A lone parent charity in Fife which faced a “perfect storm” funding crisis has been forced to make redundancies to continue its work supporting vulnerable families.
Fife Gingerbread faced reducing the organisation to a third of its current capacity after a number of revenue streams were due to end or be cut in January.
The lifeline service, which was supporting more than 250 families earlier this year, has now managed to secure half of the funding it requires to continue its vital work.
Fife Council announced it would provide £60,000 for three years, which will allow the charity’s Making It Work projects continue.
The Scottish Government also confirmed it would provide an additional £91,000 to continue the work in Levenmouth for another year.
Chief executive officer Rhona Cunningham explained that while colleagues were extremely thankful for the cash boost, the organisation has had to be restructured.
She said: “We have to say a big thank you to those who have worked with us to find a solution to our perfect storm.
“What is just as encouraging is that the topic of the unsustainable way third sector organisations are funded is being discussed across the country, and we are committed to making sure that going forward Fife Gingerbread is funded sustainably to safeguard the vital support we provide our families.
“It isn’t all good news for us, however, as we did not quite manage to secure the full amount we required, meaning regrettably there are still some staff members that will be leaving us and a small amount of families who will be losing our support.”
To minimise the impact on families and to protect existing jobs, the restructuring process saw some staff roles adapting to fit the new model along with the small number of redundancies.
Fife Gingerbread’s funding crisis was first highlighted to the Scottish Government by Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, during First Minister’s Questions in January.
Rhona added: “We’d like to say a big thanks to Claire Baker for her backing and for raising this issue at the highest level.
“The support we’ve also had from parents, volunteers, partners, funders, elected members, local businesses, and the general public has been remarkable, and has no doubt contributed to us being awarded additional funding.”
