AVA Annual Report 2022

2022 

Annual Report 

Your Third Sector Interface for 

Aberdeenshire

CONTENTS 

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT 3 

AVA FINANCES 5 

CEO’S REPORT 6 

ENGAGEMENT STATISTICS 8 

HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT REPORT 10 

GOVERNANCE 12 

VOLUNTEERING 15 

SPOTLIGHT 16 

FUNDING & BUSINESS PLANNING 18 

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE 20 

SPOTLIGHT 22 

CHILDREN & FAMILIES 24 

SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT LIVING 26 

SPOTLIGHT 28 

MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING 30 

SPOTLIGHT 31 

POLICY & CONSULTATIONS 32 

SPOTLIGHT 33 

MAGPIE 34 

HOSPITAL HOMECOMING 38 

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERING ENTERPRISE 39 

COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH & 

WELLBEING FUND YEAR 1 40 

COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH & 

WELLBEING FUND YEAR 2 43 

JUST TRANSITION PARTICIPATORY 

BUDGETING FUND 44 

ADULT LEARNING RECOVERY FUND 46 

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS 48 

CONTACT US 49

REPORT 

... CHRIS WHITE, CHAIRPERSON 

Aberdeenshire has experienced many changes 

during this recent period, meaning that people and 

communities have had to adapt in ways we hadn’t 

imagined beforehand. AVA was previously operating under 

the assumption that following the pandemic, the third sector 

had to survive before it could revive and hopefully thrive, 

but for different reasons, many groups are still at the ‘survive’ 

stage and some are unfortunately struggling to do so under 

complex and changing conditions. Others have revived 

and some are thriving, but just as we are seeing growing 

inequalities across society, we are in many ways seeing a 

similar trend across the third sector groups and organisations 

that we are working with on a day-to-day basis. AVA is 

working hard to help reduce these inequalities by providing 

knowledgeable and detailed support in both reactive and 

proactive ways that are having positive impacts for the 

groups that engage with us. 

AVA’s team often feels these struggles at a personal level 

because they are individually invested in supporting a 

thriving third sector which drives their passion for what they 

do, and this makes them a team that I and my fellow Directors 

are proud to work with and support. Seeing AVA grow in a 

sustainable way, and be able to offer additional capacity 

to groups in need of support has been particularly fulfilling 

for The Board, and seeing the impact that the support has 

had for groups across the communities that we live in makes 

AVA’s work something to be very proud of. 

AVA made some strategic financial decisions during the year, 

with the key one being to exit the property inhabited by the 

Third Sector Interface part of the operation, meaning that the 

resource could be diverted into service development and 

delivery, including offering free access to a comprehensive 

online training platform for AVA member organisations, and 

AVA // 3 

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

The full AVA staff team 

enjoy a Christmas lunch 

with board members in 

December. 

delivering a wider range of forum activities than in previous 

years. I am pleased that AVA has been able to present 

another set of positive financial accounts that provide a 

springboard to a future where AVA will continue to grow 

its services menu and deliver an annual workplan with the 

needs of the sector firmly at its core. 

AVA continues to work in strategic partnership with public 

sector agencies across Aberdeenshire, including many parts 

of Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeenshire’s Community 

Planning Partnership, Aberdeenshire’s Health & Social 

Care Partnership, and NHS Grampian. Our aim is to always 

ensure that decision making retains cognisance of the skills, 

experience and expertise that resides within the third sector, 

and engages constructively in partnership development 

that listens to and more importantly understands the value 

that can be created by the sector. Our Third Sector Interface 

operations, along with Magpie and our other projects are 

integral pieces of the jigsaw that makes AVA; they each 

contribute in differing ways to AVA being acknowledged as 

a partner of significant and strategic importance within and 

across the landscape of communities across Aberdeenshire. 

Thank you to our members for your continuing support and 

engagement with AVA, and on behalf of my fellow Directors, 

it is my pleasure to be able to welcome you to AVA’s Annual 

Report covering the period December 2021 to February 

2023. 

Chris White, Chairperson and Trustee

FINANCES 



REPORT 

... DANIEL SHAW, CEO 

2022 was a year that started and ended in the same way at 

AVA; working hard to process funding applications that would 

support groups to do some vital work across Aberdeenshire. In 

the course of 12 months, AVA distributed over £1.5m of funding to 

support different outcomes; but more of that later! 

As Aberdeenshire’s Third Sector Interface, our core purpose is to 

support, connect, represent and promote third sector organisations, 

and we have not rested on our laurels. After changing our 

operating model in the previous year so that we could deliver more 

services and outcomes for third sector organisations, this year has 

seen us go a step further by expanding our Development team 

and welcoming 3 new positions. Each position has clear outcomes 

and you can find out more about these in the update from Keith 

Anderson, our Head of Development, in this report. 

We’ve also worked hard on how we manage our intelligence relating 

to Aberdeenshire’s third sector, and have been able to expand 

our support team to enable more efficient use of our data systems 

to record activity, and to facilitate faster processing of funding 

applications through automation and process improvement. 

AVA continues to run a number of discreet projects, with Magpie, 

our social enterprise project in Banchory, being our longest held 

project. It has undergone a significant transformation regarding its 

process and procedures over the last year, and we have invested 

in staff and volunteer training to better support the outcomes that 

Magpie continues to deliver; these being our contribution to the 

vital net zero agenda, whilst supporting families in crisis through 

social donation of critical household goods. 

We are currently running three other projects which are at varying 

stages of progress: 

Community Volunteering Enterprise is funded by the Young Person’s 

Guarantee and entered its second year of delivery. It supports 

young people aged 16-25 to gain an SQA approved qualification 

in Employability Skills, and encourages them to volunteer their 

services with a third sector organisation to gain valuable skills, akin 

to being the first line of their CV. A third year is a very real prospect 

due to its success so far. 

6 // AVA 


Hospital Homecoming is funded by NHS Charities Together and NHS 

Grampian Endowment Fund, and is delivered in partnership with ACVO 

and tsiMORAY. The project has changed form during the year to be agile 

in the face of some adversity, but one of the significant outcomes has 

been the securing of a data processing agreement with NHS Grampian, 

enabling the third sector to work directly with NHS Grampian staff to 

provide better support for vulnerable and isolated patients. The funding 

for this project is due to end in August 2023 but we are already working 

hard on continuation plans for what is such a vital service. 

A relatively new project for AVA is leadership of a Local Outcomes 

Improvement Plan strand (Mental Health & Wellbeing) on behalf of 

the Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership. AVA’s role is to 

coordinate information relating to the services that are available for 

people and communities to access that can help them to maintain 

and improve their mental health and wellbeing. Vital to this is significant 

partnership working across and beyond the community planning 

partners, and AVA is proud to have been approached to deliver this, 

again, vital piece of work. 

Running alongside all of this has been our fund management work, 

across the diverse themes of Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing, 

Community-based Adult Learning, and Just Transition (delivered through 

participatory budgeting). This has involved building robust processes, 

data systems, and assessment processes from scratch, and has seen AVA 

work with a diverse range of partners and people to deliver significant 

outcomes. In brief, we have processed 298 funding applications, and 

made 157 awards for £1.764m. 

Some of the significant outcomes from the current year are detailed for 

you in this report, but like this time last year, we already have plans for 

how we can increase our visibility across Aberdeenshire and continue to 

be the first port of call for community, voluntary and third sector groups 

and organisations looking for support and guidance. We are developing 

an events and training programme for the coming year to support 

knowledge exchange and capacity building, and we have some 

exciting projects that we’re working on in the background including 

a full stakeholder mapping and engagement project, and a business 

engagement programme that we think could bring significant benefits 

for the sector across Aberdeenshire. 

It’s fair to say that the entire AVA team has delivered some outstanding 

outcomes since our previous Annual Report and I would like to personally 

and formally thank each of them for their commitment to AVA, but more 

importantly, their commitment to the community, voluntary and third 

sectors across Aberdeenshire. 

Dan Shaw, Chief Executive Officer

ENGAGEMENT 

we have 

contact with 

1557 

third sector 

organisations who 

deliver services in 

Aberdeenshire 

530 

members 

436 organisations 

& 94 individuals 

1136 

people 

subscribe to our 

information 

sharing bulletins 

28,483 

visitors to 

our website in 

the past year 

up from 12,790 

in 2021 

In 2022 

we published 

4 digital ava 

magazines which 

which had a total 

of 2947 views 

In 2022 

we AWARDED over 

£1.5M 

OF FUNDING TO 

ORGANISATIONS 

ACROSS 

ABERDEENSHIRE 

3,259 

people 

like the AVA 

Facebook page 

and it reached 

176,905 people 

in 2022 

1096 

followers 

on twitter 

up 71 from 

2021 



20,071 

Interactions with organisations in 2022 

✻ 

15% 

CONTRIBUTED TO 

CROSS-SECTOR 

COLLABORATION 

18,060 

of these interactions 

used AVA as a source 

of knowledge 

88% 


MORE PEOPLE 

BEING INVOLVED IN 

THEIR COMMUNITY 

84% 

used AVA as 

a voice for 

the sector 

89% 


ORGANISATIONS 

RESPONDING TO 

LOCAL NEED 

2391 

used AVA to facilitate 

capacity building 

within the sector 

409 


THE THIRD SECTOR 

BEING INCLUDED IN 

KEY DECISIONS 

92% 

used AVA to act 

as a connector for 

the sector 

791 

CONTRIBUTED 

TO A THRIVING 

LOCAL SOCIAL 

ECONOMY 



REPORT 

... KEITH ANDERSON, 

HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT 

In the midst of the lockdowns many wondered what the 

‘new normal’ might be like when restrictions are eased and 

life returned to our communities, when community groups 

were able to restart their activities and facilities were able 

to open their doors again. While I was reflecting on the year 

that 2022 has been, I realised we are in the new normal; and 

if asked what the headlines of 2022 have been, I’d have to 

suggest challenges, change and opportunities. 

Recovering from the enforced lockdowns would have been 

enough, but just as things were opening up other events 

conspired to present new challenges. The third sector across 

Aberdeenshire has not been immune to the impact of 

the cost-of-living crises, many groups have struggled with 

spiralling utility costs and we have heard that the cost of 

volunteering has unfortunately become a barrier to some 

and groups have struggled to find the volunteers they need. 

The influence of covid remains and continues to be a factor 

in some ways as plans are made and implemented. 

In the last twelve months our Development Team has grown 

with two new posts being created as a positive outcome of 

our involvement in managing the Communities Mental Health 

& Wellbeing Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government. 

Our experiences of Phase 1 of the fund, which concluded in 

March 22, led us to realise where more support and guidance 

were needed, and we have in place a Development Officer 

specialising in supporting organisations and groups that are 

contributing to the local Mental Health & Wellbeing support 

agendas. We also have a Development Officer in post who is 

specialising in providing Business Planning type support and 

this includes guidance on completing funding applications. 

2022 could be described as the year that AVA found itself in 

funding, and everything that was involved. Every member of 

our Development Team has had something to do either with 

“our experiences 

in managing the 

funds in the last 

twelve months 

have been 

enlightening 

and helped to 

develop our 

awareness, and 

understanding, of 

both existing and 

new groups and 

organisations” 



Head of Development 

Keith Anderson presenting 

former Communications 

Officer Lesley Lawrinson 

with a leaving gift in 

October. 

Community Mental Health & Wellbeing Funds Round 1 & 2 or the Just Transition Fund 

that we managed in the last months of 22. 

I’m confident in saying that all of our experiences in managing the funds in the last 

twelve months have been enlightening and helped to develop our awareness, and 

understanding, of both existing and new groups and organisations, what they do and 

their aspirations to make a difference in communities across all of Aberdeenshire. 

Unfortunately as with any fund, not everyone application was successful and we 

have been working with groups and organisations on alternative funding sources or 

alternative ways for sustainability. 

In all of my time with AVA, and the Volunteer Centre before that, I have been reminded 

of the selfless commitment, dedication and, today more than ever, the resilience of 

people across Aberdeenshire who volunteer or work in the third sector. The past year 

has been challenging and we can expect something similar in the twelve months to 

come. It will be my, and my teams privilege and pleasure to offer all of the support and 

guidance we can so that organisations and community groups can continue to make 

the important and often vital difference they do across Aberdeenshire. 

Keith Anderson, Head of Development

GOVERNANCE 

... RHONA DAVIDSON, 

AVA DEVELOPMENT OFFICER 

Development Officers 

Rhona Davidson and 

Sandra McGuigan at 

the AVA staff and 

board day in August 


ANNUAL REPORT 2022 

Some of the main highlights for 2022 in the Governance specialism 

would include, the continuing business from the volume of new 

enquiries on a range of topics from incorporation, charitable 

status guidance, through to general health and safety guidance 

from across the Shire. That’s over and above the ongoing support 

to groups, who have already connected with me and seek further 

governance guidance. There have been lots of positive outcomes, 

even with the challenges that Covid placed there for so many groups 

and individuals. Some groups have been looking to diversify, there 

have been many start ups and new beginnings, and at the other end 

of the scale there have also been realisations that communities have 

changed and therefore guidance on how best to dissolve inactive 

groups has been required. 

The Just Transition Fund gave us another opportunity to support the 

wider third sector and being part of the support team allowed us to 

use our experience and knowledge to be a useful part of that process. 

Sitting and passing my NDip exams during the year also added 

another layer of personal development for me, and I have had the 

opportunity to develop as one of the two Lead Development Officers 

for AVA, focusing on Training and Strategic Service Development. I 

have been involved with beginning improvement in the Occupational 

Health & Safety Management of Magpie too. So, a positive year for 

me, for sure!

“Being part of the Individual Living Network has helped us feel a 

sense of belonging and thank you to Sharon for letting me highlight 

our charity. We have made so many good contacts since being part 

of AVA. The support we receive from AVA is fantastic and we hope 

to continue to be part of the AVA family and thank you for making us 

so welcome.” 

Carol Anderson, Food Train Connects 

✻ 

“AVA helped with queries about the legal status of the group and 

also funding. I think AVA is an excellent organisation and hope to use 

it more in the future.” 

Helen Kings, Friends of Guiding 

✻ 

“Audited our accounts and helped us submit our annual return 

to OSCR. Advice on governance (and other) issues. Publicised 

information regarding our organisation in their Newsletter. Helped 

us find funding via their Newsletter. ENORMOUS amount of help and 

support to individuals unfamiliar with the processes and procedures 

required for running charity. The staff are easily contacted; 

knowledgeable; efficient; use ‘plainspeak’ and are hugely important 

to us in the continuation and development of our organisation. 

A 5 star service!” 

Elizabeth Barrow, Friends of the Amal Project



VOLUNTEERING 

... EMMA CHRISTIE, 


I 

have really enjoyed my first year at AVA, finding out about 

the amazing volunteers we have here in Aberdeenshire and 

supporting people to get more involved. Meeting so many 

of them at our celebration for Volunteers’ Week 2022 was a 

real highlight. Speaking to the volunteers who are making a 

real difference in our communities was really interesting. The 

presentation of a lifetime achievement award to a couple 

in their late 80s and early 90s topped the day off nicely and 

left us all reflecting on the difference that volunteers make 

to our local communities. 

Development Officer 

Emma Christie at 

Deveron Projects in 

Huntly giving a 

presentation on AVA’s 

work in Aberdeenshire 

and why people 

volunteer. 

I look forward to continuing to deliver our successful Lunch & 

Learn sessions in 2023 and promoting all things volunteering 

across Aberdeenshire. 



SPOTLIGHT 

... INVOLVING VOLUNTEERS AWARD 

Developed in 2022 this award came 

about as a result of AVA taking 

ownership of an organisational 

award that we developed and 

designed to fit the needs of the groups 

we work with. We wanted this award to 

sit alongside our suite of other successful 

volunteer award schemes including 

iVolunteer Awards and AVA Awards. 

Sarah Benzie, Volunteer Coordinator 

at The Barn in Banchory. 

We wanted to provide organisations with 

a first-class award, that would recognise 

the very best in good volunteering 

practice from an organisational point 

of view. One that would be recognised 

in their communities and attract more 

volunteers to that organisation. To do 

this successfully we connect our most 

local Development Officer to the 

organisation and that way they get 

face-to-face visits and evaluation. Our 

External Assessment panel is in place 

to approve those who are ready to 

be recognised as Involving Volunteers 

Award organisations. We expect many 

organisations will be looking to achieve 

this award in 2023. 



“AVA have been a huge help with three groups I am involved 

with. They were a source of information and support in providing 

payroll - (along with the many queries and questions we had having 

no financial knowledge!) - funding and volunteer information, 

governance issues - in fact just about anything and everything 

we need to know. We have always felt that AVA gave a very 

knowledgeable, reassuring and personal service anytime we 

contacted them. On many occasions they were absolute life savers 

when we had any problems to solve! Great to know that AVA is there 

when you need them.” 

Sally Sheehan, Slains & Collieston Community Council 

✻ 

“We needed guidance on the legal side of things like applying to 

become an actual charity, as well as our trustees declaration etc. 

AVA will also guide us with the fundraising side of things. Both Rhona 

& Gloria have been a huge help to us. Always happy to answer any 

questions and offer a lot of help with the legal side of things & the 

fundraising side. Couldn’t have gotten this far without AVA.” 

Louise Strachan, Play For All (Banchory) 

✻ 

“[AVA] Gave me an understanding of what is happening 

strategically in the area, what opportunities exist for organisations, 

who’s who in different organisations and this all helped in developing 

relationships & partnerships.” 

Kay Wood, Age Scotland

FUNDING 

... DONNA SPEED, 

AVA FUNDING OFFICER 

Head of Development 

Keith Anderson with Policy 

& Consultations Officer, 

Alasdair Ross, Funding 

Officer Donna Speed, 

Data Management 

Officer, Isabelle Taylor and 

Grants & Database 

Administrator Jenny 

Buchanan at the AVA staff 

and board day in August. 



Donna Speed, AVA’s Funding Officer, offers funding 

support and advice to third sector groups across 

Aberdeenshire. During 2022, part of each working day 

involved researching grant options on behalf of groups and 

organisations. This could be anything from finding funding 

ideas for new sports equipment, meeting increased running 

costs, or a large-scale capital build or renovation. Every 

week the searches carried out were slightly different, as the 

third sector is so diverse across Aberdeenshire. 

A highlight of this year was being involved in the administration 

of the Aberdeenshire Communities Mental Health & 

Wellbeing Fund for a second year. It is always great to see 

local groups secure funding to continue their valuable work 

in our communities.

FUNDING 

... GLORIA MALCOLM, 


(FUNDING & BUSINESS PLANNING) 

“We followed up some of 

the funding suggestions and 

gained funding 

for our charity. Very good 

support. Nice, friendly 

people and very 

prompt in providing 

information.” 

SCILL (Supporting 

Children in Learning for Life) 

In terms of Business Planning strategically, 

AVA have been actively building a toolkit 

for our members to assist with the creation 

of short, medium and longer term business 

plans which will facilitate sustainability in 

these critical times where we all face the 

cost of living crisis and the increasing scarcity 

of grant support. The toolkit will include 

business modelling graphics, hints and tips 

factsheets, a charity-specific business plan 

template, business planning webinars and 

1-1 support. 

Complementing this Business Planning 

tool kit will also be strategic grant funding 

support which will encourage and support 

our members to build a clear vision for 

fundraising which includes identification 

of fundraising requirements and gapanalysis 

which will deliver a targeted grant 

application roadmap. This approach, 

complemented by tailored grant searches, 

grant funding webinars and 1-1 support 

will again allow our members to build a 

sustainable organisation ready to face 

future challenges. 

Community Asset Transfer is an initiative 

which continues to meet the needs of 

some of our groups and AVA can also offer 

localised support to those groups that are 

exploring this as part of their strategic plan 

for growth. 

“[With] carrying out funding 

searches and reviewing 

applications [AVA are] 

always knowledgeable, 

helpful and professional. 

You guys do exactly what 

it says on the tin (website).” 

Wood RecyclAbility 

“...they helped us by 

providing their available 

grant list. It has meant we 

could direct our effort in a 

more streamlined fashion 

and only apply for grants 

which were suitable for 

us. It saved us a lot of time 

searching and reading 

which grants would be 

suitable for our projects. It 

has proved valuable advice 

on interpreting jargon/lingo 

which we are unfamiliar 

with and assisted us through 

the grant process. 

The support has been 

excellent. It is great 

resource to have available 

to ourselves.” 

Bennachie Leisure 

Centre 





Development Officer, 

Aileen Longino is also a valued 

volunteer in her local community.

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE 

... AILEEN LONGINO, 


2022 has been another year of growth for start-up Social 

Enterprises in Aberdeenshire. We have worked with many 

small social enterprises that popped up during the pandemic 

when people had time to take stock of life and circumstances. 

This is reflected in the very recently published and long awaited 

Social Enterprise in Scotland: Census 2021. 

We have been working with a growing number of SEs with figures 

for Aberdeenshire at 287 up 42 from the previous census. At AVA 

we work with around 100 social enterprises with over ¾ of them 

led by people from a particular community - so still plenty of 

work to do. This is encouraging in that 33% of Social enterprises 

in Scotland are based in rural communities with Aberdeenshire 

being a perfect example of this. It is great to hear that demands 

on services provided continued to increase during the pandemic 

although mitigating actions such as adapting business models to 

cater for social distancing took its toil on a majority of all social 

enterprises. However, they still they managed to increase their 

income with most coming from trading activity as many are 

feeling the usual funding streams are in decline. 

The three strongest national outcomes for Scotland for social 

enterprises are Communities and Health & Education and this 

is what we see locally in Aberdeenshire. Business confidence 

seems to have bounced back from 12 months ago but many 

express that the ongoing rising operational costs are the main 

barrier for development. Making the transition to Net Zero has 

started, helped by the Just Transition Fund but help with costs 

associated to this is the biggest need. 

Going forward there is a need for more collaborative approach, 

sharing knowledge, skills and services with our network of social 

enterprises. At AVA, we are looking at a Social Enterprise Swap 

Shop and finding ways of securing better deals for utilities and 

services when we work together collectively as a social enterprise 

cooperative for our AVA membership. 



SPOTLIGHT 

... ABERDEENSHIRE WARM SPACES 

Visit our 

Warm Spaces map at 

www.avashire.org.uk 

We launched this project in early November to 

capture all the ‘warm spaces’ springing up 

across Aberdeenshire. These spaces were mostly 

community areas which were already warm and lit but 

perhaps being underutilised. We are currently working with 

74 ‘warm spaces’ across Aberdeenshire. 



This project continues to grow and our interactive map plots 

where and when they are happening - including opening 

hours and what is being offered eg. free Wi-Fi, warm soup, 

and hot drinks. Many of these ‘warm spaces’ are doubling 

up with food pantries and other related services providing 

a one-stop-shop for some communities. Most managed to 

maintain some level of service over the festive period and 

are committed to running until the end of March 2023, when 

hopefully the weather will have improved.

“AVA have been invaluable to our organisation with advice , 

recommendations, help when we need when filling in important 

documentation and anything that us a organisation have little 

or no experience dealing with . Gloria and Rhona are always at 

hand when we need advice and always pleasant and it’s never 

a problem. An excellent knowledge of what we need to do in our 

process of getting the outdoor pool on a legal standing to complete 

the Asset transfer from Aberdeenshire council. Keeping us right and 

up to date on regulations and important form filling in target points. 

We are very grateful for the help we have had up to now and 

hopefully moving on we can continue getting the advice we need 

to complete our project .” 

Andrew MacRae, Portsoy Outdoor Pool 

✻ 

“[AVA] provided us with valuable guidance on the steps we should 

be taking in order to make the Warm Spaces project successful.” 

Vikki Jannetta , Udny Community Trust 

✻ 

“AVA supported our organisation to progress from being the 

One Stop Shop Aberdeen, running under another organisations 

charity number to becoming a charity in it’s own right. Autism 

Understanding Scotland (AUScot) is now a national autistic led autism 

support charity. AVA supported us to apply for our SCIO charitable 

status, governance advice, potential funding sources, issues with 

Business Rates costs and networking. AVA have also helped us to 

promote our work by sharing; events, training, call for new trustees 

and consultation work we have held regarding Bills and Policy work 

with Scottish Government. ” 

Julie Brown , Autism Understanding Scotland 

(also known as AUScot)

CHILDREN & FAMILIES 

... SHONA REYNOLDS, 


Aberdeenshire has a wealth of organisations that support 

children, young people, and their families at a local level. 

The organisations have long established relationships with 

their communities and a real understanding of the challenges they 

face. 

AVA’s Children and Families Network launched in 2021 and has a 

growing membership of almost 90 members. The network is open 

to any third sector organisations delivering services to children, 

young people, families, and carers living in Aberdeenshire. Since 

its launch, members have been invited to attend two forum events 

and three network meetings. 

Children and Families network events have provided members 

with an opportunity to highlight the valuable work done, share 

knowledge and experiences, as well as being a place where 

collaborative working relationships are built. Statutory partners have 

been invited to speak about relevant work and seek views from the 

groups. In addition to the meetings, each member has received 

regular updates on training, news, and developments. There is a 

key role for sharing the third sectors’ views at local and national 

level and for AVA to share information through the network. 

The network provides an opportunity to bring together the third 

sector voice in Aberdeenshire. This is fed into Children’s Services 

Planning at a local and national level as the Children & Families 

Development Officer is an active member of the Child Protection 

Committee, GIRFEC Strategic Group, as well as working together 

with multi-agency partners in various GIRFEC and CPC Subgroups. 

In September, Shona attended the Launch of Core Multi-Agency 

Mental Health Professional Learning Framework. 

Shona also participates in the national ‘Supporting the Third Sector 

Project’ facilitated by Children in Scotland. In the autumn, she 

attended their multi-agency training event on Children’s Rights 

and the UNCR: Bridging Policy and Practice. 



Mhairi Philip, Manager at Home-Start Garioch 

and AVA’s Shona Reynolds with Angela 

Gowdy who was named Home-Start’s 

Volunteer of the Year. 





Development Officers, Sharon Francis 

and Heather McKay with Project Officer, Aimi 

Blueman at Grampian Opportunities.

SUPPORTING 

INDEPENDENT LIVING 

... SHARON FRANCIS, 


Starting a new job is always hard ‘til you find your feet 

but when it was during lockdown, it was tough. For that 

reason 2022 couldn’t come quick enough to enable 

me to meet with the great groups and organisations within 

our communities and the team I was working with. 

Virtually is a great way to meet people and has many 

positives but you can’t beat meeting people on a personal 

level and truly listening and feeling their passion for the work 

they do - it’s so inspiring. 

Days out in Inverurie and Huntly were organised by a few of 

us, where we met with various organisations to learn more 

about the work they were doing and plans they had for 

moving forward to meet the needs of our communities, and 

this was superb. But for me it was a double whammy as I was 

also meeting my colleagues for the first time in person and 

I was able to learn more about them and their role within 

AVA and listen to differing perspectives and interests from 

them about their specialisms and the groups we met. 

2022 has given me so many reasons to smile when I look back 

on it and many of them are reflecting on the most inspiring 

people I have met since joining AVA. I always feel incredibly 

lucky to do the job I do. 





Development Officer, Sharon Francis 

with the Grampian 50+ Network 

Ramblers’ Rendezvous event in July 2022.

SPOTLIGHT 

... GRAMPIAN 50+ NETWORK 

Grampian 50+ Network is an association of 46 walking 

groups across Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and 

Moray. Groups organise their own walks and some 

walks are local while others are further afield and make use 

of public transport, minibus or private cars. 

A committee of volunteers organises opportunities for all 

members to meet and mingle. These include walking days, 

training sessions, holidays and other events which may 

involve walks, social and craft activities or visits to local sites 

of interest. 

The Grampian 50+ Network get together was my first work 

meeting out in person after lockdown and I will never forget 

the emotions I felt as I entered a large hall full of walking 

groups from all over Aberdeenshire. The chatter, laughter 

and most of all the smiling faces of men and women and 

connection within the room, it certainly warmed your 

cockles. This annual event is organised by Marjory Darcy 

every year so that all the local groups come together and 

take part in a variety of activities from ranger river walks to 

flower arranging and a distillery tour! 

My first activity was a treasure map hunt around Huntly 

where we chatted, we laughed, we solved the clues and 

we walked ALOT, it was so much fun. After lunch I was 

chosen to do flower arranging, yikes, not something I had 

ever done but I soon relaxed with a lovely group of ladies 

who supported each other in finding our artistic flair and just 

putting the world to rights, it was such a relaxing afternoon. 

The walkers meet regularly within their own areas to walk 

many miles together but really look forward to their annual 

knees up and even more so after COVID-19. It was such an 

inspiring, heart-warming day and all organised by Marjory 

who brought so many people together to have such a 

lovely day out - the atmosphere was one of merriment and 

satisfaction. 



MENTAL HEALTH 

& WELLBEING 

... HEATHER MCKAY, 


The launch of the Scottish Government’s Communities 

Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund in recent years 

highlighted the large number of groups that exist across 

Aberdeenshire providing mental health and wellbeing 

support to their communities. AVA recognised a need to 

provide specialised support for those groups, so the role of 

Development Officer for Mental Health and Wellbeing was 

created in May 2022. It has been a great year of making 

new connections with mental health and wellbeing groups, 

providing further support for those already in our membership, 

and helping to forge new connections between third sector 

organisations and service providers. Key projects for the 

Development Officer this year included being on the steering 

group of Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership’s 

“Mind Yer Mind” campaign, planning for the Aberdeenshire 

Wellbeing Festival coming in May 2023, and a supporting 

role in the administration of Round 2 of the Communities 

Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund. 

The Vinery in Banff is a community space, set in the 

original walled garden for Duff House, providing indoor 

and outdoor activities for all ages and a place to relax 

and connect. 

The Vinery offers various wellbeing and environmental 

activities like mindfulness sessions, tai chi, children’s after 

school activities, cancer peer support groups, craft groups, 

walking groups and more. On the day we visited, various 

groups were booked to be coming in, including a “Bit of 

Banter” where people enjoy a hot drink, some board games, 

and of course a good blether! 



SPOTLIGHT 

... THE VINERY IN BANFF 

The gardening group arrived while we were there and the 

conversations with the members of the group were truly 

inspiring. One lady said, “This place is the best thing that has 

ever happened to me.” Another group member proudly 

showed us the onions, garlic, herbs and other vegetables 

that he is lovingly nourishing in the greenhouse and out in 

the garden. With more activities planned by The Vinery, we 

can’t wait to see what the future holds! 

Development Officer, 

Heather McKay and 

Project Officer, Claire 

McCafferty-Clarke visited 

The Vinery in Banff 

in November. 

The Vinery is managed by Aberdeen Foyer, and it officially 

opened its doors in August 2022. Visit their website at: www. 

aberdeenfoyer.com/fundraising/the-vinery/ to find out 

more. 



POLICY & CONSULTATIONS 

... ALASDAIR ROSS, 

AVA & ACVO POLICY & CONSULTATIONS 

OFFICER 

AVA’s role as an advocate for the third sector is long 

established, and it was strengthened this year by the 

Board’s commitment to a new role concentrating on 

Policy and Consultations, shared with ACVO in Aberdeen. 

It has been a busy first 6 months in post digesting local and 

national plans and gaining an understanding of the huge 

capacity of our third sector in Aberdeenshire. A particular 

highlight of this short period was AVA’s contribution to 

Aberdeenshire Council’s consultation on their UK Shared 

Prosperity Fund bid. The resulting Investment Plan now 

includes significant funds for the third sector including 

significant spend on growing the local social economy 

which we hope will be a catalyst for the wider Community 

Wealth Building movement. 

The squeeze on public sector funding and the wider costs 

crisis has brought the future of the sector into sharp focus 

this year. For many, it has been hard to focus on the future 

when faced with the immediate pressure of surviving dayto-day. 

Looking ahead though the lens of economic instability and 

political uncertainty, it is clear that the third sector needs to 

keep on top of the rapidly changing policy landscape and 

the local and national government priorities which, in their 

view, are measurements of success. In doing that we must 

have a stronger say in the development of these policies 

and plans in the first place, and that is what AVA is now able 

to help our members, and the wider sector in Aberdeenshire, 

achieve. 



SPOTLIGHT 

... SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT VISIT 

AVA CEO Dan Shaw, and Policy & Consultations Officer Alasdair Ross visited 

the Scottish Parliament with other TSI and third sector representatives in 

November to learn more about how the Parliament gathers views from 

outside organisations when discussing new laws and investigating topics of interest 

to their committees. Throughout the day there were sessions with Parliament staff 

on how to make written evidence more impactful, ensuring community voices are 

heard by Parliament, supporting the participation of children and young people, 

including lived experience and effective communication. The Parliament has a 

cross-party scrutiny role about proposals for new laws and often goes into a great 

deal of detail. Parliamentary Committees can also instigate their own investigations 

into areas of interest and most Government consultations relate to wider ideas for 

policies and strategies which the ruling political parties would like to see enacted. 

Dan and Alasdair were struck by the very open and transparent way in which the 

Scottish Parliament works, how it conducts its research and how it is able and willing 

to hear the voices of the communities of Scotland. AVA is here to help navigate 

these systems, and to help the third sector in Aberdeenshire have its voice heard, 

so the day was a useful reminder of what’s in place to enable us to do that.

MAGPIE 

OUR SOCIAL ENTERPRISE 

In 2022 Magpie has supported many stakeholders. Working 

in partnership with Aberdeenshire South Foodbank we 

delivered 100 emergency food parcels to those in need. 

We gifted 170 items to 27 families, and those families also 

received emergency food parcels. We supported referrals 

from Grampian Womens Aid, Osprey Housing, Aberdeenshire 

Council Social Services, Aberdeenshire Council Housing, 

Salvation Army and Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care 

Partnership, meaning that people were able to get the 

goods they needed. 

Engaging with our local Banchory Academy through pupil 

support is something Magpie has recently started. This 

provides the student and the pupil support teacher a place 

to come during class time where a pupil can carry out tasks 

at the shops. This not only gives them new skills but it also 

helps with their mental health, allowing them to feel useful 

and valued. 

Magpie also works with Criminal Justice supporting 

Community Payback Volunteers, providing a place for those 

to payback their hours and providing references if required 

once placements have been completed. 

In November 2022, Magpie had a really successful day 

at the AREG Energy Futures Conference and Exhibition 

in Aberdeen. It was a great opportunity to meet with key 

decision makers including Michael Matheson MSP, Cabinet 

Secretary for Net Zero, and hear what steps are being taken 

to move towards a greener future. 

Thank you to everyone who continues to support Magpie 

through volunteering, shopping with us and donating so we 

can help promote sustainable living in Aberdeenshire. 



AVA and Magpie staff 

celebrate our volunteers at 

a ‘thank you lunch’ during 

Volunteers’ Week in June. 



In August, Grampian Continental 

kindly moved our container for us - 

saving us around £400 and giving us some 

much-needed on-site storage space. 

20 

volunteers 

currently 

support magpie 

and together they 

have donated 

3300 hours of 

their time 



100 

emergency 

food parcels 

delivered 

in 2022 

170 

items 

were donated to 

27 families in need 

22 tonnes 

of goods have been diverted from 

landfill during 2022

“We are looking forward to benefitting from the continued 

partnership with Magpie. The friendly and efficient Magpie team 

have helped us move our Christmas boxes to referral agencies in 

Banchory and Stonehaven, making it quicker and easier for the 

boxes to get out to families. This link with Magpie is greatly 

appreciated by the foodbank volunteers, the referral agencies 

and, especially, the families.” 

Aberdeenshire South Foodbank 

✻ 

“We have found Magpie to be an essential service to help provide 

us furniture, bedding and kitchenware to new and existing Social 

Housing tenants who otherwise cannot afford to obtain the most 

basic items needed in a household. The staff are very helpful, friendly 

and quick to respond to the needs of our tenants. We would be lost 

without such a service in the local area. It really can be life-changing 

to be able to help individuals or families in need and we could no do 

this without the help of Magpie and the donations they receive from 

the public.” 

Elaine Bowie, Osprey Housing 

✻ 

“Justice Services have worked in partnership with Magpie for over 

ten years. It provides volunteering placements where people can 

gain valuable new skills, experiences and increase their confidence. 

Manager Marie-Anne is both professional and supportive and along 

with her enthusiastic and hard-working team of volunteers Magpie 

provides an outstanding and inclusive community reuse/recycle hub 

to the community.” 

Justice Service (for supporting Community Payback volunteers)

HOSPITAL 

HOMECOMING 

...AIMI BLUEMAN, 

PROJECT OFFICER 

After many months of development work which 

included the recruitment of community groups and 

volunteers, identification of patient pathways suitable 

for the project, building of relationships with NHS and Health 

and Social Care Partners and attempting to obtain a data 

sharing agreement with NHS Grampian, the project started 

to receive patients using a patient consent workaround. 

To date there have been 45 enquiries for support coming 

from ARI, Community Hospitals, Care Managers, OTs, families 

and friends and patients themselves. Some enquiries have 

been made for patients outside of the three project areas 

(Portlethen, Huntly and Clashindarroch and Central Buchan) 

or their support needs are outwith the project scope; 

wherever possible these individuals have been signposted 

on to other groups or services. 

A total of seven patients have been supported thus far, 

mainly receiving support with shopping, transport and 

friendly chats. Feedback from patients and volunteers has 

been positive. 

Development work has continued; the Data Sharing 

Agreement with NHS Grampian is still being pursued and 

Aberdeenshire Council have been approached for a Data 

Sharing Agreement and work to achieve this is underway. 

Different models and pathways of identifying suitable 

patients have been discussed with the Health and Social 

Care Partnership and a more proactive approach is being 

developed to prevent hospital admission. 



“As far as I’m 

concerned it’s 

a first class…. 

whoever thought 

of this should 

be knighted… 

it’s a marvelous 

scheme.” 

“[The volunteer] 

goes beyond 

helping me….she 

doesn’t just leave 

my messages on 

the floor she put it 

away for me.” 

“In my opinion I 

regard her [the 

volunteer] now as 

a friend.” 

“We get on very 

well, I feel like part 

of the family...we 

have nice chats 

…and we get on 

really well.” 

“I get a lot out of 

it, I feel like I am 

doing something 

worthwhile 

compared to my 

real job I used to 

have where you’re 

not making a 

difference.”

COMMUNITY 

VOLUNTEERING 

ENTERPRISE 

...PAULINE ANDERSON, 

PROJECT OFFICER 

AVA’s Community Volunteering Enterprise, 

funded by the Young Person’s Guarantee 

Fund, seeks to work with young people aged 

16-24 through a programme focused on learning 

and development activities. In this second year 

of our Community Volunteering Enterprise Project 

we have continued to work with young people 

supporting them through the three phases of our CVE 

Programme – developing skills and confidence, the 

SQA Employability Qualification and where possible 

engaging in volunteering with all the benefits that this 

can generate. 

The project has the aim of engaging with young 

people and helping them to improve their personal 

situation or circumstances through a programme of 

challenging development activities, reminding them 

of the skills and experience they already have and 

supporting them to engage in a relevant volunteering 

activity to gain new skills and confidence. Our aim is 

to challenge young people to realise their potential in 

a supportive and encouraging environment and raise 

their awareness of what is happening in their own 

communities and how, as volunteers, they themselves 

can make a difference and benefit from being 

involved. 

“Overall, this was 

a really successful 

experience for the 

young people. 

The young people 

felt empowered, 

enabled, responsible 

and respected as 

young adults.” 

“Pauline has 

provided a warm, 

nurturing and 

focused setting in 

which pupils can 

grow in confidence, 

building their skills 

and experience. 

Without Pauline’s 

input these pupils 

would not have the 

opportunity to gain 

the award which 

offers essential life 

skills.” 

“Please come back 

next year and work 

with another group.” 





COMMUNITY MENTAL 

HEALTH & WELLBEING FUND 

YEAR ONE 

The fund was designed by the Scottish Government to 

support grass roots, community-based organisations who 

are delivering services that support people to look after 

their mental health and wellbeing. Specific focus was to be 

given to projects that would support prevention and early 

intervention work, including suicide prevention, alongside 

tackling loneliness and social isolation. Beneficiaries included 

marginalised groups including, but not limited to, the elderly, 

socio-economically disadvantaged, LGBTQ+ people, 

people living with diagnosed mental illness, and refugees or 

people with no recourse to public funds. 

AVA worked alongside the other Third Sector Interfaces across 

Scotland to deliver the fund, and built robust partnerships, 

processes, and systems to deliver it for Aberdeenshire. 

The first round saw £711,582 distributed across Aberdeenshire 

to support projects as diverse as conversation cafés, 

localised art therapy groups, book clubs, food growing 

activities, community transport projects, and walking 

groups. 80% of awards were for under £10,000 meaning 

that most of the money was distributed to smaller groups 

including unconstituted groups to deliver support into small 

communities. 

“We are satisfied 

that the charity 

provides a vital 

service and we 

appreciate the 

£1000 grant 

received from AVA 

which has helped 

us continue help 

patients living in 

the Rhynie area.” 

Car Aid Rhynie, 

who Transport 

patients of Rhynie 

Medical Practice 

to all health related 

appointments and 

dliver medication 

to housebound 

and vulnerable 

patients. 



“We now have 90 plot holders and their families attending regularly. 

12 people attend weekly craft and up-cycling sessions. (1 afternoon 

and 1 evening session) An estimated 600 + people attended our 

open day. Eighteen ladies visited the allotments on a organised 

visit. 48 people attended the soup and sweet introducing new plot 

holders to the allotment community. 42 people attended our Jumper 

BBQ.” 

Elizabeth Scott, Aden Community Allotment Association 

✻ 

“Our membership has grown to [approx] 80 and our facilities are 

being increasingly used by clubs and welfare groups in the village. 

We estimated that over 1000 visitors have used our facilities in the first 

9 months of 2022... it has progressed better than we expected since 

the end of Covid. The help from AVA grant has been very helpful to 

get us up and running.” 

Peter Meenan, Alford and District Men’s Shed 

✻ 

“Our organisation intended to use this grant to improve the mental, 

emotional, physical and sexual health of LGBT+ individuals across 

Grampian. We will do this by educating communities and supporting 

LGBT+ individuals and their allies. Thus far, the project has been able 

to engagement more people in the shire than had been possible in 

the past. We are seeing the grant having a positive benefit of our 

service users’ mental health & wellbeing...[and]with engagement up, 

we are receiving feedback from the community letting us know that 

knowledge of Four Pillars services is even helping reduce the social 

isolation people may feel. ” 

Micah Daigeaun, Four Pillars 

✻ 

“Our volunteers have all said that The Bikery is a lifeline for them 

to keep busy, work with others and have a reason to get up in the 

morning. ” 

Laura McNeil, Gordon Rural Action’s The Bikery 



COMMUNITY MENTAL 

HEALTH & WELLBEING FUND 

YEAR TWO 

The second year of the fund saw similar themes and groups being supported, but with 

more emphasis being placed on the role of lived experience in making decisions about 

where funding should be targeted. We connected with lived experienced panels 

that have been set up across Aberdeenshire, and included representatives on the fund 

assessment panel, which proved invaluable to AVA, and the assessment panel partners to 

bring an additional perspective to the decisions that were made. 

£642,836 was distributed; 67% reached smaller projects, with the distribution of supported 

services across Aberdeenshire being more evenly split than in year 1. 

Projects that were supported during year 2 include birthing support for single mothers, 

sensory gardens for people with specific disabilities, medical appointment transport 

services, community volunteering coordinator services, neurodiversity support, and suicide 

prevention in the male population. 



JUST TRANSITION PARTICIPATORY 

BUDGETING FUND 

The Grampian Third Sector Interfaces (AVA, ACVO 

and tsiMORAY) were approached by the Scottish 

Government and asked if we could administer funds that 

would support communities to get involved in Just Transition 

activities. AVA had £333,333 of capital funding to distribute 

to community groups across Aberdeenshire through a 

participatory budgeting process. 

AVA set up the application process, the applications quality 

assurance process, and the voting process in a short space 

of time, and supported ACVO and tsiMORAY to set up 

similar systems that would enable wider and more joined up 

reporting of the outcomes of the fund. NESCAN Hub worked 

in partnership with ACVO and AVA to help promote the fund 

across its members, with the fund opening on 30th September 

2022 and closing to applications on 14th November. 

56 applications were received, with 46 being deemed 

eligible to reach the public vote. The public vote went live 

on 1st December for 3 weeks and resulted in 4,762 people 

taking part in the Aberdeenshire vote. 19 projects were 

funded and the successful projects included purchase 

of electric vehicles, household heat loss monitoring and 

insulation advice, food growing advisory services, solar 

powered equipment to replace petrol machinery, and 

retrofitting of community-access facilities. 

Between the 19 successful projects, they supported every 

one of the 8 national Just Transition outcomes, and each of 

the six Aberdeenshire localities will benefit from a range of 

activities that are supported by the fund. 





ADULT LEARNING RECOVERY 

FUND 

In 2022 the Scottish Government provided a Covid-19 recovery 

investment fund for community-based adult learning (CBAL) to 

support local adult learning recovery needs. Across Scotland the 

investment was issued to Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs) with the agreed 

expectation that they collaborate with local partners to agree how the 

investment can best support local adult learning needs as identified in 

their local authority’s recently published CLD plan. 

£47,000 was made available for investment to support adult learning 

recovery in Aberdeenshire and this came to us here at AVA. 

As the TSI in Aberdeenshire, AVA engaged and worked with a number 

of partners to plan and share the available funding. The outcomes 

included the following: 

• The Workers Education Association received funding for three 

different adult learning programmes in Aberdeenshire 

• 120 adult learners were able to engage in learning / development 

activities because of CBAL support 

• An Adult Learners Forum was funded and organised by adult 

learners 

• 40+ adults learners attended the event 

• A range of learning resources were purchased 

• 90 practitioners and volunteers involved in adult learning 

benefited from resources 

• 15 partner organisations received a Wellbeing & Resilience 

pack; feedback has been positive with requests coming in for 

additional packs 

Being involved with the fund was a positive experience for AVA. We 

already had a good and positive relationship with CLD colleagues; 

we are an active member of the Aberdeenshire Learning Partnership 

Strategic Groups and regularly attend and contribute to development 

meetings. We found the fund easier to manage because of the 

existing positive relationships that exist among strategic partners here 

in Aberdeenshire. 



FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS 

During 2023-2024, AVA will: 

Deliver proactive and reactive support to groups and 

organisations that enables them to support their service 

users more effectively. 

Develop more engagement opportunities for third sector 

organisations to give their views on national and regional 

policy changes through consultation activities. 

Evaluate the effectiveness of how it engages across the 

public sector, and consider where the most impact for the 

third sector can be derived. 

Amplify the voice of the third sector in its relationships with 

the public sector. 

Support the third sector with a purpose-built knowledge 

exchange programme that facilitates greater capacity 

for groups and organisations. 

Engage in stakeholder mapping to bring about further 

gains for connecting the third sector to decision makers. 

Build a ‘responsible business’ programme and engage 

with the private sector for the benefit of Aberdeenshire’s 

third sector. 



Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action 

is a charitable company 

limited by guarantee. 

Company number: SC137343. 

Scottish Charity Number: SC014223 

Communications & 

Membership Manager 

Lindsay Allardyce and 

former Communications 

Officer Lesley Lawrinson 

with Magpie Manager 

Marie-Anne Brown at 

the shop in June. 

Postal address: PO BOX 18706, 

Peterhead, AB42 9BA. 

Registered office: 45 Queens Road, 

Aberdeen, AB15 4ZN 

Tel: 03718 110008 

Email: enquiries@avashire.org.uk 

Website: www.avashire.org.uk 

Follow us on Facebook 

AberdeenshireVoluntary Action1 

Twitter @AVAShire 

Instagram @magpieshops 

YouTube AVA Shire

AVA Annual Report 2022

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