The Usual Futures Fund
Invest in Brighter Futures for Young People in Dumfries & Galloway
Make Your contribution to the Usual Futures Fund
Every Young Person Deserves a Bright Future
All young people growing up in Dumfries & Galloway deserve the chance to flourish. Yet many face the realities of rural poverty, limited opportunity, and social isolation — challenges that can be even more profound for those with additional support needs who need a little extra support to learn, communicate, or build confidence.
Since 2015, The Usual Place has delivered education, training and work experience to more than two thousand young people with additional support needs from across Dumfries & Galloway.
The Usual Place is a Unique Skills Academy in Dumfries providing opportunities for young people with additional support needs – transforming lives and futures.
Help us:
- Break the cycle of poverty through sustained, paid employment
- Improve educational attainment through accredited vocational learning
- Re-engage young people excluded from mainstream education
- Build employer confidence in providing inclusive workplaces
- Support long-term job retention and career progression
The Usual Futures Fund
By contributing to The Usual Futures Fund, you can strengthen the vital community asset that is The Usual Place — enabling us to plan ahead, respond to individual needs, and commit to the journeys of more young people.
Your investment helps ensure that young people are nurtured here, in our region, giving them the opportunity to flourish and contribute to the future of Dumfries & Galloway.
Support Bright Futures Through Long Term Support
The Usual Place is a respected local organisation and national Exemplar that equips young people with the confidence, skills, opportunities and resilience they need to build their own brighter futures.
Our Mentorship of young people throughout their individual journeys through training in our Skills Academy and through opportunities created with local employers (such as The Globe Inn and The Cairndale Hotel and Spa) is truly transformational and each journey takes time and is unique. The benefits far outweight the costs.
At The Usual Place, we see the whole person. We recognise that a young person may have additional support needs, but they are not defined by them. Their strengths, personality, ambitions and potential come first.
Too often, “needs” have become the focus of their story; we work to restore balance, dignity, and possibility.
We continually create a place where young people are valued, understood, and enabled to grow into confident citizens who contribute meaningfully to their communities.
To keep that development and commitment to young people into the future we need your long-term support.
Tap to read our Usual Futures Fund Brochure
Ready to Transform Lives? Find Out More
If you would like to speak to us about making a donation to The Usual Futures Fund or Employer Partnerships, please get in touch. We will be happy to answer your questions and discuss your ideas.
An independent impact report * found that for every £1 spent, The Usual Place creates £11 in value and that a sample of 45 young people who gained employment through The Usual Place have already contributed £9.8M in GVA to the economy.
*4 Consulting The Usual Place Economic Impact Report June 2025