Scotland Loves Local is a national programme which was launched in July 2020 as a force for good in Scotland’s long-term recovery from Covid-19. The programme began as a high profile multimedia campaign designed to blend the message of safety and business recovery whilst encouraging everyone to think, choose and spend locally. Scotland Loves Local enables and supports communities making them fairer, stronger, greener and more sustainable.
The Scotland Loves Local Gift Card was launched in 2021 to stimulate local economies and assist with the recovery of all businesses across Scotland. The Scotland Loves Local programme and gift card is relevant to every community and is not just about immediate recovery, but also a longer-term change in keeping money local for longer, encouraging people to choose local for the long term. The gift card has localism at its heart as not only provides an income stream for businesses, but also protects local jobs and enhances local services. All in turn making Scotland’s communities a better place to live, work and visit.
The Scotland Loves Local Gift Card can also be used for disbursement with many Local Authorities using the gift card to support low income households. Glasgow City Council used the programme this summer with huge success in disbursing Local Authority Covid Action Response funding through the gift card which benefitted many businesses. A copy of the case study can be found here, demonstrating how both the local authority and the local community has embraced the use of the cards.
We are actively encouraging all businesses across all sectors to register to accept the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card. Registering is very simple and straightforward and it is free for businesses to participate and receive payments through the card.
Find out more: https://lovelocal.scot/
