Scope asks donors to ‘sponsor a shop’

The disability charity Scope is rolling out a scheme to make donations go further by giving people the chance to invest in new charity shops.

Instead of directly donating to Scope’s work on the ground with disabled people and their families, generous donors can loan or donate £50,000 to open a new shop.

Each shop then generates as much as £30,000 a year, which Scope can use as a source of on-going funding for its work.

That also means that within two years a loan can be paid back.

Meanwhile the shop will continue to provide enough money to, for example, support 60 families a year through Scope’s Face 2 Face network, which provides peer-to-peer support for families with newly diagnosed disabled children.

The news comes as Scope announces that former River Island chief executive Richard Bradbury is to be a patron. The charity hopes his expertise will add to the success of the scheme. Scope has been trialling the innovative fundraising scheme over the last 12 months.

New Scope shops in Cambridgeshire

Eight people donated and lent a total of £100,000 to open two shops in Cambridgeshire. The stores in Ely and St Neots opened in March. In April and May both shops exceeded their fundraising targets and are building momentum with steadily increasing stock donations, and numbers of volunteers and customers.

The charity is now looking to roll the scheme out more widely, and aims to attract enough people to open up to 15 new shops by March 2013.

Scope patron Richard Bradbury

The scheme has the backing of Richard Bradbury. As a patron of Scope, he is using his retail experience and networks to help Scope to expand and enhance its network of shops. Richard Bradbury has recently joined online retailer Boden as a Non-Executive Director. Boden, together with a number of brands, will be supporting Richard's efforts to help Scope.

Richard, whose daughter attends Scope’s Ashurst Supported Living Service, said: “Times are tough for disabled people, but in the current climate charities like Scope need to work harder to raise funds. They also need to make those funds work harder too. This scheme ticks both boxes. It offers donors an opportunity to not just support a service, but see their donation put to work, multiply and come to life in the form of a shop. This then provides a sustainable on-going income for Scope and the work it does to support disabled people and their families.”

Donating money to open new shops

Isabel Hudson is one of the people who made a donation to open two new Scope shops in Cambridgeshire. 

Isabel, who is Chairman of the National House Building Council and a long-time Scope supporter, said: “Donating money to open a charity shop reflects the way things are today. People are interested in giving money if they know it is having a real impact. They are interested in seeing how their donations can be used most effectively. People that make significant donations are interested in getting the most value. That can be difficult with a one-off donation. But anything that can provide on-going value becomes twice as attractive. This scheme is value for money. 

“In these tough times charities need to be able to generate income. As the economy goes up and down it’s important to have a mixed income and a spread of donations. This provides a long term, sustainable source of income.  The potential for this scheme is huge. I think people are looking at charity shops differently. People see charity shops not just as a place for old clothes – but as part of a greener lifestyle. There’s a coolness about them.”

Making donations go further

Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of the disability charity Scope added: “We are making donations go much further. By helping us open a new shop, a supporter will see their donation triple in value in just five years.  Scope is about making this a better place for disabled people – this new way of fundraising means we can run more campaigns and provide more services that help us achieve that vision.

“Our shops are more than just second-hand clothes stores. Not only do they give opportunities to get retail experience to hundreds of volunteers, but they also give the public an opportunity to engage with the issue of disability. Disabled people tell us that attitudes towards them are getting worse. But they say greater visibility makes all the difference. Our shops give a great opportunity to create a window into the lives of disabled people on the high street.”