TWO Glasgow charitable organisations are amongst the first to receive payments from the Scottish Government’s new £12 million Third Sector Enterprise Fund. Glasgow SNP MSP Bob Doris has welcomed the grant of £69,628 for Royston based Rosemount Lifelong Learning - an organisation which provides family support, employability, vocational training and child care, and £67,500 for Possil and Milton Forum on Disability, which provides support to disabled people in Glasgow.

Mr Doris said: "The Scottish Government is acting where it can to support Scotland’s third sector. Throughout this tough recession we need to protect the most vulnerable in society and do what we can to create jobs. This cash will be a welcome boost not just for these groups but also for communities in North Glasgow.

"Scottish Government funding for the sector has increased by 37 per cent under the SNP. The Third Sector Enterprise Fund demonstrates this Governments' commitment to the sector and demonstrates our belief that the third sector not only provides vital services to society but also contributes to the overall vibrancy of the Scottish economy."

Mr Doris has today lodged a parliamentary motion in support of the fund. He added: "Both these organisations provide essential support in our communities and I am delighted that the Scottish Government has endorsed their good work with this significant funding boost".

Fiona Forsyth, Chief Executive of Rosemount Lifelong Learning, said: "We are delighted to receive this award which will enable us to respond to new policy and funding opportunities in the area of child poverty and support for vulnerable families."

Notes:

Draft Motion submitted to Parliament, marked for members' business:

Supporting Scotland's Third Sector
That Parliament congratulates the 12 organisations that were successful in their applications for funding distributed from the new Scottish Government Third Sector Enterprise Fund, notes that the awards to Possil and Milton Forum on Disability and Rosemount Lifelong Learning will make a significant contribution to the activities of these these north Glasgow organisations; welcomes the commitment demonstrated by the Scottish Government towards the sector with the provision of £12 million, of which £250,000 is ring-fenced for credit union applications, and believes that the third sector in partnership with the Scottish Government will continue to improve on the delivery of vital services to the nation as well as providing jobs at the very time they are most needed.

Further notes:

Other organisations to be supported are: Aberdeen Forward, an environmental charity (58,860 pounds); Capital Credit Union (69,000 pounds); the Creetown Initiative, (49,880 pounds) which aims to address issues affecting the Newton Stewart area from the decline in traditional industries such as farming and forestry; Crisis, an Erskine-based counselling service (65,900 pounds); Friends of the Award in Edinburgh and Lothians, (69,051 pounds) to market and deliver consultancy training for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme; Glasgow South Credit Union (24,700 pounds); Possil and Milton on Disability, which provides support to disabled people in Glasgow (68,845 pounds); Renfrewshire-wide Credit Union, (6,000 pounds); and Sikh Sanjog, (69,700 pounds) to develop its catering social enterprise providing traditional Punjab food in Leith.

The Fund is targeted at organisations which:

• Are located or operating in Scotland, with social or environmental aims, and which reinvest any surpluses for a social purpose

• Have the potential to increase their turnover and/or become more financially sustainable

• Have appropriate management and governance arrangements in place to support the Government's investment