**SCVO media release 9 September 2015** The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisation (SCVO) has received investment of more than £500k from the Big Lottery Fund to help more people connect with the online world by training hundreds of people in charities across Scotland as digital champions. This activity is part of a wider £2 million digital skills programme, One Digital, which has been developed by SCVO along with digital skills provider, [Digital Unite](http://digitalunite.com/) and [Age UK](http://www.ageuk.org.uk/), [Citizens Online](http://www.citizensonline.org.uk/) . Citizens Online will be working with four local authority areas across the UK, including Highlands Council. One Digital will ensure that people with disabilities and accessibility needs, young adults seeking work, the over 65s, and charities and the people they support get the help they need to make the most of the internet. Chris Yiu, Director of Digital Participation at SCVO, said: “This is an important step towards changing the lives of some of the million people in Scotland who lack the skills to get things done online. We are incredibly excited to be working with One Digital partners to help charities pass on digital skills to the people they work with on a daily basis, helping them to understand the benefits of using the internet and giving them the ongoing support they need to become more independent in a digital world." Maureen McGinn, Chair, Big Lottery Fund Scotland said: “Scotland’s third sector has a key role to play in building and sharing its digital experience with individuals and communities across Scotland. Today’s awards to SCVO and Citizens Online will help develop this knowledge, while also creating digital champions to trial and test new approaches. From organisations through to individuals, the funding will enable more people to gain the digital skills to connect with others and improve their quality of life.” ENDS

1.  The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national membership body representing the interests of charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises.  The Scottish third sector turns over £4.9 billion a year and employs 138,000 people in over 45,000 organisations.
2.  For interview or further comment, please call Charlotte McNeill at SCVO on 07790 601 995

---

## About SCVO

SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector.

Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact.

SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector.

Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners.

Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored, learning opportunities.

SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience.

Discounts and savings savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org).

For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)