Epidarex Capital founder appointed chair of third sector funder

Third sector funder, Inspiring Scotland, has appointed Sinclair Dunlop of Epidarex Capital as chair of its Board of Trustees.

Mr Dunlop succeeds Professor Niall Lothian OBE who led the Board since Inspiring Scotland was founded in 2008.

Today marks 10 years since the third sector funder was founded “to identify and solve the long-term, entrenched social problems faced by Scotland’s people and communities”.

Using a venture philanthropy model, it raises money from private individuals, trusts and foundations, Scottish Government and local authorities and invests it in funds addressing specific themes, nurturing partnerships with charities and organisations through shared goals and interests.

Mr Dunlop said: “It is a privilege to be appointed to this role and to help Inspiring Scotland continue its vital work in building a better Scotland. Over the last 10 years, Inspiring Scotland has had an extraordinary impact on the voluntary sector across Scotland and I look forward to helping empower the charities we support to maximise their capacity to improve the lives of the most vulnerable.”

Mr Dunlop is a co-founder and managing partner of Epidarex Capital, a life science and health technology investment firm, and has more than 20 years’ experience in successful international investment.

“Given my professional background, I value rigorous measurement to gauge the successful impact of any venture. Inspiring Scotland’s commitment to thorough evaluation and continuous improvement is the key to its effectiveness and why it stands out as Scotland’s leader in delivering real results across the third sector’

Inspiring Scotland’s reach and impact has grown, and it now runs nine funds addressing specific social issues, from childhood health and wellbeing to community development, and works with more than 200 charities across Scotland. It has managed more than £120m funds and has a pool of 400 pro bono supporters from the private sector provides additional support and skills to charities.

This year the charity’s first fund, the 14:19 Fund, focused on tackling youth unemployment, is on track to meet its ambitious target of helping 35,000 disadvantaged young people into sustainable destinations of education, training and employment. So far (as of 30 June 2017) it has helped 27,897 young people by investing £46.1m in a portfolio of 20 charities who have leveraged an additional £59.2m in matched funding.

Celia Tennant, chief executive of Inspiring Scotland, said: “We are fortunate to welcome Sinclair as Inspiring Scotland’s new Chair. He is a proven leader and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in international business to help us deliver impact for the people of Scotland. I would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Niall for his hard work, dedication and generosity throughout his tenure as Chair.

“We are proud of the contribution Inspiring Scotland, and the hundreds of charities we support, have made to lives of Scotland’s people and communities over the last 10 years, but we are also looking to the future as we know there is still more to do.

“Throughout this year, we will be celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the people we have worked with in our first 10 years, but we will also be looking to people and organisations across Scotland to help us identify the most pressing social issues and work together on effective solutions.”