What Dundee Stands to Lose
For 14 years, Heart Space has been a constant in Dundee. But today, we are at a crossroads. While our studio doors remain open, the "heart" of our mission—the work we do out in the streets, schools, and community centres of Tayside—is facing a critical challenge.
We have a £50,000 funding gap. And while a recent "exit grant" from the NHS Tayside Charitable Foundation has moved our deadline to September 30th, 2026, the stakes have never been higher.
What is at Stake?
When we talk about "outreach," we aren't just talking about hours on a spreadsheet. We are talking about 53 hours of direct human connection every single week. If we cannot bridge this gap, Dundee stands to lose:
A 25-hour Outreach Officer and two 14-hour Community Officers: Rachel, Andi, and Min are specialists who have spent two years building trust in spaces where it is often hard to find—from local prisons to primary schools.
10 Free Weekly Classes at our HQ: This includes our vital pre-natal, post-natal, chair yoga, and kids yoga sessions that are free at the point of use for those who need them most. *
A Network of 36+ Venues: Two years of networking and relationship-building with 17 different community groups would vanish, and our waitlist would be unrealised.
The "Community Powerhouse" in Numbers
We don't just "do yoga." We deliver a preventative health intervention that saves our city money and changes lives. Our verified Social Return on Investment (SROI) report shows that for every £1 invested in our outreach, we create £5.60 in social value.
The Face of the Fight
You’ve met our team in our recent videos and blogs.
Andi is in the schools, turning "I can't" into "I can" for primary and secondary school students.
Min is in the community halls, proving that movement is a right for everyone, regardless of age and guiding new parents through her compassionate pre-natal yoga sessions.
Rachel is a lifeline for carers, providing a "nourishing environment" for those who spend their lives looking after others, those in secure facilities, and across nurseries and primary schools across Tayside.
We are not going down without a fight. We are treating this new window until September 2026 as a "sustainability bridge." We are applying for grants, talking to corporate partners, and looking at new ways to keep these 400 weekly spaces alive.
How You Can Help Save Our Community
We are two weeks into an intensive campaign to protect these services. Here is how you can stand with us:
1. The "Partner" Model: Hire Us for £30 If you manage a community centre or group, don't let the classes stop. You can hire our outreach specialists directly for £30 per session. Many groups are successfully applying for small local grants to cover this, ensuring their service users see zero interruption.
2. Share Your Story Are you one of the 400 people we see every week? We need your voice to win major grants.
We have a feedback sheet in your inbox now and also printed out in the studio. This will help frame your answers so we can show our funders what they are missing.
3. Donate to our Crowdfunder Every pound goes directly toward sustaining the contracts of Rachel, Andi, and Min. It signals to larger donors that the people of Dundee value this work.
4. Introduce Us to a Corporate Partner Does your workplace have a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) fund? We have a full Impact Report ready to send to any business that wants to invest in a project with a 5.6x social return.
Heart Space was built by this community, for this community. Let’s make sure the next generation of Dundee’s children, carers, and elders still have a place to breathe, move, and belong.
With thanks, Finlay & the Heart Space Team
Why We Are Fighting to Save This
As many of you know, this work is currently under threat. The funding that allows us to go to the carers, rather than asking them to come to us, is at risk.
When we talk about our £50,000 shortfall, we aren't just talking about a budget line. We are talking about the "at home self-care practices" that these carers have just started to learn. We are talking about the "spiritual, mental, and physical" lifeline that 90 people in this block alone relied upon. We created recordings specifically so groups like this can continue their practice at home, giving our time together some real longevity.
If our outreach programme ends on April 1st, these "nourishing environments" disappear.
How You Can Help
We have until September to ensure that the next group of carers in Dundee gets the same opportunity to breathe, heal, and find strength.
Share this story to show the impact our team—Rachel, Andi, and Min—has on the ground.
Advocate for us. Tell your local leaders that preventative health services for carers are not a "luxury"—they are a necessity for a healthy Dundee.
Thank you for helping us keep these mats rolled out for those who need them most.
* Monday: Post-natal Yoga 12 noon, Chair Yoga 4.30pm Tuesday: Chair Yoga 1.15pm, Kids Yoga 4.15pm, Pre-Natal Yoga 6.00pm Wednesday: Chair Yoga 10.30am, Post-Natal Barre 12 noon, Kids Aerial Yoga 4.15pm Thursday: Family Yoga 4.15pm Friday: Kids Aerial Silks 4.15pm Saturday: Chair Yoga 11.30am