HIE boosts tsiMORAY's efforts to support social enterprises with £63,000 funding

AN ORGANISATION set up to support social enterprises across Moray has secured up to £63,360 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

tsiMORAY's members represent community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprises based or operating in Moray.

HIE has supported the work of tsiMORAY since 2012. The latest funding award will strengthen the group’s delivery of key areas of support for up to 90 social enterprises in areas such as health and wellbeing, and children and young people.

There will be a focus on growing capacity of social enterprise and supporting partnership engagement in the context of third-sector leadership for an inclusive green recovery and wellbeing economy.

Fiona Robb, HIE’s head of strengthening communities in Moray, said: "There is increasing recognition for the important role that community and social enterprises have, not only in tackling many issues around community resilience, but in economic development too.

"This year especially, tsiMORAY has supported Moray’s social enterprises in bringing communities together and working very hard to tackle the challenges we’ve faced.

"These enterprises will have a similarly important role in our longer-term recovery and it’s important that tsiMORAY has the resources it needs to continue providing valuable support.

"That’s what this HIE award is all about. We are very pleased to be able to provide support and look forward to continuing to work with tsiMORAY and seeing the benefits of the organisation’s activities spread across Moray’s communities."

Fabio Villani, from tsiMORAY’s leadership team, said: "We are delighted to have secured further funding from HIE to strengthen the support we can provide to community and social enterprises in Moray over the next two years.

"Community and social enterprises lead the way in providing community-led innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities communities face, as demonstrated so strongly during this challenging year.

"We look forward to continuing to work with HIE in supporting community and social enterprises to help our communities transition through a just and green recovery to a wellbeing economy, where our success is measured not simply in economic terms, but in terms of the health, fairness, wellbeing and sustainability of our communities."

tsiMORAY is part of the Moray Community Planning Partnership, which aims to design and deliver better services and to make Moray a better place to live, work, visit and enjoy.

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