The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
Trustee's Week 2023
Trustees' Week (6-10 November 2023) is an annual event to mark the amazing work the 250,000 trustees across the country do to help shape and guide our charities and voluntary organisations. It’s an opportunity to celebrate and thank trustees who volunteer their time and expertise with passion and commitment
Find out more about what’s happening across the UK at Trustees Week 2023.
This year at SCVO we’ve organised some great events for trustees at the Gathering the UK’s largest free voluntary sector event in the UK. Why not join us for a debate on modernising governance and while you’re there you can sign up for some of the other great events taking place.
Free trustee recruitment advertising
Trustee recruitment and increasing board diversity is an ongoing challenge. That’s why we’re offering 50 organisations a free space on Goodmoves to advertise their board vacancies. Advertising means you can move beyond using word of mouth or personal recommendations to find your next trustee. That way you can attract a wider range of talent and tap into more diverse skills, knowledge and experience.
To advertise on Scotland’s number one third sector recruitment site email: sales@goodmoves.org.uk or telephone 0800 0192 149 for a free ad to run in November.
Support for trustees all year round
SCVO provide support for trustees, including:
- Lots of information and resources on good governance
- The Good Governance Checkup which will help you understand how well your organisation is doing on governance.
- SCVO Trustee Network which you can sign up to for information and news on relevant topics and free webinars.
- SCVO new online governance course for 2024 on a series of topics:
- Running effective board meetings
- Defining strategy, culture and values
- Board and staff relationships
- Access 1-2-1 support if your organisation is a member of SCVO. Get expert help from our Information Officers on everything from changing your constitution to developing your board
SCVO Trustees' Week at Gathering
SCVO is celebrating Trustees’ Week at the Gathering the largest free voluntary sector event in the UK. On 7 and 8 November you can join us at Edinburgh’s EICC to connect and network, and to learn and be inspired with a packed programme of workshops, seminars and activities. Here’s just some of the highlights:
- OSCR will be there on the first day to give their top tips on what makes a good well-managed charity and will follow that with an outline on what happens when OSCR receives concerns about a charity
- SCVO’s free legal advice services partners Brodies will be looking at Navigating risk and safeguarding charities and Turcan Connell will cover Practical governance problems and how to solve them
- For any trustees that run village and community halls, you won’t want to miss the launch of a great new practical resource from the Development Trusts Association Scotland and SCVO that will take you through everything from setting up and meeting legal requirements, to digital skills and environmental impact
- Don’t miss the opportunity to feed in your thoughts and views at the Scottish Government Third Sector Unit session on their plans to review charity regulation
- And for anyone who is frustrated at the red tape trustees face, or the lack of diversity on boards, join a panel of traditionalists and disruptors to thrash out the challenges of being too maverick, and the risks of doing nothing. Come along and help us debate how we should fix governance.
And if you can’t join us in person, why not book onto the Gathering Extra on November 29th? This is an online opportunity to catch up on the bits you missed from the comfort of your own home or office and is completely free. There will be a range of recorded sessions with real-time hosts and guests where you can share your comments and thoughts.
There’s lots more events going on across the UK to celebrate Trustees’ Week, find out more here.
Good governance check-up
How good is your organisation's governance?
Use our good governance check-up to find out. It guides you through the principles of the Scottish Governance Code for the third sector. It asks a series of questions about your organisation and gives you a personalised action plan at the end.
Your board can use the check-up to identify areas where you’re doing well, see where you can improve, and monitor your progress over time. And, if you’re an SCVO member organisation, you can also book a one-to-one session to discuss your check-up results and plan the next steps on your journey to good governance.
SCVO trustees' network
in partnership with
If you’re a trustee looking for ongoing support then check out SCVO’s trustee network supported by Rathbones Investment Management.
Through the trustee network, we offer guidance and information for members of boards and committees, with news on relevant topics, webinars where you can hear from experts and share your own learning and experience, E-learning modules, and board vacancies.