Partners, supporters & impact
Who helped—and what their help made possible.
Every grant, loan of equipment, hour of expertise and act of advocacy should lead somewhere useful. This is our plain-English record of the contribution, our part in the partnership and the difference it made—or is being developed to make.
Funding put to work
Support with a visible destination.
These organisations paid for pitches, projects or activity. Each record separates their contribution from Bathgate Market’s delivery.
Business Gateway West Lothian
Read the project storyWhat they contributed
Funded free market pitches for six local businesswomen through the 2025 West Lothian Women in Entrepreneurship project.
What we did with their help
We allocated the pitches, welcomed each trader and gave them a low-risk way to test products, meet customers and build confidence. Many continued trading afterwards.
West Lothian Council
Visit West Lothian CouncilWhat they contributed
Awarded two £750 Summer Programme grants—one in 2024 and one in 2026. The council also supports the market through our continuing site relationship.
What we did with their help
We turned £1,500 of grant funding into free school-holiday activities at the market, giving local children and families something accessible to do on ordinary Saturdays.
Barchester’s Charitable Foundation
Visit the foundationWhat they contributed
Awarded a £1,075 grant for the equipment and materials needed for our intergenerational Generations Gardening project.
What we did with their help
We used the grant to make a free hanging-basket and planter workshop possible, bringing different generations together through a practical activity at the market.
The Brock
Visit The BrockWhat they contributed
Brought therapeutic horticulture knowledge, practical help and local delivery experience to the gardening project and Brock at Night.
What we did with their help
We provided the market space, audience and organisation around the activity, so specialist support could reach local people in a relaxed community setting.
Royal Society of Edinburgh & Williamson Trust
See the award announcementWhat they contributed
A Healthy Planet, Healthy People Catalyst Award is backing a six-month Bathgate Repair Café pilot and its community-led research.
What we did with their help
Shona Lawson is managing the pilot. We will host free repair sessions and record items repaired, waste avoided, household savings and wellbeing, then turn the learning into a reusable Community Repair Hub Toolkit.
Scottish Book Trust
About Live LiteratureWhat they contributed
Provided Live Literature support for author Scott Fleming to take part in the market in August 2026.
What we did with their help
We hosted the session as part of a normal market day, giving children and families free access to readings, writing activities and illustration demonstrations.
Practical help put to use
Not every valuable contribution is cash.
Equipment, workwear and professional tools remove real costs and make a small community organisation more capable.
SiBCAS
Visit SiBCASWhat they contributed
Provided two secure storage containers on loan to the market.
What we did with their help
We use them to store gazebos, tables, weights and other equipment safely on site, making weekly set-up and community activities much more practical.
Fishers
Visit FishersWhat they contributed
Donated reusable workwear, including boiler suits and protective clothing.
What we did with their help
We are putting the clothing to use for volunteer site work and maintenance days—giving useful kit a second life while helping people work more safely.
Canva for Nonprofits
About Canva for NonprofitsWhat they contributed
Provides premium design and team tools at no cost for up to 50 people.
What we did with their help
We use that access to create event posters, trader promotion, social updates and clear grant and impact communications without adding a subscription cost.
A voice, advice and learning
Some people helped us be heard—or get better.
These are advocacy, media and learning relationships. We name them for what they are, rather than presenting every connection as sponsorship.
Bathgate Community Development Trust & Bathgate Together
What they contributed
Helped raise the original market proposal locally, kept the idea moving and continues to share useful community connections and opportunities.
What we did with their help
We turned that early advocacy into a real weekly market and continue to use local connections to develop activities, partnerships and funding bids for Bathgate.
Bright Red Triangle
Visit Bright Red TriangleWhat they contributed
Promoted the market’s 2023 launch across its website and social channels.
What we did with their help
We used that early platform to introduce the market, reach potential traders and bring visitors to the first market days.
Regal Radio
Visit Regal RadioWhat they contributed
Gave the market space for a community interview and local storytelling.
What we did with their help
We used the interview to explain the market, share ways to take part and reach listeners who might not otherwise have heard about us.
NABMA — The Voice of Markets
Visit NABMAWhat they contributed
Provided a place at its national conference and one night’s accommodation in exchange for Lucy sharing Bathgate’s experience in a 30-minute seminar.
What we did with their help
We shared honest learning from a small community market, then brought useful sector ideas and contacts back to Bathgate to strengthen how the market develops.
National Market Traders Federation (NMTF)
Visit NMTFWhat they contributed
Shared sector guidance, research support and connections through the Young Traders Market programme, and welcomed Bathgate’s interest in developing a local route for young traders.
What we did with their help
We are using that learning to shape future opportunities for younger and first-time traders, including exploring a Bathgate Young Traders Market in 2027.
Churchill Fellowship
Read Lucy’s Fellowship profileWhat they contributed
Selected Lucy Lawson as a 2026 Churchill Fellow to study community-market models in Germany and the USA, with support from the John Armitage Charitable Trust.
What we did with their help
The purpose is to bring useful ideas home, test what fits Bathgate and share the learning with other community markets—not simply to take a research trip.
The people who turn help into action
Support only matters when people put it to work.
Our small team
Lucy Lawson develops the market and its partnerships. Shona Lawson supports governance, funding, finance and reporting and manages the Repair Café work. Andy Gray leads market-day and site operations, including set-up, equipment and maintenance.
Volunteers
Volunteers give practical time to set-up, pack-down, stewarding, maintenance and community activity. Their help lets a small organisation deliver safely and consistently.
Traders, groups and visitors
Traders and car boot sellers bring the market to life; local groups add free activity and useful information; visitors support independent sellers by turning up, buying and sharing the word. That participation is part of the impact too.
A clear offer to future partners
If you help with this, we will do that.
We would rather agree one useful outcome than sell a vague logo package. Here is what a practical partnership with us can look like from the start.
Your contribution
Fund a first pitch
Our commitment
We recruit and host a new trader, remove the first financial barrier and follow up on confidence and next steps.
We can report
Pitches used, attendance and what the trader did next.
Your contribution
Fund a free activity
Our commitment
We organise and promote an accessible session within a market day so local people can take part without paying.
We can report
Sessions delivered, participation, feedback and consented photographs.
Your contribution
Donate kit, space or expertise
Our commitment
We agree the practical problem it solves, put it into use and look after the contribution responsibly.
We can report
What was received, where it was used and the cost or time it saved.
Your contribution
Back a community pilot
Our commitment
We design a realistic small-scale test, deliver it locally and learn what should happen next.
We can report
Budget, activity, outcomes, lessons and a clear next-step recommendation.
For funders and responsible businesses
Practical delivery. Proportionate evidence.
Unicorn Markets C.I.C. is a regulated community interest company. We can agree the activity, budget and useful measures before work begins, then show what happened when it finishes.
- Legal structure
- Community interest company
- Company number
- SC760209
- Evidence available
- Budgets, receipts, participation counts, feedback and consented photographs
- Recognition
- Agreed in advance and matched honestly to the contribution
Start with the outcome
What could we make possible together?
Tell Lucy what you can contribute, who you hope it will help and what a good result would look like. Money, equipment, space, skills and useful introductions are all worth discussing.