Responding to this morning’s BBC Radio Shropshire interview in which Shropshire Mind make allegations about national Mind, Sue Harris, Chair at Telford Mind says:
“Local Minds are independent charities affiliated to National Mind. When people donate goods to charity shops in Shropshire run by national Mind, the proceeds go to them centrally. Around a third of the income generated by national Mind goes back into local communities. Local Minds can apply to national Mind for funding in the form of grants, but each local Mind is responsible for their own funding and services.
“We’re hugely grateful for any donations received – large or small. We always try to make it clear to our donors when they raise money for us that they need to make cheques payable to Telford Mind if they want the money to be spent locally, on the high quality services we offer the community – for example drop in listening support, support for people in financial hardship and access to alternative therapies such as tai chi and walking groups. Occasionally funds intended for a local Mind end up at national Mind by mistake, and the one time that this happened to us at Telford Mind, national Mind worked quickly to identify and resolve the issue and ensured the money was diverted back to us.
“There are many benefits to being part of the Mind family – being affiliated to National Mind means we have to go through rigorous quality checks, so our clients can be assured that our services are of the highest standards -something we’re very proud of. National Mind invests considerable time, money and support to assist local Minds with various issues including finances, legal advice, tendering, service delivery and governance.”
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