Glasgow charity secures future after funding crisis.

The Deputy First Minister confirmed on Tuesday that Glasgow educational charity Young Enterprise Scotland will have access to funds that will secure its future.

Last week, the charity’s future was in jeopardy when it was announced that the Scottish Government would not be granting entrepreneurial education funding, which made up most of the charity’s income. The charity had until this week to secure enough money to continue its operations or face inevitable closure, putting 31 jobs at risk.

Speaking at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, Kate Forbes responded to a topical question about reports the charity’s funding had been withdrawn. The Deputy First Minister shed light on the Government’s communication with Young Enterprise Scotland:

“I will be very clear: funding for Young Enterprise Scotland has not been withdrawn” saying that “Since 2022, the Scottish Government has advised Young Enterprise Scotland, along with other stakeholders, that all future entrepreneurial education programmes will move to competitive funding.”

Ms Forbes described the decision as being “in the DNA of entrepreneurship.”

The Glasgow-based charity, that provides business and entrepreneurial education to more than 18,000 young people across the country, Emma Soane, Chief Executive of Young Enterprise Scotland says they are breathing a sigh of relief:

“There is no question about the sigh of relief around the avoidance of closure, but there is not yet a real sigh of relief around the potential impacts."

Young Enterprise will now receive the £285,000 needed to run the two programmes previously funded by the Scottish Government, securing the organisation’s viability until March 2025. The charity will, however, need to consider downsizing its programmes, and could potentially mean the prospect of redundancies has not entirely disappeared.

The Deputy First Minister has explained that switching to a competitive model means organisations who never received funding from the Scottish Government previously now have the opportunity: "The Government is extremely proud of the changes that we have made to entrepreneurship in Scotland to ensure that there is a pathway for entrepreneurial activity."

She told MSPs on Tuesday: " The Government is extremely proud of the changes that we have made to entrepreneurship in Scotland to ensure that there is a pathway for entrepreneurial activity."

Although Young Enterprise Scotland's immediate future appears to be more steady than last week, the Glasgow charity continues to face challenges surrounding its future.

Speaking on behalf of the charity, Emma Soane said it was incredibly "warming and reassuring to have all that support from the business community," and that collaboration will be a key feature of their work in the future.

"Now," she says, "we want to use that momentum and go forward together."