UK: Scottish third sector

Facts and figures

The Scottish Charities Report 2008 reveals that there are 23,806 charities on the Scottish Charity Register. 355 of those are identified as being cross border charities, which means that they are charities which are registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales and are also registered with OSCR in Scotland.

Among these Scottish charities

• 56% of them are ‘unincorporated associations’,
• 18% are a ‘trust’,
• 18% reported that they are a ‘social enterprise’

The rest 8% can assume other legal form such as Industrial and Provident Society, Statutory Corporation or Educational Endowment.

Unincorporated association or trusts are usually the most common constitutional form for charities with a gross income of less than £100,000. Conversely, companies with charitable status report a gross income of between £100,000 and £499,999.

38% (40% in 2005) of all charities in Scotland reported that their headquarters or main operating location was in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Highland or Fife.

Despite the fact that Shetland Islands is far from the cost, it reports the greatest number and greatest income for charities per 10,000 of population.

Instead in the up-country North Lanarkshire reports the lowest number of charities per 10,000 of resident population, while Aberdeenshire, in the North East, has the lowest income for charities per 10,000 of resident population.

Regarding the geographic spread of Scottish charity activity for 2008 we can underline that they are local oriented.

The majority of them deliver activities and services in a defined neighbourhood or community (45%), 22% stated that their activities are spread within one local authority and 10% in more than one, 7% operate almost in Scotland, 5% also in other parts of the UK.

Just 10% operates Overseas and Scotland, while only 302 (1.2%) charities operating only overseas.

Income

In 2008, the Scottish charitable sector generate a total annual income of £12.9 billion. Two thirds of all charities in Scotland have an annual income under £25,000.

Just 5.6% of all charities reported a gross annual income greater than £500,000, representing the 93.7% of total charitable sector income.

The breakdown of income across charities with an income up to £100,000 reveals that the three most important source of income are:

• government funding (44%),
• charitable activity (29%),
• donations, fundraising and legacies (13%.).
• The rest, such as interest and investment income or income form trading provide a small contribution.

Approximately 62% of income reported by the charity sector is utilised in the direct delivery of activities and services by charities. The remaining 38% of income is distributed to individuals and organisations via donations and grants.

To find out more, Vita Europe suggests:

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is the independent registrar and regulator for Scotland’s 23,500 charities

Download a copy of Scottish charities 2008.