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.
Society
Societal issues including changing volunteering patterns, changing workforce expectations, and public perceptions of charities will have a direct impact on how organisations need to operate.
Rising polarisation and increasingly hostile public discourse are creating challenges for people working and volunteering in the sector, and on the people they support.
- Studies like the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, Understanding Scotland and Life in the UK (Scotland) show that the public is losing faith in government, becoming more dissatisfied with public services, and is increasingly worried about finances (of the country and their own).
- Respondents to the Scottish Third Sector Tracker consistently report growing levels of need in their communities, in particular in relation to mental health, financial support and physical health.
- Health and income inequalities remain a significant aspect of Scottish society, underpinned by structural inequalities along lines of gender, race or ethnicity, disability and nationality or migration status.
- While social unrest has been less prevalent in Scotland than other parts of the UK, it is increasingly seen in many communities.
- There are increasing reports of workers and volunteers being targeted by populist groups, particularly those working with migrants or other marginalised groups. It is important that organisations do what they can to protect their staff, volunteers and the people they support from trolling and other forms of protest.
- After a fall in public trust around 2014-16, trust in charities increased in recent years. Trust in charities now ranks very high compared to other organisations, with only trust in doctors ranking higher.
- The sector is also recognised by the public as having an important role in raising awareness and lobbying on issues, as well as service delivery
- The Scottish Government has delayed its proposal for a wider review of charity regulation until after the 2026 Holyrood election.
- According to the Scottish Household Survey, volunteering rates have recovered, with 25% of adults taking part in formal volunteering. That’s over 1million volunteers. In Autumn 2025, more than two thirds of voluntary organisations reported issues with volunteer recruitment and over 40% noted issues with volunteer retention. This impacts service volunteers and trustees.
- Wave 11 (Autumn 2025) of the Scottish Third Sector Tracker shows that volunteer recruitment and retention challenges remain acute, with 62% of organisations reporting moderate–significant difficulty and many highlighting reduced volunteer availability, volunteer fatigue, and a lack of staff capacity to support volunteers.
- Concerns about volunteer wellbeing are becoming more prevalent.
- Third Sector Tracker data shows that trustees remain one of the hardest volunteer roles to fill, with 46% of Scottish voluntary organisations reported that recruitment and retention of board members and trustees was a challenge in Autumn 2025. Trustee recruitment is a particularly challenging for smaller charities.
- As organisations start to recruit workers from Gen Z, it is possible that some workplaces will contain workers from four different generations.
- Gen Z workers place a high value in a workplace that matches their values. Voluntary organisations should be well-placed to attract candidates on a values basis. However Gen Z workers also have relatively high expectations around salary, which may be more challenging to meet in this financial climate for the sector.
- Recruitment data suggests that workers really value flexible working and a hybrid workplace, although many organisations are still working through what this looks like for them.
- There is a growing focus on wellbeing and mental health within the workplace, and a growing recognition of the risk of burnout in the voluntary sector workforce.
- Equality and diversity of trustees and within the workplace is an area of focus for many organisations.
Prompts for planning
How are the communities you work with impacted by social change?
How reliant is your organisation on volunteers? Is that model sustainable?
How diverse is your (paid and unpaid) workforce? What plans do you have in place to change this if necessary?
What is your organisational approach to the wellbeing and mental health of your staff, volunteers and trustees?
Do you have sufficient measures in place to protect your organisation, staff and volunteers from direct action such as trolling or in-person protests?
Sources of support
- SCVO’s HR Service provides resources on employee engagement and culture and inclusive recruitment
- Flexibility Works provides a range of free resources to support flexible working
- For support around volunteering, contact Volunteer Scotland or your local volunteer centre
- Goodmoves can support with recruitment of trustees and paid staff
- William Grant Foundation have collated sources of support and information on wellbeing in the voluntary sector workforce
- Directory of Social Change - Charities against hate – How to respond to racism
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