Membership eligibility

As the national membership body for the voluntary sector in Scotland, we are proud to welcome a diverse range of charities, social enterprises and community groups as SCVO members. Our members play an active role in shaping our work, influencing policy, nominating trustees to our Board and voting at our annual AGM.

Eligibility is determined by assessment of each organisation’s social purpose and who/what benefits from its work. You may be eligible for membership of SCVO if:  

• Your organisation is a voluntary sector organisation (i.e. an independent, self-governing body of people acting for the benefit of the community)
• Your organisation works towards the principles of good governance in line with the Scottish Governance Code for the third sector and Checkup
• Your organisation is non-profit distributing 
• Your organisation is located in/has a postal address in Scotland (if you are located elsewhere in the UK, please consider joining our counterparts in England, Northern Ireland or Wales).

We also need to know that your organisation is intended to be long-term (not a fixed-term project of less than three years) and is non-party-political.

Please read our membership eligibility guidance for further information on these areas before submitting an application form.

If you would like to join us as a member, please visit our join us page.

Organisations not eligible for membership  - i.e. public/private sector bodies or individuals not working in the voluntary sector - can join SCVO as a supporter.

Our annual fees are dependent on your membership category and annual income. Full details can be found on our fees page .

SCVO reserves the right to refuse membership to any organisation it believes has not met the eligibility as set out in our statement and guidance (see below).