Help The Biscuit Factory (EDIN) survive Covid-19

Who are we? 

The Biscuit factory EDIN is a multi-purpose event and community space. We house 20 tenants, all of whom are creative individuals and have had a really rough time these past 6 months. The space used to be home to Crawford's biscuit factory in the early 1900's and is one of the few historical site's left in an area now being taken over by residential properties. 

What we do - 

The Biscuit Factory as a company predominantly relies on events/music nights/weddings/exhibitions and everything else in between as its main source of income, all of which is put back into the building , to make it a better space for all the creative spaces housed within. With the ever changing government guidance, we are unsure when we will be able to return to any kind of normality, and yet again have had our next 4 months worth of planned events cancelled. 

The Biscuit Factory is liable for supporting and maintaining the space for all tenants/clients/visitors and staff. The repairs and maintenance to the building are at an all time high, with the area around us being sold to build houses, we now find ourselves not only in the middle of a pandemic, but also in the middle of a building site, which is making things even more difficult. 

Our staff and tenants have been incredibly loyal throughout the pandemic, and have mostly been supported by the furlough scheme up to this point. With lack of any assistance from the Government or banks, we find ourselves now in a situation where we are no longer in control of our fate. 

Our vision - 

Our vision is to keep this amazing and unique space open and maintained for all visitors, clients, tenants and staff, and continue to offer a safe and welcoming space for the community in Leith. We had so many plans to improve the building, including heating systems, a passenger carrying lift, and painting the full outside of the building - all of which have been hit on the head when our income came to an abrupt halt back in March 2020. 

We do a lot of work to assist charities in the area, and have in the past year supported - The Worlds Biggest Sleep out, EVOC Recovery Services, Raised Voices drama group for recovering adults, and Broar Brothers Atlantic challenge, we want to continue being able to offer charities our space for free to continue their own fund raising, which we will of course help with. 

We have battled so very hard for the last 6 months, but with no further help available from the Government, Banks and being rejected for every grant we apply for, we have now hit a brick wall, and really need support from our Community, families and friends to ensure we make it out the other side of the pandemic and are able to continue supporting the full building and all its lovely residents.