Our actions in response to the growth of anti-migrant sentiment

The Robertson Trust has acted in response to rising anti‑migrant sentiment, increased hostility in public discourse, and the resulting harm experienced by migrants and racially minoritised communities across Scotland. In the face of intimidation, violent protest and race‑hate crimes, the Trust has provided £255,000 in unrestricted uplifts to 75 organisations holding Small and Wee Grants to work with migrant and racial justice communities. 

We prioritised Small and Wee grantholders in recognition that these organisations often have fewer reserves and less flexibility to invest in resilience-building activity. This support is intended to strengthen community cohesion, protect staff and volunteers facing threat and burnout, and ensure frontline organisations can continue their work in already challenging environments with deep poverty and trauma risks. 

Beyond immediate financial assistance, the Trust is also investing in long‑term resilience. We have introduced a new Support Resilience Fund to allow our Small Grant holders to invest in organisational resilience and staff wellbeing, and we offer Community Spaces funding to foster connection and cohesion. 
 

Additionally, we are deepening our work on racial justice by preparing to launch a new Advancing Racial Justice Fund for Scotland – steered by a community leadership panel and a participatory decision panel – as well as embedding a new organisational value of Equity as part of our EDPR commitment.

These actions reflect the Trust’s belief that strengthening community cohesion in the face of risks requires deliberate investment aligned to our values and mission as an independent funder, collaborative decision making and collective effort across sectors to both reduce division and advance the safety and dignity of all communities.

You can read our response in full here.