Earlier this month saw 3,000 people from the third sector attend SCVO’s the Gathering, the largest free voluntary sector event in the UK. Our team were more than attendees, taking part in a collaborative funders session and our Specialist Volunteer Network (SVN) hosted a panel discussion alongside Pilotlight on opportunities for charities to access professional volunteers.
The Specialist Volunteer Network (SVN) is one of Inspiring Scotland’s unique offerings to the sector – providing free professional support to charities across the country. With a network of 580 Specialist Volunteers, Inspiring Scotland provides a free, personalised service to match the skills of a volunteer to the support needs of the charity.
Make the ask
Caroline Ferguson Chief Executive of Midlothian based RUTS, an organisation Inspiring Scotland has supported for the past 15 years, shared the many ways specialist volunteers had supported RUTS. From financial modelling, marketing, sourcing new board members and most recently support to negotiate a property lease. In the current challenging operating climate when funding is being stretched and needing to do more for even less, specialist professional volunteering for the third sector is vital.
Caroline’s final words of advice to other charities on the day was, “Make the ask!” and reach out to the Inspiring Scotland team to help match your need with a professional volunteer.
If you are a charity, our network of lawyers, accountants, marketing, HR professionals and more, are ready and waiting to hear how they can help with their professional support.
If you are a professional who would like to offer your skills, you can find out more information about the Specialist Volunteer Network. Please get in touch with Elaine or Tommy.
Watch the Gathering Extra
If you weren’t able to be at The Gathering – check out the Gathering Extra for an edited selection of sessions from the conference.
The Gathering Extra is available to view for free, online until 29 December 2023. Watch here.
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A second round of the Neighbourhood Ecosystem Fund opens for applications today (Monday 20 January 2025) to enable community-led project groups in Scotland to develop local nature restoration projects. The Neighbourhood Ecosystem Fund seeks to inspire, encourage, and enable communities to explore and develop ambitious ecosystem restoration projects locally. It also seeks to raise awareness
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