Got questions about how the service works, who runs it, or what kind of support you can expect? Here are the answers to the things people most often ask us.
This service is delivered by Community Enterprise, a leading provider of business support and capacity building to the Third Sector in Scotland.
No, the service is entirely free at the point of use.
The service is currently funded by The William Grant Foundation, The Robertson Trust, the Scottish Government and some of our own resources.
There are no hard parameters. Crisis can mean different things to different people and can take many different forms- from severe financial challenges to brewing Board conflict. If it’s keeping you awake at night, it’s a problem and it’s better to seek support as early as possible. Whether the crisis is on the distant horizon or right in front of you, click the button and we will aim to find you some help.
One of our team will aim to contact you and arrange an online meeting to explore your situation in more detail. They will look at what actions might help and where appropriate (and with your agreement), refer you into support as quickly as possible.
This is tailored to your specific circumstances and can cover a wide variety of areas. Here are some examples
We often make high priority referrals to Just Enterprise or Accelerate but have a large network of support providers to reach out to including TSIs, Business Gateways, SOSE, HIE, DTAS, Inspiring Scotland and many more. We will aim to match your requirements with providers who can help you.
It is not uncommon for us to make more than one referral and coordinate that support.
Generally no, although we have helped clients access funding and worked with funders to derestrict funding or release funds early. We have access to a small 0% interest loan to help stabilise cash flows where helpful and are currently working with funders on resilience and recovery support.
By completing the form, you are giving permission for us to contact relevant support providers about your situation. This helps speed up the process of referral. We always aim to do this sensitively. If you provide information during the initial consultation that you do not want to be shared further, you can tell us and we will not pass it on.
There is no formal commitment. We ask that you are transparent and open in the initial consultation so that we can find the best way forward. Support tends to be more effective if there is a collective understanding and agreement on the Board / Senior staff so we may encourage you to get wider buy in to the support provided. We will ask you to participate in a feedback questionnaire following the initial consultation and 6+ months later and possibly to be included in crisis and resilience research, but this is strictly voluntary.
No problem. You are under no commitment and can withdraw your support request at any time.
