Case studies

Caledonia Funeral Aid offer advice for those coping with a loss and campaigns to tackle funeral poverty. The organisation is Scotland’s first and only non-profit funeral directors. Most clients contact the service when realising the high costs of funerals or to help with funeral debt. They work with sub-contractors to deliver a 24/7 funeral arranging and specialist support helpline, providing emot…

The Arran Youth Foundations provides a safe, welcoming environment for young people to have fun, build life skills and connect with their peers. In doing so, it provides relief to families by delivering free trips away and counselling services to members who need support with their mental wellbeing. The project enables young people to achieve their goals through activities of their choosing, inclu…

Post COVID legacy Project. Argyll and Bute’s partner incentivisation scheme provides service users with one-off cash funds to meet immediate (food, fuel poverty) emergencies in conjunction with targeted household and financial advice from Bute Advice Centre and anti-fuel poverty advice from ALIenergy Where grants are not suitable due to preset criteria, support is offered through referrals to Bute…

The Big Blue Mobile Pantry is an outreach zero waste initiative. With about 450 members, it receives over 3,000 visits annually and distributes nearly 17 tonnes of food to Moray's most rural villages. The project also provides reasonably priced, wholesome food to 30 villages in rural Moray, where stores are more than 30 miles away. Managed by Moray Food Plus, it gives everyone access to nutritious…

End Furniture Poverty is a social research and campaigning arm of FRC Group, a group of not-for-profit charities. End Furniture Poverty does not provide furniture, or grants for furniture directly, but provides a service to direct people experiencing furniture poverty towards the appropriate source of support to meet their furniture needs. End Furniture Poverty also conducts social research to asc…

‘Worrying About Money?’ cash first referral leaflets are co-designed as straightforward resources both for people facing money worries, and frontline support workers. The step-by-step guides identify which local agencies are best placed to help people maximise income and access any existing financial entitlements. Their design is based on learning from Scotland’s A Menu for Change project.

The Inverclyde Approach is founded on the principle that alleviating poverty requires not just a single programme intervention, but a comprehensive network of interconnected support. This approach places individuals and their needs at the centre, ensuring that services are grounded in relationships. It aims to drive systemic change in service delivery by holistically assessing people’s needs and c…

Breakfast For All combats the barriers many pupils face throughout the school day. This initiative ensures all pupils are well-nourished for the school day by providing them with a selection of free toast, yoghurt, fresh fruit or cereal bars. By providing this service, pupils can start the day well-nourished which enables them to concentrate on their lessons. The project has shown that free breakf…

Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund provides financial support to families with children under 21 facing extreme hardship across Scotland. Families can apply online to gain assistance for a range of urgent needs, such as food, utilities, clothing, bedding, appliance repairs, replacement of appliances that have failed, or other essentials. The cash-first-based support has spread in recent years to cove…

The Money Advice Referral Tool (MART) primarily targets frontline supporters in the Greater Manchester area who engage with people experiencing financial difficulties and poverty. So far, seven borough-specific MARTs have been developed by Resolve Poverty (formerly Greater Manchester Poverty Action) in partnership with local authorities, The Trussell Trust, voluntary organisations, community group…