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 Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
Research blog
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
It’s a big question, with a complex answer. While 8 out of 10 people use the internet on a daily basis, the statistics showing high levels of use hide a deeper digital divide. The latest evidence Yesterday we published new research exploring what digital exclusion looks like in... Read more
Those in need less likely to access vital services online, research finds. Around 21 per cent of adults in Scotland still do not have basic digital skills, according to research published today by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). With the support of the... 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
We've been clear from the outset of this project that we're going to put our users first. Of course, when you're running product development it's easy to get carried away with the build and to lose touch with what your users actually need it to do. The team - and the people... 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
Sadly my internship has come to an end! :( It feels like I was only taken on a few weeks ago, so these three months have gone by very quickly. I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to work for SCVO. Here are some of the things I've learned from the experience... 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
Hello! My name is Hoyam and I am a Digital Research Intern for the digital participation team and SCVO Labs. My role involves researching the digital activities of charities and non-profit organisations, not just in Scotland and the UK but internationally as well. Currently I am... 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