This website uses cookies for anonymised analytics and for account authentication. See our privacy and cookies policies for more information.





The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

A quarter of a century of fundraising at the Fringe

This feature is over 9 years old
 

Waverley Care's relationship with Pleasance Theatre Trust has grown so much it hopes to fundraise £90,000 during the Edinburgh Fringe 2014

Waverley Care at the Fringe

Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit

A top night of comedy with all proceeds going to Waverley Care. Previous lineups have included Michael McIntyre, Stephen K Amos, Russell Howard, Jason Byrne, Boy With Tape On His Face and many more.

The Grand – Pleasance Courtyard

12 August

Tickets

Blofeld & Baxter: the inaugural Edinburgh cricket match

Henry Blofeld & Peter Baxter invite you to the sporting event of the summer. Prepare for an epic showdown as the pick of festival performers go head-to-head against industry professionals. Test Match Special’s inimitable Henry Blofeld and colleague Peter Baxter commentate live from the wickets over a frenzied cricket match.

The Meadows - Pleasance Pop-Up

12 August at 11am

More information

25 hours later

Waverley Care has created a corporate team challenge to celebrate its 25th birthday. Teams of six will be given £25 on the evening of 13 August and told to return to the Pleasance Courtyard in 25 hours time having improved on that figure by any legal means. All money will be donated to the charity with the winner being awarded a trophy. Student radio station Fresh Air will cover the contest in a special 25-hour long broadcast.

Pleasance Courtyard

13 August

More information

Comedy Gala 2014

Off the Kerb Productions presents Comedy Gala in aid of Waverley Care. Kevin Bridges (below) returns to host the event alongside Seann Walsh. Joining them are comedians including Andrew Lawrence, Cardinal Burns, Romesh Ranganathan, Suzi Ruffell, Angela Barnes, Shappi Khorsandi, Des Clarke, Mark Watson, Lucy Beaumont, Nish Kumar, Ed Gamble, and Alex Horne.

Edinburgh Playhouse

19 August

Tickets

Loud & Proud on the Fringe 2014

Fresh from representing their country at the international Various Voices festival in Dublin, Scotland’s LGBT singing sensation perform their annual fringe concert in support of Waverley Care. The choir will perform a diverse programme featuring hits from the movies, pop anthems, gospel, Scottish favourites and timeless Irish classics.

St Cuthbert’s Church

23 August

Tickets

#fringeyref

You know that question you’ve always wanted to ask about the Fringe? Well Waverley Care plans to answer it with the help of the festival-going public. Each day it will set a different question on its social media pages and you can take part by answering aye, naw or mibbes and be in with a chance to win tickets to the Comedy Gala.

Until 25 August

@WaverleyCare

Nearly a quarter of a century ago a little known local HIV charity asked to shake collection buckets outside one of Edinburgh’s smaller Fringe venues. Fast forward to today and this ongoing relationship is expected to raise over £90,000 for Waverley Care this August.

The health charity celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and for 24 years it has been raising money and awareness at Edinburgh Fringe venue the Pleasance Courtyard, now one of the Fringe’s biggest venues. Run by arts charity Pleasance Theatre Trust it this year happens to be celebrating its own 30th anniversary.

Over the years Waverley Care and the Pleasance have grown almost in sync, with the Edinburgh charity now supporting people across the whole of Scotland and the Pleasance growing from two venues to 16.

The partnership is now unrecognisable with Waverley having to employ three part-time staff members just to coordinate more than 40 volunteer bucket shakers who work from 2pm until midnight throughout the festival.

As well as bucket shaking after performances, which last year raised £34,000, the charity also hosts a number of comedy events throughout the Fringe including the popular Tartan Ribbon benefit (taking place this year in the Pleasance Grand on 12 August) and the BBC’s Big Comedy Gala at the Playhouse on 19 August.

Profits from those events, organised on the charity’s behalf, and others could net a further £50,000 this year.

“Twenty-four years ago our fundraising manager Karen Docwra had this great idea that it would be good to do a bit of fundraising during the Fringe,” Waverley Care fundraiser Jane Griffin explained to TFN.

“She saw the Pleasance were quite small and decided to knock on the door of then director Christopher Richardson.

“We did a bit of bucket shaking and put a couple of different things on in the courtyard and it’s just grown from there.

“Last year our buckets took in over £34,000 over the three and a half week period.

“It’s gigantic, the festival as a whole is a big chunk of our fundraising as we’ve got to raise roughly £480,000 every year to top up our services.”

Back in 1980 Waverley Care helped people come to terms with a diagnosis of HIV or Aids, which was seen as a death sentence at the time. However, with new HIV medication people are living much longer and the charity has expanded its reach to include supporting people living with Hepatitis C as well as HIV.

The Pleasance too has changed, but despite growing in size it has never once wavered in its support for Waverley Care.

Griffin is confident that the relationship will continue for many more years and even deepen in the future.

“To be working in this sector for 25 years you have to be extremely flexible,” she continued.

“HIV is quite a difficult cause to fundraise for so the way we drive everything is through what we call relationship fundraising which is building relationships and working on that over time so people are supportive about what we are doing and knowledgeable about it.”

The relationship that Waverley Care has developed with The Pleasance has helped to mould the ethos of both organisations over the years.

Current Pleasance director Anthony Alderson is one of Waverley’s patrons and every agent who is contacted about bringing acts to the Pleasance is told of the charity’s involvement.

Returning acts often automatically give a shout out to the bucket shakers at the end of their shows and new acts are given credit card size expandable fact sheets on the charity.

Waverley Care is also invited up to speak to the Pleasance’s staff each year.

Griffin continued: “It’s almost like we are part of the Pleasance family. The Fringe is super important to us as the money raised is not specific to a project.

Wherever that money is needed most it will be used.

“It’s also a massive time of the year because part of our remit is not just supporting people living with HIV it’s also raising awareness of HIV and fighting the stigma.

“Being able to be at the Fringe and having practically everybody in Edinburgh walking about with a tartan ribbon on at some point is amazing for us and just gives us that real benefit to be able to speak to people we wouldn’t normally have contact with.

“It’s our busiest time of the year and it is a bit mad. We are a bit like headless chickens but there is so much energy and enthusiasm, it really drives the fundraising team.

“At the end of August when we are all really knackered we know it has all been worth it. It’s the one time of year we are there to be seen.”

TFN's tips from across the festivals

The 3rd Sector

When employees Marlin and Josh discover their role in a corrupt corporate charity, can they reconcile their choices? This celebrity backed charity wants you to “give a piece of yourself” – literally. But how much is enough?A darkly comic satire examining the ethics of giving when we donate first andask questions later.

Pleasance Courtyard

30-31 July; 1-10, 12-25 August

Tickets

Danny Bhoy: 12 Nights, 12 Charities

A brand new show from top Scottish comedian Danny Bhoy. All profits from each show will go to locally-based charities working mainly with disadvantaged children and young adults. More details at dannybhoy.com.

The Assembly Rooms, Music Hall

31 July – 11 August

Tickets

Amnesty International Imprisoned Writers Series

Each day Amnesty International pays tribute to writers who have been persecuted for their words, thoughts and opinions during the Edinburgh Book Festival.

9-24 August

Tickets

Death on the Fringe

Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief is an alliance of organisations and individuals working together to raise awarenessof ways of dealing with death, dying and bereavement. It is hosting a series ofshows that look at death and dying from different perspectives – some serious,some comical – but all contributing to the debate on death and end of lifematters.

Various venues

1-25 August

Tickets