Support & learning blog

A few years ago I was working for a grant funder on the Workplace Equality Fund. It was the first time I really understood that equality is only ever achieved by providing equity first, and true inclusion is only ever achieved by completely rethinking things. My lightbulb moment... Read more

Ever get that niggling feeling that things could be working better, but you’re not sure how to fix them? This can be a real problem with digital, which seems like it’s constantly on the move. Just as you think you’re bang up to date, along comes something new that you feel under... Read more

Maddie Stark of SCVO's Digital Evolution team has been reflecting on reuse and working in the open. As part of my own professional development, I have been participating in Third sector Lab's Open Working & Reuse programme. Open working and re-use is as simple as sharing your... Read more

I work with the Cranfield Trust offering free support for charity leaders. In a recent discussion about the cost-of-living crisis with the chair of a charity I work with, they remarked wryly that, "The cost-of-living crisis isn't like another wave of Covid - this is like a... Read more

In Scotland around 800 new charities are set up every year, and 600 wind up and dissolve. After many years working on the SCVO Information Service, dealing with all the trials and tribulations of charities, from small community groups, right up to big household names, I think... Read more

Our Information Service has always provided help, guidance, and support to third sector organisations in Scotland. This includes a free enquiry service, online guidance, toolkits and webinars. For SCVO members with an annual income of under £500,000, the service also includes... Read more

The Scottish Governance Code for the Third Sector was developed in 2018 and sets out five broad principles of good governance that act as a point of reference for trustees in carrying out their role. They can be summarised under the following broad headings: Organisational... Read more

Good governance matters because it underpins successful charities and is vital for their effectiveness and sustainability. It enables us to serve our beneficiaries and achieve our mission and values, and it also helps to protect and enhance the reputation of individual charities... Read more

SCVO produced this summary of commitments impacting the voluntary sector operating environment. Read more

The death of George Floyd in summer 2020 and the public response that followed made us stop and think. Staff at SCVO felt the same upset, anger and helplessness that so many others did, and we wanted to play an active part in making change happen. Read more