Jennifer’s Fund set up by Cairngorm Group raises £25k for great causes in 2½ years in memory of much-loved Inverness mum of three who died at 42
As the Dowling family endured the heartbreak of losing loved one Jennifer to cancer in July 2021, they resolved to find some light in the darkest of times.
Jennifer’s Fund was created by the family-run Cairngorm Group as chairman David grieved his daughter and managing director sons Scott and Chris their beloved sister.
The mum-of-three, married to Adrian, had been taken from them at the age of just 42.
Jennifer had worked in the family business during her school holidays as a teenager but chose a career as an NHS physiotherapist.
Always, rather than spend on the latest toy or gadget, she prioritised making family memories that would last a lifetime.
It is fair to say her loved ones' sole motivation in founding the charitable initiative through the company was to help others.
But as Chris relates, the act of helping those in need in Jennifer’s memory also unexpectedly gave back in return.
“Speaking personally for a moment, I can say that Jennifer’s Fund has actually been quite helpful in terms of working through the grief of it all,” he says.
“That isn’t why we set out to do it, but it has really helped to know that, from what was a truly horrendous time, some good has come.
“We try to shape what we do around her own outlook in life.”
In the two-and-a-half years since the fund was established, a phenomenal sum of £25,000 has been donated by Cairngorm to numerous lesser known causes, in tune with Jennifer’s family-orientated priorities.
There has been a conscious effort to dig deeper into less obvious corners of the community to find worthy causes in need, with no difficulty finding them.
“One of the things we really wanted to do was help grassroots community charities,” Chris explains. “Bigger charities do the most incredible work, but it is probably fair to say a lot of money is donated to them.
“In comparison, some of the smaller community causes can be left struggling a wee bit. We wanted to do something at the opposite end of the spectrum to really try to help, especially the ones who maybe don’t even know where to start in terms of funding.”
Causes assisted to date vary greatly, but in 2022 it included Fox’s Tales, which works with family and young children born or only small during lockdown and Wild Things which specialises in tackling educational, social and economical disadvantages by fostering relations between communities and the natural world.
In 2023, there was help for Drakies Primary, Scripture Union Scotland, SNAP (Special Needs Action Project) and Blooming Gardeners, a therapeutic horticultural project in Easter Ross for adults with a learning disability, neurodevelopmental disorder or autism.
And this year, among many others, there has been help for 2nd Inverness Girls Brigade and Thistle Colts Boys football team.
“A lot of it is based around opportunities and memories,” Chris says. “Jennifer was a Christian, as am I, and there are quite a few causes related to feeding the hungry.
“That’s something that is quite important to us.
“But the big focus, really, is around family, making memories and quality time together.”
Micro-grants, to a maximum of £1000, with just one application allowed per year, enables Jennifer’s Fund to spread its net far and wide throughout the community with a view to “making sure everyone gets a little, rather than a few get a lot”.
There has been great feedback from those working tirelessly for the causes, and Chris added: “That really emphasises the value in what we’re doing. Some of the responses we get back are quite wonderful, despite us only giving £400 or £500.
“It just underlines that there is a lot of really amazing grassroots community work going on out there that is really struggling for support.
“Every penny really does count at this level, as it does at any level, but around this kind of work it is really impactful.”
