Trusts & Foundations
Help make our Festival more inclusive and accessible
The Edinburgh International Book Festival is more than just a celebration of literature. It’s a vital forum for ideas and conversations to thrive, letting us imagine a better future where everyone’s story can be heard.
At the heart of this mission is our ambition to be inclusive, relevant and accessible. We deliver this through our work with communities, widening access, schools and our event programmes.
However, this vital access and community work is only made possible with generous philanthropic support. That’s why the contribution of Trusts and Foundations is essential – by supporting us, you can widen access to culture and make a tangible social difference.
How have Trusts and Foundations already made a lasting impact?
Many projects have already been made possible by the generous support of Trusts and Foundations, like:
Citizen Collective
A writing group for creatives aged 15-18 from across Edinburgh, facilitated by our award-winning Writer in Residence Ryan Van Winkle, to improve writing in schools in under-served areas and support young people to pursue creative careers.Story Nation
Engaging with people in communities that otherwise couldn't access the Festival (including prisons, hospitals, care homes and hospices), creating bespoke activities to increase access to culture and improve wellbeing.Paper Trails
Working with five Edinburgh libraries to tackle social isolation and the current literary crisis by building cultural ecosystems, enhancing a sense of community, and transforming libraries into thriving civic spaces.Spartans
Our Writer in Residence provides dedicated creative sessions to students of Spartans Alternative School - which offers personalised, supported learning for young people at risk of exclusion - helping to build their creative skills.
CAMHS
Our partnership with NHS Lothian gives young people experiencing mental health challenges the chance to explore creative writing and illustration, improving wellbeing through creating space for fun and curiosity.Schools programmes
Special events for primary and secondary schools exploring a variety of curriculum-led topics from some of the best authors, illustrators and thinkers writing for children and young people today, to support educators at the front line of tackling the current literary crisis.Festival events
Generous support from Trusts and Foundations also helps us present public events in August that align with their mission - such as bringing global voices to local stages or amplifying important Scottish voices.
The support from Trusts and Foundations also plays a vital role in helping the Edinburgh International Book Festival expand and grow through generous unrestricted support, enabling us to be dynamic and adaptable to a changing world.
What tangible outcomes could my Trust or Foundation help deliver?
By supporting our projects, you’ll be able to:
- Improve writing in schools in under-served areas
- Support young people to pursue creative careers
- Increase access to culture and improve wellbeing
- Enhance a sense of community
- Create thriving civic spaces
- Build creative skills
- Boost wellbeing through creating space for fun and curiosity
- Support educators at the front line of tackling the current literary crisis
- Bring global voices to local stages
- Amplify important Scottish voices
"Streetreads couldn't do what it does - providing people with an escape from the challenging realities they face - without help from partners like the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Each year, the Festival connects us with inspiring authors who deliver workshops to people who are supported by Streetreads, people who are often experiencing homelessness, trauma, and exclusion from cultural and literary opportunities."
Case studies
People’s Postcode Lottery
The power of unrestricted, long-term support
Unrestricted, long-term support from People's Postcode Lottery has provided the Book Festival with invaluable stability. It’s enabled us to be more ambitious and flexible, responding to changing social and cultural needs.
Since 2014, the players of People’s Postcode Lottery have awarded us an incredible £4,656,500 to make our work more accessible and expand our reach in communities.
This has strengthened our partnerships with key organisations like The Ripple - a community hub serving Restalrig, Lochend and Craigentinny - which have been instrumental in reaching under-served groups.
Support from People’s Postcode Lottery has enabled the Book Festival to:
- Be more inclusive and accessible
- Develop stronger relationships with communities
- Be more responsive and relevant to the world around us
Weir Charitable Trust
Enabling a transformative Writer-in-Residence programme
In 2021 the Weir Charitable Trust provided a grant to help us launch our year-round Writer-in-Residence programme at Spartans Alternative School. We had piloted a version of this project in 2020 and identified that the sessions had a really positive benefit on the students, but budget constraints meant we were limited in what we could offer and therefore limited the benefits of the project.
A grant from the Weir Charitable Trust meant that we could employ a dedicated Writer-in-Residence to work at the school two days per week over the course of a full year. This greatly expanded the impact of the project, and meant that the participants had much more regular and consistent support and contact. Many of the young people have worked towards their schools literacy qualifications, and we've seen a dramatic increase to their confidence and mental health.
The Weir Charitable Trust kindly supported this project for four years, enabling us to grow its impact, and establish strong foundations with the team at Spartans and the pupils there, playing a critical role in getting this transformative initiative off the ground.
"The Weir Charitable Trust is delighted to have been able to support the Edinburgh International Book Festival to develop its Writer-in-Residence programme at Spartans Alternative School. We've really enjoyed seeing the impact that this project has on young people's mental health and confidence over the last few years, and the brilliant work that has come from them being encouraged to tell their stories in their own authentic voices."
Get in touch
If you are a trustee or a grantmaker, and would like to find out more about how the Edinburgh International Book Festival can work with your Trust or Foundation to make a difference, please contact Rhona Sword, Development Manager (Trusts and Foundations), on 0131 718 5654, or rhona.sword@edbookfest.co.uk.