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ANNEX E
WHAT IS THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR?
Diversity and structure
The sector has a number of shared features that taken together set it apart from other sectors. Voluntary organisations are:
- Primarily driven by a social, cultural or environmental purpose
- Governed by individual volunteers who do not get paid for governing the organisations, usually a management committee or trustees.
- Are independent from the state.
These features encompass a wide range of organisations. Figure 1 shows a sample of the diversity of the sector.
- The pyramid shape demonstrates that a very few large organisations control large slices of the sector's income (at the tip), whereas the majority of organisations, and the bulk of the sector's diversity is reflected in the smallest organisations (at the base).
- The largest organisations are similar in structure to large private sector businesses while at the base, many small organisations are held together by volunteer input. Paid employment is particularly concentrated in the medium to large organisations.
- Medium and large income organisations are more likely to have regulatory status, as mutuals, limited companies or charities. Although a large number of small organisations will also have sought charity recognition, many will not have found the need to do so.
- The sector is self-organised through a number of key subsectors, which share more specific concerns. The largest of these are the arts and sports subsectors, and the social welfare subsectors.
Figure 1: Structure of the Scottish voluntary sector
Figure 2: Latest known distribution of Subsectors ( SCVO 2005)
Figure 3: Latest known income distribution of the sector ( SCVO 2004)
Economics
The sector employs 5% of Scotland's workforce and accounts for 1.2% of national income. The sector's key economic indicators are summarised in Table 1. Please note the following:
- 61% of the sector's income, much of which arguably goes towards the cost of paid staffing, comes from non-public sector sources. The sector therefore brings in considerable employment beyond that purchased (or facilitated) by the public purse.
- The sector is also a major employer of part-time employees. 12% of all part time employees in Scotland are employed within the voluntary sector (both men and women) and almost three quarters of the voluntary sector's employees are women (74%). 6
- The sector mobilises three forms of resource to meet its objectives; (1) community assets and capital assets held in trust, (2) volunteer effort, (3) fundraising potential (from philanthropic sources as well as the general public)
Table 1: Top Facts (2004 estimates) 7 ( SCVO's databases) 8
| | Key notes |
Size of sector | 50,000 organisations | Roughly 50% are regulated as charities, housing associations or credit unions. 9 |
Employment | 119,000 (73,000 FTE, ¾ are women) | 12% of Scottish SME workforce 12% of Scottish part-time workforce ¾ are women |
Volunteers | 1.2 million adults (Source: Volunteer Development Scotland) | 78% of all adult volunteers (1.5m) volunteer through voluntary sector |
Income | £2.62 Billion (Of which 39% from public sector, 44% self-generated) | 1.2% of Scottish economic turnover |
Expenditure | £2.47 Billion (Staff costs account for £1.40 Billion) | Gap between income and expenditure remains volatile |
Assets | £5.96 Billion (Of which Loan Finance now accounts for £860m and investments at £1.5bn) | Includes major stock transfers to Glasgow, Scottish Borders & Dumfries & Galloway housing associations during 1999-2004 |
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