MORE than £80,000 has been pumped into pro-independence activities across Scotland in the past ten months by the Scottish Independence Foundation, The National can reveal.
Supporting everything from Independence Live radio to leaflets translated into Polish, the Foundation (SIF) has backed Yes groups and other organisations across Scotland since it was set up last year to encourage and fund the grassroots of the Yes movement.
The National reported on its initial activities late last year and now chief executive Greg McCarra has used the only daily and Sunday newspaper that supports independence to update the Yes movement on progress so far.
He said: “Since we launched last summer, SIF has spent over £80,000 of the donations we have received to support pro-independence projects through the length and breadth of Scotland, reaching as many communities and sectors of our society as we have been able to. Every penny that we receive goes back out as grants, and our admin overheads are covered directly by a small group of donors.
“Better still, our grants are often used as ‘seed money’ which has helped groups to raise matched funds from other sources. We also act as a ‘hub’ or ‘switchboard’, connecting groups with some particular need to other groups who can help with that, and helping groups with similar objectives to better coordinate their efforts. We all want to win Independence and – irrespective of the means of doing so – we believe that a strong grassroots movement is essential to that campaign. We therefore target our grants at activities like education or training of activists, design and production of materials and literature to be used in the campaign, an event or series of events that will positively raise the profile of the campaign and the development of infrastructure and processes to support a future campaign.”
Examples of work supported by SIF include Lindsay Bruce’s indykits and leaflets specifically aimed at EU nationals resident in Scotland with one being translated into Polish.
SIF noted: “We provided half of the printing costs of campaign materials aimed at signing up and engaging EU nationals, new and non-voters into the democratic fight for independence.”
The foundation also supported several 30-minute live broadcasts made with Phantom Power and presented by Robert J Somynne and Michael Gray. They were aimed at an essential demographic: the 16-35 age group.
As McCarra noted: “Young people strongly support independence, but they often don’t vote.
“We need this kind of work to help persuade them to turn out and deliver an indy Scotland.”
SIF also considers Inverness to be “a must-win” for Yes. Local group Inveryess2 wanted to put on a major screening of Nation: Norway with Lesley Riddoch in attendance so SIF funding helped the group to pay for the hire of an Eden Court cinema hall and to help cover their advertising costs – Inveryess2 duly filled the hall to capacity.
Garioch Women for Change gained funding for the group to “go on tour” throughout Aberdeenshire and Moray areas with their findings on stealth privatisation of NHS England.
SIF said: “Persuading people of the possible consequences for Scotland of privatisation in England might just win a few more ‘undecideds’ over to the cause of Independence.”
Groups in Aberdeen, Moffat, Dundee and Angus, Troon, Blairgowrie and Rattray, Dunbar, Midlothian and Peterhead and more were SIF funded. Asking the Yes movement to consider making donation, McCarra concluded: “Here’s to a better future for Scotland and the people who live here. We will win that through hard work and generosity.”
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