Community – Johnston Smillie caring accountants
We believe there is intrinsic value in being part of a community and enjoy giving back to local charities and worthy causes.
Johnston Smillie Charitable Trust
It’s our belief that there’s intrinsic value in being part of a community. That’s why we proudly give back to local charities and worthy causes whenever we can.
We’re recognised as caring accountants in the community
Although we operate in the world of finance, life is not simply measured by profitability. Some of the most rewarding experiences for our team come from volunteering or helping to raise funds for others less fortunate in our community.
Each year, our team strive to raise over £15k for important causes. On this page, you can learn more about our history of fundraising and the Johnston Smillie Charitable Trust, which we set up to truly make a difference to our community and beyond.
A brief history of our fundraising activities
After attending other fundraising lunches, we were inspired to launch our own back in 2009.
This led to the West Edinburgh Sportsman’s Lunch and the start of our fundraising adventure. The early days brought sleepless nights, but as guests returned year after year, generously donating raffle prizes and auction items, arranging it became easier.
It’s now the cornerstone of our fundraising activities and we’re proud to say that the amounts raised keep increasing year-on-year. In the early days, we were thrilled to raise £2,000, but this has risen to over £14,000 on the day.
While the lunch has long been the most profitable event on the calendar, others have been introduced over the years. The JS team are actively encouraged to get involved, and we now have one of our admin team leading, arranging, and project managing events, as well as pitching ideas and collecting money when required.
Regular JS events & activities include:
- The JS Quiz Night — Held annually, this popular quiz night has grown into a competitive, entertaining evening with some terrific prizes.
- Ladies Day — A chance for the ladies of Johnston Smillie to meet up with clients and contacts, with raffles, auctions, and lots of fun.
- Christmas Hamper Raffles — Every Christmas, we ask staff to buy a raffle ticket for our festive hampers, made up of lots of tasty treats donated by staff members. The lucky winners each walk away with an early Christmas present.
We also encourage our staff to get involved with external events to help raise funds. This has seen them take on the Kiltwalk, abseil off the Forth Rail Bridge, swim in Loch Lomond, and even golf in the middle of the night!
The Johnston Smillie Charitable Trust
We’ve supported so many charities, both large and small, over the years. The amount raised to date is in excess of £120,000 — and in 2019 alone we raised over £27,000.
After proudly handing over a cheque for that amount to a single charity, we thought it was time to set up our own charitable trust. This allows us to spread the funds raised across several smaller charities, rather than supporting one chosen charity each year.
We’ve established a charity fundraising committee and a distribution committee, each made up of directors and staff. The committees will meet to organise fundraising and then consider the applications for distribution.
The Johnston Smillie Charitable Trust is looking to assist smaller charities and local causes that will make a difference to the recipient. We welcome requests from anyone who thinks they have a worthy cause in need of funding.
If you’d like to donate, you can do so at our Just Giving page or by contacting the office on 0131 317 7377.
