The gross annual income of charities on the Scottish charity register is £14bn, according to the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
Most Scottish charities have incomes below £25,000 and around two-thirds are run entirely by volunteers, according to OSCR’s Sector Overview Report.
It found 57% report annual incomes of below £25,000 and around two thirds of charities employ no paid staff and are run entirely by volunteers, including the charity trustees. More than a third of Scottish charities have an income of less than £5,000.
The regulator estimated that there are 180,000 trustees of charities on its register, with charities having seven on average.
OSCR’s figures, which are correct as of 31 March 2023, also show charities employ 209,601 people as paid staff, despite many being run solely by volunteers.
The total number of charities on the register is more than 25,000, though this includes over 2,500 defaulting charities that have not submitted their annual returns, and OSCR does not know if they are active or not.
The bulk of data used in the Sector Overview Report comes from charities that have used OSCR Online to submit an online annual return. Previously, this report about charities in Scotland was published as a document every two years, with the last publication in 2021. It will be updated quarterly from now on.
Maureen Mallon, OSCR’s chief executive, said knowing the scale and scope of the charity sector, and what issues are challenging charities in Scotland, helps inform the decision-making of OSCR and other stakeholders.
She said: “The report is a great resource for anyone seeking general information about the Scottish charity sector. In time, the data will also help us understand the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost crisis on charities and how charities adapt.”
She urged charity trustees to make sure charities submit information to OSCR on time, to keep reports as accurate and relevant as possible.
Charities bill to give OSCR increased powers
Meanwhile, a bill which aims to strengthen the Scottish charity regulator’s powers and improve transparency and accountability in the charity sector has also been welcomed by Holyrood’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee.
However, in welcoming the bill, the Committee has asked for reassurance for charitable organisations as evidence presented revealed that charities are unsure about how the legislation will work in practice.
The 2005 Act sets out the powers that OSCR has to regulate charities, which includes publishing and maintaining the register, and this bill makes changes to the 2005 Act.
It would give OSCR wider powers to investigate charities and charity trustees, amend the rules on who can be a charity trustee or a senior office-holder in a charity, increase the information that OSCR holds about charity trustees, update the information which needs to be included on the register and create a record of charities that have merged.
