Inverness social enterprise, Before I Go, to share in £1.5m award
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An Inverness social enterprise which encourages people to make plans for the end of their lives while they can, has been named one of 10 national "Changemakers" helping people cope with money pressures.
Before I Go Solutions, founded by Jane Duncan Rogers as a result of her own experiences following the death of her husband Philip, aims to make end of life plans, so that people and their loved ones are as prepared as possible, including financially and psychologically, for the inevitable.
It is among 10 social enterprises which insurance firm Royal London has decided to support with a total of £1.5 million through its Changemakers campaign.
Intended to help build financial resilience, the campaign was launched in response to the financial impact of the pandemic with over a quarter (27 per cent) of Scottish residents saying they feel more financially vulnerable as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research from Royal London.
Just under a third (31 per cent) attributed the increase in financial vulnerability to lack of income while 13 per cent had a lack of savings to fall back on in the pandemic
Royal London worked with the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) to identify the 10 Changemakers chosen.
Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist at Royal London, said: “We know that the pandemic has affected millions of people’s financial resilience and that’s why investing in these inspiring Changemakers is so important.
"Each social enterprise has either direct lived experience, or experience by association, of the problem they’re trying to solve, and this comes with the passion to make a difference. We believe that these social enterprises can create real change and innovation is at the heart of it. We are delighted to support people who are looking at new ways of improving financial resilience.”
Before I Go Solutions founder Jane Duncan Rogers aid: “I founded Before I Go Solutions in 2017 after my husband died and I discovered just how important planning in advance for a good end of life is.
"It's enabled me to bring together over 25 years in coaching, personal growth and small business mentoring to help others understand the importance of this and hopefully make end of life plans as common as birth plans.”
To support this aim, Before I Go has created the Philip Rogers Scholarship Fund to enable those from disadvantaged communities of all kinds, in all countries, to be trained as facilitators and offer this work to their own communities.
