05.06.2025 / Case studies
Authors: Lutz Drieling, M.A.
Foundation Scotland is the only community foundation in Scotland
It facilitates sustainable development and community empowerment through a unique blend of philanthropy and community-driven initiatives. At its core, Foundation Scotland serves as a custodian of funds for renewable energy projects, where annual donations are channeled back into local communities. The Foundation manages these funds and guides communities in decision-making processes, ensuring alignment with long-term goals and regional needs. This involves extensive community engagement, capacity-building, and support for grassroots initiatives.
Foundation Scotland is vital in bridging the gap between philanthropic donors and communities, advocating for more inclusive and locally driven grant-making practices. By empowering communities to direct their development, Foundation Scotland contributes to building sustainable and resilient communities across Scotland, addressing a wide range of socio-economic and environmental challenges while fostering greater equity and inclusion.¹
Foundation Scotland and the SDGs
The Foundation began its journey towards integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its work through a series of deliberate steps and initiatives. Inspired by the advocacy efforts of other community foundations and recognizing the increasing importance of the SDGs in the global development discourse, the Foundation conducted internal discussions and assessments. This process involved establishing an SDG working group to oversee the Foundation’s alignment with the Goals. The Foundation initially found that all 17 goals aligned with its mission. However, in 2020, after discussing with staff and stakeholders, Foundation Scotland narrowed its focus to 12 SDGs that were more relevant to their work.
Foundation Scotland categorizes the SDGs into overarching, primary, and supporting goals. Goals 10 and 11 are deemed overarching goals, reflecting the Foundation’s focus on tackling inequalities and fostering sustainable communities, which are fundamental to its commitment to building a well-being economy. Goals 1, 3, 4, 9, and 13 are identified as primary goals as they represent key issues addressed by most distributed funds. Supporting goals, including Goals 5, 8, 12, 16, and 17, are recognized as cross-cutting issues that contribute to achieving both primary and overarching goals. While the attribution process has historically not involved negotiation with applicants or decision-makers, Foundation Scotland could review this approach in the future.²
By focusing on these goals, the Foundation aims to engage communities and donors more effectively, target funding strategically, and communicate impact clearly.³ This engagement inspired a closer examination of the wider economy’s effect on community wealth and well-being, leading to a collaborative learning project with Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland to understand and enhance Scotland’s well-being economy.⁴
The chart below shows the value and amounts of grants awarded by the Foundation Scotland in relation to the different SDGs since April 1st, 2021.
Figure 1: Graphics from Foundation Scotland (Foundation Scotland 2022)
The Foundation’s commitment to the SDGs also encouraged a review of its investment strategy to an EQ Impact Portfolio that distinguishes itself by actively seeking investments addressing social and environmental challenges, focusing equally on maximizing impact and financial returns. The portfolio prioritizes investing in well-managed companies whose core products and services tackle issues such as the climate crisis, healthcare, education, and access to clean water, surpassing traditional ESG investing by targeting solutions rather than just managing risks. Additionally, Foundation Scotland collaborates with fund managers to drive industry-wide improvements and employs proprietary, leading-edge impact measurement and reporting to enhance transparency and continuously improve investment outcomes.⁵
Engagement with the SDGs within the local context
Foundation Scotland’s commitment to building a well-being economy represents a strategic shift towards a holistic approach to sustainable development. Recognizing the intrinsic link between economic prosperity, social well-being, and environmental sustainability, the Foundation’s grantmaking and fund distribution seeks to build more resilient, equitable, and sustainable communities across Scotland.⁶ And through targeted interventions – such as its Tackling Inequalities Fund – and collaborative partnerships, Foundation Scotland is working towards influencing policies and practices to align with the principles of a well-being economy.
The Foundation acknowledges the robust SDG network in Scotland, and the government’s integration of the SDGs into policy frameworks has helped create a conducive environment for SDG accessibility and credibility. While the Foundation recognizes the importance of broader advocacy and policy influence and contributes to this selectively, it sees its primary role as catalyzing change at a grassroots level through targeted interventions and support for community-led initiatives. By focusing on operational alignment and supporting local stakeholders, the Foundation believes it can contribute effectively to the SDGs while leveraging existing networks and partnerships to amplify its impact over time.⁷
Conclusion
Foundation Scotland champions community empowerment and well-being by strategically integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its work. The Foundation has demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing societal challenges by aligning its mission with the SDGs. Through project classification, transparent reporting mechanisms, and strategic partnerships, Foundation Scotland ensures that its operations directly contribute to advancing the SDGs, particularly focusing on reducing inequalities and building sustainable communities. Moreover, the Foundation’s engagement with the concept of a well-being economy underscores its dedication to holistic and equitable development, recognizing the interconnectedness of economic prosperity, social well-being, and environmental sustainability. As Foundation Scotland continues its journey of learning and adaptation, it remains poised to drive positive change and realize the vision of sustainable development for all in Scotland and beyond.
Endnotes
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- ¹ Rachel Searle, interview by Lutz Drieling, April 15, 2024, Zoom.
- ² “Linking the SDGs with our work” (Foundation Scotland, 2022), https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/about-us/our-news/linking-sdgs-with-our-work.
- ³ “Our commitment to the SDGs” (Foundation Scotland), https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/our-impact/our-commitment-to-sdgs.
- ⁴ Rachel Searle, email answer to follow-up questions by Lutz Drieling. See more information: „Raising Our Gaze“ (Foundation Scotland, 2022), https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-02/Raising%20our%20Gaze%20September%202022.pdf.
- ⁵ Foundation Scotland EQ Impact Portfolio, (EQ Investors), https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-02/Foundation%20Scotland%20EQ%20Impact%20Portfolio.pdf, p. 2f.
- ⁶ Rachel Searle, interview by Lutz Drieling.
- ⁷ Rachel Searle, interview by Lutz Drieling.
This case study was developed as a part of the project Increasing the Contribution of European Community Foundations to the SDGs, supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. We are grateful to the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and all interviewees and partners who made the development of the case study possible.
Departments: Community Foundations & SDGs; Society, Crisis, and Resilience Program; Policy Analysis and Outreach Department; Research Department; Center on Global Affairs and Post Development.
Themes: Sustainable Development Goals; Civil Society; Environment and Climate Change; Foreign Policy and Diplomacy; Innovation, Science & Research; International Development; Philanthropy and Community Development; Public Policy; Social Inequalities.