New board announces sweeping changes as it targets 100% of money raised being donated to charities from 2016

The new board of the Kiltwalk has cancelled the final two events of the year in a bid to cut costs.

Walks in Speyside on 30 August and Dundee on 20 September have been cancelled with interim chairman Ewan Hunter describing the events as “entirely uneconomically viable”.

As a result three full-time members of staff have been made redundant and five temporary employees will have their contracts terminated one month early.

Hunter said tough decisions were required to put The Kiltwalk on a strong footing for 2016 and to maximize returns to charity in 2015.

“It is abundantly clear to us that as they stand both the Dundee and Speyside walks are entirely uneconomically viable – had we continued with them every penny raised for charity would have been absorbed by operational costs hence, sadly, we are withdrawing these events for 2015.

It is abundantly clear to us that as they stand both the Dundee and Speyside walks are entirely uneconomically viable

“On that basis and with great regret, five short-term contract employees will leave Kiltwalk one month early as they are no longer required and three full-time employees will be made redundant.

“In all cases they will receive full compensation and go with our very best wishes for the future.

“To be clear the alternative to this action was to have walkers walk, not for charity but to fund The Kiltwalk and that was not morally right from any perspective in the board’s eyes.”

Hunter made the announcement while outlining the new board’s strategy for the future of the Kiltwalk.

He said the board wish to double the funds raised for Scottish children’s charities next year with the support of The Hunter Foundation.

The charity’s accounts to December 2014, signed off by the previous board and auditors, showed that last year 47p in the pound was given to children’s charities – down from 48p in the pound in 2013.

For 2016 he wants to see every pound raised by walkers go directly to charities, with the Hunter Foundation also underwriting any gap in operational funding from 2016.

Hunter continued: “The challenges The Kiltwalk faced were driven by over ambition which you can’t fault when raising monies for charity, however that ambition added to the overhead, a situation we must now address.

“We now want to take The Kiltwalk to the next level. From 2016 it becomes both simple and transparent for both charities and walkers – once you’ve paid your registration fee every single penny you raise goes straight to the charity of your choice. Raise a pound for Yorkhill and a pound goes there.

“Our ambition with walkers, fellow charities and sponsors is to make The Kiltwalk an absolutely phenomenal success as a means of raising funds for charity and getting Scotland on their feet walking. The more walkers we have, the more money we deliver to Scotland’s children’s charities.”

Chairman of The Hunter Foundation, Sir Tom Hunter added: “We believe The Kiltwalk can be an engine for change and our ambition is to get corporate Scotland right behind it alongside government and philanthropy so ultimately it pays for itself.

“Until that happens to make sure there are no ifs and no buts about every pound raised for charity going to charity, so our underwriting is there.”

In addition, Ewan Hunter added The Kiltwalk’s accounts for 2015 will be pulled forward to end in September, so they will cover all events of 2015. This will draw a clear distinction between the past and the future of The Kiltwalk.

Walkers, who were scheduled to take part in the cancelled Speyside and Dundee Kiltwalks will be offered the choice of having their registration fee refunded or having it rolled forward to 2016.

Any money already raised and in the Kiltwalk’s possession will either be donated directly to the charities it was raised for or refunded to walkers.