SCVO has been asked by the Scottish Government to create a third sector resilience hub for Scotland. We are working with Scottish Government and others to ensure that the sector has access to the information that it needs to navigate this unprecedented situation. Our Third Sector Information Hub is being regularly updated as new information and guidance becomes available.
As the voice of the voluntary sector in Scotland, we are also ensuring that the sector is represented in national discussions on how Scotland can best respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Informed by what we have heard from members, we have:
- Called on the Scottish Government to provide financial support to the sector
- Facilitated discussion between a range of independent funders on how to ensure that funding being made available is coordinated and meeting the immediate and longer term needs of the sector and our communities
- Created the Coronavirus Community Assistance Directory, to enable voluntary organisations to coordinate the assistance they can offer or require
- Worked with the Scottish Government and a wide range of partners to develop the ‘No One Left Behind Digital Scotland’ initiative to bring isolated people online
- Kept regular contact with our sister organisations across the UK, coordinating support to the sector across the UK
- Launched DigiShift zoom calls with supporting podcasts and blogs to help organisations move to digital service delivery.
We know that many voluntary organisations urgently require certainty about funding for the coming year. In response to our work on this, the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government has confirmed in a letter to Anna Fowlie that “[a]cross Government we are working to ensure that payments to third sector organisations are made promptly, that grant conditions and reporting deadlines are relaxed where possible and that we all consider actions we can collectively take to keep funds flowing to sustain Scotland’s third sector”. If you are continuing to experience issues with confirmation of grant funding for 2020/21, please let us know.
How you can help us
To enable us to keep up with this rapidly changing situation, we have set up a dedicated mailbox to gather experiences and intelligence from our members and the wider sector. This helps us to ensure that our work to support the sector through the provision of information and external influencing is directed towards the right issues. We’d also love to hear your good news stories of how our amazing sector is adapting to the situation and continuing to provide critical support and services.
If your organisation is able to provide brief information please use our online form to share your experiences.
