A north-east outdoors charity that has battled back from the brink of closure is looking to offer more commercial opportunities to help it survive.
Outfit Moray was saved from closure last year after rising costs and reduced fundraising put its future in jeopardy.
The Lossiemouth-based cause has helped boost the confidence of about 14,000 children since it launched more than a decade ago.
Now the charity is aiming to use the skills of its instructors to run more commercial adventures for locals and visitors to help sustain the group.
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Chief executive Tony Brown said: “Securing funds from trust and grant-making charities is becoming more and more difficult – there’s less money to go around and more new charities are putting in funding requests.
“We have a great deal of experience in providing outdoor learning and adventure activities for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, as well as the necessary qualifications to deliver them.
“So it makes sense to use those skills to help us bring in regular income to sustain the charity and ensure we are able to support the next generation of young people in Moray.”
Outfit Moray currently runs kayaking, gorge swimming and mountain biking excursions to support vulnerable and disadvantaged youngsters.
The charity aims to use the north-east’s outdoor opportunities to provide learning experiences to encourage children to reach their full potential by also offering respite places.
Fundraisers now hope that running commercial events on hills and rivers across Moray and the Highlands will provide enough income to keep the group above water financially.
The organisation’s community and corporate fundraiser, Karen Cox, said: “There are about 530 charities in Moray, all of various sizes, and we are all fighting for the same pound locally.
“Using our skills to bring in an income means we become less dependent on fundraising and can hopefully build ourselves a more financially secure future.
“As the only charity providing this type of support in Moray, it’s absolutely vital that we are able to continue to deliver our programme of activities, which are so heavily relied upon by schools, vulnerable groups and other charities.”
