Research blog

Things do not seem to be improving. Completion of wave 8 (Spring 2024) prompted me to look back two years at the report I wrote for wave 3 (Spring 2022). Back in 2022, six in ten organisations reported struggling financially, this number is now closer to eight in ten (7... Read more

“Budgets have been stretched to go further in order to cover increasing costs and so other activities have been curtailed or cancelled.” Inflation may have finally hit the Bank of England’s target rate, but only after three years of rising costs. The focus of much of the research... Read more

The other week the Economy and Fair Work Committee published the findings of its enquiry into the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, looking at the impact the Act has had over the last decade. The Committee found that while the Act has had a positive impact on increasing... Read more

As we moved out of peak Covid with its lockdowns and social distancing and into more of a recovery phase, the key financial trends based on our analysis of charity data for the period 2021-22 show a sector slowly returning to normal. Last year we pulled out six highlights for the... Read more

This report provides an overview of the key insights from the first six Waves of the Scottish Third Sector Tracker, from August 2021 to April 2023. Trends relating to key challenges, financial health, service delivery, staffing and volunteering, and emerging needs have been... Read more

The findings from wave seven of the Scottish third sector tracker indicate that financial pressures on third sector organisations continue to grow, with financial and cash flow restraints appearing in the top three challenges for the first time. Seventy-six percent of... Read more

Individual giving via donations, legacies and fundraising was worth £1,133 m to the Scottish charity sector in 2021. The value of individual giving doubled over the last decade, in part thanks to time and effort invested by charities and voluntary groups in things like new... Read more

Back in 2015, SCVO and TFN surveyed around 1,000 sector workers about their experiences working in the voluntary sector. Eight years, four UK prime ministers, two referendums and a pandemic later, it was high time for a refresh. Last month GCVS and the Scottish Centre for... Read more

The figures below are from SCVO’s Sector Stats 2022. As well as an overview of the latest key stats we’ve taken a more in-depth look into six highlights. Most charity accounts analysed for the Sector Stats 2022 covered the period April 2020 to March 2021 and show the financial... Read more

SCVO commissioned an independent consultant, Arrivo Consulting, to conduct depth interviews with several of our members. The aim of the project was twofold: To deepen our understanding of the key challenges faced by third sector organisations, specifically in relation to funding... Read more

This case study is part of a series of work undertaken by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) looking into the funding situation of Scottish voluntary organisations. In this paper, we draw upon the experiences of voluntary sector intermediaries to shine a... Read more

Wave one - Summer 2021 The Scottish Third Sector Tracker is a community of third sector organisations based in Scotland. This large and inclusive community of organisations share their experiences and challenges in a quarterly survey. The information gathered from the community... Read more

This 3rd edition of our popular guide for young people about to leave school or at university (and anyone else) interested in working or volunteering in the voluntary sector includes new sections reflecting what young people told us they want to know most. Co-produced with young... Read more

Introduction As my colleague Sheghley posted at the end of June, SCVO wanted to learn more about the sector's use of the furlough scheme. In order to do so, we asked organisations to complete a short survey about their use of the scheme and any potential implications for their... Read more

A review of the literature - September - December 2020 Coronavirus Literature Review Q4 2020Download Introduction This paper, the third in the series, presents a summary of the existing literature on the impact coronavirus is having on voluntary sector organisations in Scotland... Read more

June - August 2020 Download a PDF version of this research paperDownload Introduction This paper presents a summary of the existing literature on the impact coronavirus is having on voluntary sector organisations in Scotland. It includes research published primarily by Scottish... Read more

This briefing gives an overview of the financial profile of the regulated Scottish voluntary sector in 2018, giving us a baseline for understanding sector funding and assets pre- and post-Coronavirus. It covers Scottish charities, housing associations and credit unions. All the... Read more

Our analysis of the voluntary sector’s pre-COVID finances, published today, highlights a complex patchwork funding landscape of fundraising, trading, contracts, grants and reserves, all of which have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic in different ways. The complexity of... Read more

This paper gives a summary of some of the key issues that Coronavirus is having on voluntary organisations, from the start of the crisis up until 20 May 2020. The paper pulls together data from a range of surveys and intelligence gathered by third sector organisations and... Read more

Second year's analysis of UK Gov gender pay gap data, comparing the Scottish third sector against 1. Scottish public and private sectors 2. UK third sector FINDINGS - 53 qualifying Scottish charities were analysed, employing a total of 35,508 staff. - Scottish charities are... Read more

This Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) briefing uses data from thousands of jobs advertised on its recruitment site goodmoves to create an extensive guide looking at salaries within Scottish charities. The report also links to data from the Annual Population... Read more

CAF’s third report on giving in Scotland 2019 has just been published offering us another fine slice of insight into how the Scottish public supports good causes. First up, money. For the third year in a row, the number of people in Scotland giving money to charities dropped. The... Read more

Download PDF Third Sector Forecast 2019Download The sector continues to face the twin challenges of increasing demand against a backdrop of funding challenges, particularly shrinking public sector budgets and the direct and knock-on effect of local authority cuts on voluntary... Read more

The number of new charities set up in 2017 was higher than ever, but financially it’s a mixed picture of winners and losers. Growth has been in the right direction, but for many it’s been pretty anaemic. Our new interactive data hub has pulled together the latest financial data... Read more

Our new interactive data hub pulls together all the basic data on the third sector such as how many organisations there are, how many employees, what they do, and where they are. What’s new is that you can now filter data yourself to find out things like – how many people work in... Read more

How are you feeling about 2019? Once again we're giving third sector colleagues and organisations the chance to tell us what you think next year's biggest challenges and opportunities will be. What you tell us will help us get a better idea of the issues that matter the most to... Read more

A new project has been launched which aims to better understand how food can be used to tackle poverty and social exclusion. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and the University of Edinburgh are aiming to examine the work that food projects are doing to... Read more

Gender pay gap of Scottish voluntary sector May 2018 Download the PDF - Gender pay gap briefing May2018 All organisations with 250+ staff were due to report on their gender pay gap by 4 April 2018. The UK Government has published the full data set of organisations submitting... Read more

Young people’s trust, confidence and support of charities in Scotland SCVO Briefing, April 2018 Download the PDF - Young People and charity trust Apr2018 This briefing presents and analyses the findings from a survey of the general public in Scotland on trust, confidence and... Read more

EU Nationals living and working in Scotland SVO Briefing April 2018 Print PDF version here The following briefing is based on SCVO analysis of data from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and Labour Force Survey (LFS), between 2015 and 2017. General figures on EU nationals living... Read more

Survey finds that the public’s trust in charities has dropped, but also highlights some positives, and areas for improvement OK, given that this week is The Gathering and a celebration of charities, let’s start with some good news! Trust and confidence in charities remains high... Read more

SCVO Briefing, February 2018 This briefing presents and analyses the findings from a survey of the general public in Scotland on trust, confidence and support of charities. The key findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,088 respondents (adults aged 16+) commissioned by... Read more

Would you be surprised to hear that Scottish grant-making trusts and foundations gave £300million to Scottish charities last year? Or that the amount donated by grant-making trusts has doubled in the last decade, up from £128m in 2007? Or that it now accounts for 6% of the sector... Read more

Recommendations fail to guarantee the human rights of the workforce in the UK The Taylor Report on the modern workforce was published earlier this week to mixed reviews. There was some criticism for a report that many feel is too cautious to enact real change for workers in... Read more

Volunteers: we all love them, we all want them, but are there enough to go round? In our recent Sector Forecast, 61% of respondents told us they were planning to recruit more volunteers in 2017. One in three small charities and two in three larger charities hoped to see their... Read more

Insights for 2017: Volunteers and Boards This briefing explores issues around volunteering and boards. View the PDF version of this briefing. SCVO Sector Forecast for 2017 Scottish Household Survey Volunteer Scotland Key facts 27% of Scottish adults volunteer Over 1.2million... Read more

From October to December 2016, SCVO ran a series of three workshops and an online survey to get a better understanding of when and how trustees access information and support, and what they feel could be done to improve the information and support currently available to them. The... Read more

Scotland’s social care sector: The financial evidence that is driving change Report by Jo Armstrong, May 2017 Summary A key focus for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the sustainability of the third sector in Scotland. Social care amounts to over a... Read more

In our latest Intermediaries Report, we discuss the role of intermediaries and the reach and impact they have, with case study examples. Also included is a directory of intermediaries operating in Scotland right now. View the May 2017 Intermediaries Report Read more

NCVO has just launched its 2017 UK Civil Society Almanac. It’s comprehensive, has lots of great infographics and is crammed with enough new facts and figures on income and workforce to make any data geeks out there go weak at the knees (the more maths-averse amongst you may get... Read more

Summary When it comes to local funding from public bodies, the sector suffers from short term, small pots of money, with long-term funding in the minority; this can have real impacts for individuals and communities. The sector still does not always get the support it needs, and... Read more

Key Findings The majority of charities remain relatively confident about their future, but recognise that 2017 will be challenging. There is a ‘squeezed middle’ of medium-sized charities that are particularly worried about the dual pressures of financial uncertainty and... Read more

Leaders from across Scotland’s third sector have come together with a rallying call for all the nation's charities and voluntary organisations to commit to seizing the opportunities presented by new technology and the internet. Over the last six months, 19 senior charity leaders... Read more

Synopsis Scottish Fundraising Working Group June 2016 Foreword Scotland’s charity sector is a critical component of our civic society. The impact of charitable fundraising every day, in every community across Scotland, is genuinely life changing. It is, however, not without its... Read more

Here's why people in Scotland love small charities Read more

Community Capacity and Resilience Fund SCVO Update Report February 2016 Context The Community Capacity and Resilience Fund focuses on small, local, grassroots, community-based organisations to pilot ideas that will help them mitigate the impact of welfare reform and social... Read more

82% of people believe most charities are trustworthy Read more

9 out of 10 people have supported a charity in the last year 82% of people in Scotland trust charities and believe they act in the public interest (compared to 57% in England and Wales) Levels of trust in fundraising remains high with 73% of people agreeing that they feel... Read more

SCVO briefing 17 February 2016 This briefing presents and analyses the findings from a poll of the general public in Scotland on trust, confidence and support of charities. These findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,028 respondents (adults aged 16+) commissioned by SCVO... Read more

Context SCVO’s report into charitable public fundraising in Scotland was published on 23 September, alongside a review conducted by Sir Stuart Etherington for the Cabinet Office of the UK Government. Both reports share the broad conclusions that the current arrangements are not... Read more

Legislation is negative for the Scottish third sector, especially smaller organisations Read more

People contribute to society in different ways at different times. They are driven by a need to support themselves and their families, share things with other people around them and do something meaningful with their lives. Sustainable and meaningful paid employment is the single... Read more

Have your say on charity fundraising in Scotland Read more

Key findings 80% of Scottish charities receive some form of donations and fundraised income from the general public. Donations account for 11% of third sector income. In 2013 donations rose to an all-time high of £537 million, growing by £66 million between 2012 and 2013. This... Read more

Context Scotland’s First Minister has outlined her ambition for a socially just Scotland. This is to be founded on three key priorities – participation, prosperity and fairness. In practice we understand this to mean ending poverty, tackling inequalities, repositioning our... Read more

Many may loathe seeing money being spent on fundraising, but investment now will ensure the sector can continue to provide high quality services and projects in the future. Read more

Survey shows large numbers of staff want to leave the third sector due to low pay, short-term contracts and stress. Read more

1 Methodology 1.1 Primary research This research briefing is based on a survey of the third sector workforce, the first sector-wide survey of employees to be carried out since 1999, and the first time that employees across the whole of the third sector have had the opportunity to... Read more

A new report from SCVO highlights the human cost of welfare reform - and it is a price too high to pay. Read more

Report summary In this report SCVO presents third sector perspectives on the impact of welfare reform on the people and communities it supports in Scotland. It is based on research carried out by SCVO during summer 2014. It builds on an earlier SCVO mapping study which reported... Read more

Do we really need another charity giving campaign? We’ve just had the hyped-up shopping binges of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and now today we have a new online campaign to encourage people to give their time and money to good causes under the #givingtuesday banner. When told... Read more

Rhetorical question: can something really be called a ‘snapshot’ when it takes five months to produce? Every two years SCVO data elves analyse hundreds of third sector annual accounts to produce a snapshot of the sector’s finances and analyse the key trends in the sector’s income... Read more

Background This is the first in a series of research briefings which outline the headline findings of SCVO’s 2014 panel survey, and gives an overview of how the third sector funds its work and where it spends its money. The figures are based on detailed analysis of annual... Read more

Ten tips on encouraging people to join your board. Read more

Last week I had a dilemma. What to wear to a poverty and social exclusion conference? I know that seems shallow given the serious context, but something just feels wrong about sitting in a nice room in smart clothes discussing how many people can’t afford to clothe their kids... Read more

Scotland and the world around it are changing. From demography to technology, environment to economy, faith to fiscal policy, nothing about our society is standing still. For the third sector, how Scotland changes in the next two to three years matters less than how it changes in... Read more

Putting people at the heart of Scotland's future We want a Scotland that has a shared sense of purpose, is fair and prosperous, and where the entire population has the opportunity to participate on equal terms. This ambition is the biggest political, policy and practical... Read more

Introduction This paper is the second in a series that looks to promote conversation about some of the big issues in the run-up to and period after the 2014 Scottish Referendum, amplifying the voice and ideas of the third sector and the people it supports. The Scottish Council... Read more

Applied Futurologist Tom Cheesewright spoke at February’s Gathering, and we now have the report on that session available for you to read. Tom highlighted what will affect our sector and those we work with – demographic change, technology change, changes in the way we work… And... Read more

Ilse Mackinnon takes a look at why the latest round of third sector stats left us scratching our heads. Read more

About these statistics This page pulls together statistics for 2014/2015 from a range of sources, including SCVO, OSCR and the Scottish Housing Regulator. Financial data is based on charity accounts for 2013/14. Key facts The Scottish voluntary sector encompasses an estimated 4... Read more

SCVO media release New figures show vital role third sector plays in Scotland New figures released today (Wednesday 19 February) by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) show that the third sector’s turnover has grown to £4.9bn, having doubled over the last... Read more

More options download full report as a PDF document download full report as a Word document Executive Summary Community Jobs Scotland Background 1. Community Jobs Scotland (CJS) is a Scottish Government funded job creation programme that performs a dual function as: An... Read more

In the newly released SCVO report into the future health and confidence of the sector, it’s clear that our sector is viewing 2014 with some pretty mixed feelings. Read more

Zero hours contracts are bad for workers and bad for customers Read more

Commentary The third sector is clearly making a real difference to the lives of people in Scotland and is heading in the right direction again despite a challenging economic environment. This isn’t just good news for the staff and volunteers who work within the sector, it also... Read more

These data tables accompany the State of the Sector 2013 report. Figure 1 The increase/decrease in organisation size reported by respondents between 2007 and 2013. Over the last 12 months has your organisation: 2007 2008 2009 (estimate) 2010 (estimate) 2011 2012 2013 Grown in... Read more

The bigger picture A new economy – less dependency Examining the future of welfare in Scotland without understanding why people are dependent on a myriad of benefits and allowances is a mistake. Within the third sector, and more widely, there is a growing call for our economy to... Read more

The survey This survey was undertaken to discover what the third sector currently feels about the debate; whether it is having any impact on organisations; and what they hope to see come out of the debate in the coming year. As SCVO will be holding an event on referendum issues... Read more

Introduction Scotland is in a privileged position as we debate our future as a nation. We have a unique opportunity to debate the kind of society we want to see, and the ways in which we might achieve this vision. The future of welfare and the possibility that Scotland could do... Read more

Overview The impact of welfare reform has been felt across Scotland, and, as research commissioned by the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee shows, the most deprived areas in Scotland will take the biggest financial hit. With the reforms taking more than £1.6bn a year... Read more

Overview This paper is written by one of Scotland’s leading social policy experts Jim McCormick. It examines the impacts of the UK Government’s welfare cuts and reforms. SCVO’s starting point is that the UK coalition Government’s welfare cuts are unmerited and unjust. They are... Read more