The Brownlee Old Town Trust
In 1994 the OTA was bequeathed part of the estate of one of its members, Mrs Sybil Brownlee. Rather than subsume the money into general funds, the OTA set up The Brownlee Old Town Trust. The fund has subsequently been augmented by residual monies following the winding up of Old Town and Southside Charitable Trust and St Ann's Community Centre.
The Brownlee Old Town Trust gives grants to organisations or individuals for projects within or connected to the Old Town of Edinburgh of a social, educational or artistic nature, involving or of benefit to young people.
The Brownlee Trust also manages the Mary Whitfield Fund which pays for the annual Mary Whitfield Citizenship Prizes awarded by the Royal Mile Primary School.
Examples of grants in recent years are
- £300 to the City's Museum Collections Centre towards the restoration of the dragon brackets of Wardrop's Court.
- £300 to Jean Bareham of Greenyonder Tours towards the production costs of her book 'Hidden Gardens of the Royal Mile'.
- £100 (supported by the Old Town Association) to send a class from the Royal Mile Primary School to a Science and Literature event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
- £300 (supported by the Old Town Association) to Edinburgh World Heritage and the Scottish Storytelling Centre for training of senior schoolchildren to be to be volunteer guides for the World Heritage Site.
- £100 to the 1 o'Clock Gun & Time-Ball Association for prizes in the Greyfriars Bobby art competition.
- £250 to the Scottish Storytelling Centre for training in storytelling for people with disabilities.
- £250 to the Royal Mile Primary School towards course fees at an outdoor education centre.
- £300 to the Scottish Poetry Library towards creating a reading and play area.
- £350 to the Museum of Edinburgh for furniture and materials for the school and family activity area.
- £250 to the Museum of Childhood towards reproduction costumes
- More...