The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national membership body for Scotland’s charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. SCVO works to support people to take voluntary action to help themselves and others, and to bring about social change. It provides services and support to the
third sector in Scotland to advance shared values and interests. SCVO has approximately 2,800 members, ranging from individuals and grassroots groups, to Scotland-wide organisations and intermediary bodies. The organisation employs approximately 100 staff.
Aims
SCVO’s aims are to:
* support third sector organisations to do their work
* promote and support shared interests of third sector organisations
* connect people with ways to get involved with their communities
* as an organisation continually learn, develop and enhance its own effectiveness.
Governance
SCVO is governed by a Management Board with representatives elected from its Policy Committee. Anna Fowlie has been Chief Executive since 23 April 2018, taking over from Martin Sime who held the role from 1991 to late 2017. Andrew Burns is the current convener.
History
The organisation was established on 1 October 1943 as the Scottish Council of Social Service (SCSS). During its first years much of the Council’s work was dictated by wartime need and its immediate aftermath.
In 1983 the Council’s name was changed to the Scottish Council for Community and Voluntary Organisations with the working title of Voluntary Action for Scotland. In 1986 the name Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations was adopted.
SCVO hosted the 6th, 7th and 8th CIVICUS World Assemblies in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Current work
SCVO supports the third sector in Scotland in a variety of ways, including
* Lobbying and campaigning on behalf of the sector
* Running training, conferences and events
* Providing services and deals to members
* Managing jobs and employability initiatives
SCVO Credit Union
SCVO Credit Union Limited is a savings and loans
co-operative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
established in 1998 for employees and open to anybody who is a trustee, employee or voluntary worker for any charitable organisation which is a registered member. It is a member of the
Association of British Credit Unions
The Association of British Credit Unions Limited, commonly known as ABCUL, is the leading trade association for credit unions in Great Britain.
ABCUL represents around 70% of credit unions who in turn provide services to 85% of the British credit ...
Limited, authorised by the
Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financ ...
and the PRA. Ultimately, like the banks and building societies, members’ savings are protected against
business failure __NOTOC__
Business failure refers to a company ceasing operations following its inability to make a profit or to bring in enough revenue to cover its expenses. A profitable business can fail if it does not generate adequate cash flow to meet ...
by the
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's statutory deposit insurance and investors compensation scheme for customers of authorised financial services firms. This means that FSCS can pay compensation if a firm is unable, or li ...
.
Credit Union Guide
Financial Services Compensation Scheme (retrieved 2 April 2015)
Sister organisations
*National Council for Voluntary Organisations
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity (no 225922). NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an ...
(England)
*Wales Council for Voluntary Action
Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) (Welsh: ''Cyngor Gweithredu Gwirfoddol Cymru'') is the national membership organisation for the third sector and volunteering in Wales. Its aim is to work towards 'A future where the third sector and volun ...
(Wales)
*Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action
Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action is the national infrastructure body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland. NICVA also hosts and manages several websites for Northern Ireland's voluntary and community sector onlin ...
(Northern Ireland)
* The Wheel (Ireland)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Non-profit organisations based in Scotland
Credit unions of the United Kingdom
Volunteer organisations in the United Kingdom