The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Caledonian Exchange, 19A Canning Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EG.
Antiracism & integration
In those conditions, drawing people together and into coherent and diverse communities takes both trust and resource. The potential is there to make lasting and tangible change which benefit all in the locality, based on the wealth of life experience people can bring to the fore.
For many, however, a more dispiriting picture has emerged. One in which communities are being erased, ignored, or disrupted. Where people feel powerless and isolated. It is in these conditions that scapegoats can easily be found, and misinformation becomes truth. Where fear and desperation come to replace hope and solidarity.
Community is something which should offer belonging, respite, and safety. Free from cost, expectation, and exploitation. That is why anti-racist traditions cannot be sustained simply through public communications. Rather, it takes root when people come together as they are, to work through conflicts and issues, and to find commonality in the process.
Funding this work is an investment. It intercedes future social costs and helps to secure the potential we know exists - if only it had a long-term framework to develop. Not-for-profit organisations are sensitive to the impacts of economic decline. Whether that be in the increased demands for basic services, or the financial anxieties brought about by the mounting pressures on independent funding and individual donations.
Tragically, many small but effective organisations made up of working-class members disappear. This reduces vital community infrastructure and can result in committed staff transitioning to unpaid labour. These impacts are often gendered, with women disproportionately absorbing unpaid caring, community, and organisational work, creating significant consequences for health, wellbeing, and economic security.
The third sector remains one of the most effective ways in which social change can be made and this should be reflected in how the work is funded. It is where work centres on the most vulnerable and marginalised members in our communities, in addition to educating funders and advocating for wider policy changes. Such work goes far beyond service provision and programmed activities.
Funding unlocks the ability for people to create and nurture care-filled and connected communities, capable of leading social transformation from the ground up. And it is on this foundation that we can build belonging which benefits all of society and creates life-sustaining communities of resistance.
New and shiny is not more important than tried and tested
Racism in Scotland is rising. As outlined in a University of Glasgow led survey last year, around one-third (35%) of people in Scotland’s Black, Asian, and visible ethnic minority communities say they have faced discrimination within the past two years, while confidence in anti-discrimination efforts has continued to decline. This follows statistics released in 2024 by Police Scotland, showing an increase in racial hate crimes from two years previous.
Against this backdrop, the Scottish Government has made efforts to turn the tide. Following the publication of the Race Equality Framework 2016-30 in 2016, the government has more recently published the Anti-Racism Delivery Plan 2026-2030. This plan aims to set “a clear vision for anti-racism in Scotland: to build a Scotland that actively tackles racism, and where equity, justice, dignity, and respect are upheld for all communities.” The plan also acknowledges the key role of voluntary organisations, setting out the need for partnership working across government, public bodies, and the third sector.
At a time when racism and overtly racist rhetoric are rising – online, in our communities, and in public discourse - working with partners on antiracist strategies and initiatives is invaluable. It also important to acknowledge that some of those partners continue to struggle with the everyday reality of current, unfair funding practices, particularly their impact on staff retention and the prevalence of short-term funding, rather than the sustainable, long-term funding that is needed on the ground.
“New and shiny is not more important than tried and tested,” explains a Glasgow-based charity supporting BAME residents. “Sustaining what already works to support communities and groups to continually thrive should carry as much weight as developing and creating new projects that meet emerging needs. If what you are doing works – has great results, changes lives, and supports wellbeing – keeping it going is vital!”
“We have no complaints about how our funding is managed, the application or reporting process - it’s the failure to maintain the three-year funding cycle and upgrade in line with inflation which is damaging us,” says a national strategic antiracism organisation. “Demand for our work far outstrips what we are funded to provide, which can lead to workload pressures. The standstill funding represents a real-time reduction which puts our sustainability at risk.”
“There is a rise in the need for what we do because there is a rise in racism, discrimination, and hatred within our society,” adds a charity with a predominant focus on battling racism. “There is no question that we are in the middle of a fight against a rising tide of racism but we will lose that fight if we are hindered by basic expectations such as being told we are receiving funding prior to the beginning of the financial year or not having to search behind the sofa for funding to keep the lights on.”
The question, therefore, has to be asked: if turning the tide on increasing racism, and providing better support for integration, is reliant on partnership working between the Scottish Government, public bodies, and Scotland’s voluntary sector, is there a way to improve the funding landscape for the latter through a package of measures that, broadly, focus on improving the processes and culture themselves, rather than simply calling for increased funding? The answer is a resounding yes.
“Fair Funding is not just a nice, shiny gift for the voluntary sector,” says the charity with a focus on fighting racism. “Longer-term funding with uplifts, more core funding, accessible application process, and the rest are nothing other than requirements.”
“[Fair Funding would mean] better sustainability; staff time fully and fairly funded, including accounting for pay rises; realistic contribution to core costs,” says the national antiracism organisation.
Sharpen Her: the African Women’s Network (SHAWN)
Sharpen Her: the African Women’s Network (SHAWN) was established in 2019. Seeking to address the multiple layers of inequalities faced by African women arriving in Scotland, including on the grounds of both race and gender, the organisation was formed with the objective of enhancing the integration of African women and to empower them to reach their goals in education, employment, and entrepreneurship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these aims expanded in response to the isolation caused by lockdown as SHAWN also became a support group to connect African women with each other while also operating a beneficial “buddy system”, services that have continued since.
In recent years, the organisation has sought and received grants from various funders, but this has not been without its challenges. The short-term nature of the funding received has been a particular problem, creating the circumstances within which the organisations is constantly asking “what next?” and frequently having to entertain the prospect of ceasing its operations. Recently, SHAWN has been able to source funding in order to recruit one member of staff, but this too is incredibly short-term, only allowing the employee to be funded for six months.
Through an endless cycle of searching and applying for funding, SHAWN has experienced rejections with no feedback, the shifting of goalposts well into an application process, and finding itself in a “resourcing paradox” where the organisation does not have the long-term funding required to allow it to grow but is not yet large enough to successfully compete against other organisations for the same funding.
The organisation has also faced issues due to the knock-on effect of a lack of support regarding banking. Despite successfully applying for specific funding, SHAWN was unable to be allocated any of the funds due to the funder refusing to transfer it into the particular bank account used by the organisation. With no guidance or support to help with identifying and sourcing a more suitable account, the organisation had to go nine months without critical finances that had already been awarded before finally opening an acceptable account, leading to a situation where the organisation was unable to pay rent for several months and volunteers leading SHAWN had to invest their own money to keep the organisation afloat.
The issues caused by short-term funding practices, and various other challenges, result in an “existential toll” felt by the volunteers who run SHAWN. High levels of stress are a huge feature of the day-to-day existence of the organisation, with rising emotional burnout leading those at the forefront to recently give serious consideration to calling it a day – a prospect only rejected by a recognition of the needs of the almost 300 women that the organisation supports.
Although crowdfunding has allowed SHAWN to get past crises and gaps in funding in the past, the future continues to look difficult. Despite undertaking hugely valuable work that helps African women to integrate into communities, realise their full potential, and allow them to contribute successfully to Scottish society, it seems inevitable that there will be future spells during which Sharpen Her: the African Women’s Network will be forced to consider closure. And without urgent improvements to the voluntary sector’s funding landscape, it is far from unlikely that closure will be the ultimate conclusion.