SCT: grants cut, admin up

SHETLAND Charitable Trust has agreed next year’s £9.5 million budget that will see the charity spending almost £1.7 million more than it earns from its investments.

And while it is cutting grants to local organisations by £400,000, the cost of running the trust is going up by more than 47,000 to £699,000.

A meeting of the trust on Thursday morning heard warnings that the organisation could not continue to live beyond its means and that more cuts would be needed.

Vice chairman Jonathan Wills said he was “concerned by the deficit” and reminded trustees that it was their duty to maintain the value of its investments for future generations.

Trustee Allison Duncan said he would like to see cuts applied to the “big trusts”, the recreational, arts and amenity trusts.

But general manager Ann Black reminded him the debate about how to reduce spending would take place next year as part of the trust’s strategy to balance its books by 2020.

Meanwhile trustee Keith Massie urged management to deliver greater efficiencies in the way the trust is run.

He referred to the 7.2per cent increase in administration costs, mainly to pay addition legal fees of £20,000, and  £14,400 to employ a PR company to improve the trust’s public profile.

Part of that new media effort went on display on Thursday afternoon when the Shetland Charitable Trust Facebook page was launched.