Global Directory

We want everyone in Argyll and the Isles to experience and appreciate our spectacular coast and countryside. We believe that residents, businesses, and visitors should all be able to enjoy and benefit from this wonderful region, so we work hard to maintain, enhance, and promote our great outdoors.

Our mission is to sustainably maintain, enhance and promote the coast and countryside of Argyll and the Isles. Why? Because it is a spectacular part of the world that everyone should be able to enjoy now and forever.

We work in partnership with communities, public agencies, and private organisations to design and implement projects that make a difference to people and landscapes. We cover a diverse and exciting range of topics, including conservation, tourism, and health and wellbeing, that all contribute to achieving our vision of a coastal and countryside environment that is valued and enjoyed by everyone, now and forevermore.

Our objectives are:

• To care for and enhance our environment – working strategically and locally.
• To encourage people to enjoy and benefit from our environment.
• To encourage investment that will improve our environment.
• To share ideas and work in partnership with groups and individuals with an interest in our environment.
• To increase opportunities for local people such as employment, training, and volunteering.

ALIenergy (Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Energy Agency) works to promote sustainable energy use and renewable energy generation, to address fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions.

ALIenergy is a facilitator, project manager and programme co-ordinator and we devise projects, educate, advise and improve access to knowledge and skills so that communities build capacity to participate in renewable energy and energy saving activity.

ALIenergy is an award-winning organisation at the interface between communities, economy and environment – ensuring that these three themes are integrated in all our projects and activities. Also, we provide the link between the strategic overview at European, national and regional levels and direct action locally.

Alyth Development Trust is a social enterprise working to deliver an ambitious and wide-ranging set of improvements with and for the community of Alyth, in Perthshire, Scotland. ADT is a charity registered in Scotland, No. SC047606

As a charity and a social enterprise ourselves, we are a values driven organisation. These values are below:-​​
– Approachable
– Respectful
– Professional
– Reliable
– Honest, with real personal integrity
– Constantly learning and improving

32 organisations in Scotland have a mandate from the Scottish Government to deliver a TSI remit to deliver their TSI roles in line with the Scottish Government’s Third Sector Interface Outcome Framework.

There are 4 aspects to our role;
– Being a central source of knowledge – 3rd sector, national and local policy.
– Ensuring the local third sector has a strong voice at a strategic level – locally and nationally.
– Builds the capacity of volunteering, voluntary and community organisations and social enterprise to achieve positive change.
– Connection – providing leadership, vision and coordination to the local third sector, including through partnership and collaboration.

In Argyll & Bute the TSI does not receive contributions to our core funding from either the council or the HSCP.

Community Shop and hub for both locals and visitors to the islands. Route to market for local producers, supports local producers bringing products to market, promotes local and supports local economy. Brings in other items for both local and visiting customers such as wholefoods, books, yarn, craft supplies and much more. Launderette, bike hire, visitor information service, printing and copying.

Currently going through the Asset Transfer process with the local authority. Just submitted our appeal to them after our proposal was rejected.

Community First is about meeting the needs of communities, groups, organisations, business and people.

We strive to be a force for good by offering a wide range of support and services to local communities, groups and organisations.

We help those who help, volunteer and support their communities.

Our priority is to empower individuals, by supporting them to develop skills and knowledge and as a result of their learning and experiences increase in confidence in their home, work and community lives.

The idea for Community First came to mind in 2015 when we began to be approached by individuals and local organisations who were being supported by the good Samaritans and volunteers who ran them. Because of their self-identified lack of digital skills, they felt they were not being able to fully benefit the organisations they were supporting. Something as simple as emailing, sharing information or reaching their most isolated members was an area that was causing great concern. This was a need we could see and luckily one we could most definitely meet.

We then began being asked for similar help but on a commercial level by small and start up-businesses.

Because we wouldn’t take any kind of payment, we started to receive boxes of sweets, biscuits and bottles of wine. Whilst this was very generous, it wasn’t too good for our waistlines or general health! So when we were offered a donation towards future support we might give to others, a sort of Pay it Forward idea, CommunityfirstUK was formed.

We went on to register as a Social Enterprise limited by guarantee in 2016 where any profit our organisation makes goes back into other projects allowing us to support more people and organisations, not just with digital but with needs they have that we can help with.

Our motto? SEE A NEED, MEET THAT NEED

CWA is the representative and support body for Scotland’s 200 community woodlands.

The Dochas Centre is in Lochgilphead, Argyll and was founded in 1998 by John Paterson after John was diagnosed with both Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) and Motor Neurone Disease (MND). He was an artist and psychiatric nurse. John’s vision was to bring hope to others living with these incurable conditions by using the sale of reproductions of his art to support care and research. Since John’s death in 1998 his wife, Catherine Paterson, has carried on his work. The Dochas Fund became a registered charity in February 2000.

A number of years on, that vision and work continues to operate from the Dochas Centre. The centre houses a Gallery and Carers’ Room that is available to all carers in the Mid-Argyll area and was purpose built by donations. It houses John’s art work which is for sale and is a centre and meeting place for individuals and various group such as Dementia Support, Parkinson’s Support, GBS and MND support, Carers’ Support, Mental Health Support, Alcohol Addiction Support and Life after Bereavement Support.

Our centre offers hope not only to people living with GBS or MND but also to others who have sought our support and guidance living with other medical conditions. We offer emotional and practical support by providing information, guidance and training for unpaid carers through the maze of services. All our services are free to carers. Within Argyll and Bute we work to improve the lives of all unpaid carers who face particular problems due to the rural and remote aspects of the region.

We don’t work alone and over the years have formed strong partnerships with a number of other agencies and care professionals. We also rely on a wonderful team of volunteers who bring a range of skills and commitment to our work and play a key role and integral part in the success of the centre.

DTA Scotland is an independent, member-led organisation which aims to promote, support and represent development trusts in Scotland. Established in 2003, DTA Scotland now has over 300 development trust members – community-led organisations using a combination of enterprise and creativity to improve the quality of life for local people in urban, rural and island communities across Scotland. In 2016, DTA Scotland converted to a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) – No.SC034231.

The College has two campuses (Dumfries and Stranraer) and many learning centre partnerships across the region. We are a College without walls – creating flexible learning approaches to suit everyone. This means learning opportunities are varied and abundant – from full-time courses to flexible part-time courses, from learning in College to learning at home, work or at the top of The Merrick (local fell walking landmark) or beyond.

Visit our website!

https://www.dumgal.ac.uk/dumgalportal/

Visit us on social media!

Facebook – @DAGCOL4Business; @DumfiresandGallowayCollege
Twitter – @DAGCOL4Business; @DandGCollege
Instagram – @DAGCOL4Business; @d.g.college
Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/company/complete-training-solutions-dumfries-and-galloway-college; https://www.linkedin.com/company/dumfries-and-galloway-college-1/

DWS Associates is a network of experienced Directors and Managers with a track record of helping organisations to solve problems and seize opportunities.

We have experience of successfully working in private businesses, social enterprises, charities and local government in both urban and rural locations.

We have recent and relevant experience supporting Social Enterprises, Community Trusts, Community Councils and NGO to develop Strategy, Feasibility Studies, Options Appraisals, Business Plans, Virtual and Physical Community Engagement, Project Management and Fund Raising.

Eat, Sleep, Ride is an approved horse riding school offering lessons and hacking to the public, as well as education and corporate team building. In addition we are a social enterprise targeting people experiencing mental health problems, those that have suffered abuse, lived in areas of high deprivation and other challenges such as drug/alcohol addiction.

We provide quality qualified tuition to both adults and children on well schooled horses and ponies specialising in holistic training methods and groundwork.

We are a charity which looks after the island under the Skye bridge and have a small museum and visitor centre relating to Gavin Maxwell and his life with otters.

An early stage start-up providing practical training and skills development in horticulture, agriculture, machinery, countryside and habitat management, and heritage crafts.

We are focused on supporting women and ethnic minority groups in particular.

Eskola Village Service Ltd. is a social enterprise, that provides many services at our village. It is owned by over 130 people, villagers and other supporters. The center of the operations is Eskola House, and under its roof we have our kindergarten, restaurant, kiosk and the domestic service office, as well as the village info office, meeting room and a small gym hall. Eskola Village Service Ltd. was founded in 2013, and we are pioneers of village social enterprising in Finland.

First Aid Training Co-operative’s mission, first and foremost, is to provide first aiders with the knowledge and confidence to save lives. We are dedicated to delivering first aid training to businesses, the voluntary sector and local authorities as well as individuals from all walks of life.

Firstport is Scotland’s agency for start-up social entrepreneurs and social enterprise. We are here to support individuals across Scotland to start, develop and grow their ideas into businesses with social impact at their core. Since 2007, we have grown and evolved, supported thousands of individuals and distributed millions of pounds of start-up funding, all with the aim to achieve our vision: Social enterprises play a key role in society, transforming lives, communities and the economy.

We offer start-up grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 alongside one-to-one and group-based business support to help social entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey. We also offer support programmes, including What If…, a local ideas generator programme, and LaunchMe, a social investment readiness programme which helps social enterprises to scale and grow.

This has been set up to facilitate the possibility of a community owned tourism business. This would run solely for the social,economic and environmental benefit of Fort William and Lochaber.

Managing 146 hectares of Atlantic oak wood on behalf of the community.

As one of the largest regions in Victoria we decided to work together – as a collective – to connect social entrepreneurs across the six shires of Gippsland.

We have a breadth of experience in Social Enterprise, great networks, a deep knowledge of our communities – and a burning desire to see them prosper.

The Gippsland Social Enterprise Collective connects small business, educators, creative and community organisations that drive social action.