7iM

From cupcakes to community –
how a local partnership creates real change

7iM’s Edinburgh office is located just yards from Rowan Alba’s headquarters in Edinburgh’s Tollcross area. Edinburgh city centre has one of the highest concentrations of rough sleepers in Scotland. So, the suffering of people who, through no fault of their own, find themselves without safe accommodation is sadly a part of everyday life. It was through a desire to act on homelessness and social isolation in the local area that 7iM’s Edinburgh Charity Committee chose to support Rowan Alba.

The 7iM’s bake sales and events were brilliant fundraisers

Since 2023 7iM’s staff have raised over £19,000. They have generously given their time, energy and creativity to bake sales, raffles and quizzes, all of which have raised vital funds in support of our work. 7iM also has a proud ethical corporate ethos aimed at reducing inequality in society. The “7iM Gives Back” programme matches all funds raised by the staff, supports tax-efficient payroll-giving and makes volunteering leave available to staff to support a charity of their choice. In addition to this generosity, 7iM have supported our staff with vital access to the meeting rooms at their Edinburgh offices. This has given staff groups who are often unable to meet in person a place to come together in comfort and reflect on the demands and achievements of their work.

How this partnership funded key roles

Donations from the 7iM Charity Committee directly fund roles such as our NHS Lothian Link Worker Priya Patel and Locum Worker, Paul McCay.

Together they combine to provide a safety net to people when they are in highly vulnerable state. Priya meets people when they are in hospital due to a health crisis or rehabilitation, providing them with a point of contact and stability. As they make a transition back to their home following discharge they are at a point where they can build new routines and connections. This time can also be very difficult for vulnerable people and a relapse into addiction is a real danger.  If we assess someone as being at a high risk of relapse we will arrange for a Locum Worker like Paul to visit them at home. Paul will help them with personal care, dressing, nutrition and housing support. This support stabilises their situation and eventually we pair them with a CARDS Befriending Volunteer. This combined approach has been shown to lead to an established friendship, ending isolation, fewer admissions to A&E and even taking part in our regular social groups at The Botanic Gardens, The National Galleries and a Saturday Social Cafe.

Service agreements

Firstly, the bulk of our funding comes from agreements with the local authority to deliver services. This includes things like our accommodation services where we provide people experiencing homelessness with a stable, safe and supported home.

Project funding

Secondly, we receive funding from trusts and institutions to deliver specific projects which benefit people in line with our charitable aims. This includes things like wellbeing activities for the residents in our accommodation services and a self-management programme for people in our CARDS community. Self-management helps people with a history of addiction grow their lives in a positive healthy way.

Unrestricted funding

While both of these types of funding are vital to us, they are what is called, “Restricted Funding”. In practice, this means that the money can only be used for exactly the purposes it was given for.
The third kind of funding is called, “Unrestricted Funding”. This money comes mainly from donations, grass roots fundraising and corporate giving from partners like 7iM. Because this money is unrestricted we can use it to help and support people in dynamic ways which react to individual needs, often when people are at a point of crisis. Donations, fundraising and corporate giving truly gives us superpowers. It’s the reason we can react rapidly to any situation in our community, providing lifesaving support where it’s needed most.