge success, Douglas the border terrier was crowned the 'Perfect Poser'

Where possible we moved our events fundraising efforts online allowing our supporters to take part safely in their own time. Our first ever virtual pet show was a huge success with entries in categories including Sweetest Face, Perfect Poser, Caught in the Act and Most Like Owner. The virtual event produced an unexpected social media star in the shape of Douglas the Border Terrier who amassed over 1,000 likes on our Facebook page.

We also launched our 7 Hills Challenge for corporate and community teams looking to take on the great outdoors. We had a fantastic uptake for the challenge with groups lacing up their hiking boots to take on the 7 hills of Edinburgh and enjoy the spectacular views of the city they offer. This new event raised over £17,000 and brought out the competitiveness in some with the fastest time being a jaw-dropping 2 hours and 34 minutes.

Our Summer Appeal focussed on the Hospice team still delivering the very best care to all of our patients, their families and carers in spite of the challenges we were facing and our supporters generous donations resulted in a slight increase on the year before with the appeal achieving nearly £24,000.

Our Summer Appeal focused on our values and why they mean so much to us

We quickly adapted our Giant Pub Quiz to an online version of the event hosted on Zoom by Gooses Quizzes attracting 170 participants. Together with a second online quiz in November we raised nearly £5,000.

Our Light up a Life Christmas appeal went ahead virtually and although we couldn’t gather for the tree lighting ceremonies in Charlotte Square Gardens or Haddington House, we still hosted an online service to turn on the lights with readings and a special performance by singer song writer Elle Exxe raising over £117,000 in the process.

Not only did the Adobe Foundation grant us $20,000 towards our Hospice at Home services but they also match funded the money raised by one of their employees Fiona McMiken, who also volunteers at the Hospice, when she was sponsored to chop 12 inches off her hair.

From virtual pub quizzes to art shows and gardening competitions, our community has never been stronger. We can’t thank everyone enough for their continued support.