The membership body for Scottish charities has reported on a difficult and “overly complex” procurement process.
Some 10% of 495 charities surveyed said that the process of applying for public contracts was easy, compared with 45% which found it difficult, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) reported.
Complex tender documents, difficult-to-navigate processes and limited internal capacity were the most common barriers identified.
One-third of SCVO’s respondents reported challenges linked to the changing socio-political environment, including funding pressures.
Some 97% of charities said they faced financial challenges, up by two percentage points since autumn 2025.
Smaller, volunteer-led and rural organisations said they often felt disadvantaged by existing arrangements “geared towards” larger charities.
Anna Fowlie, SCVO chief executive, said: “With only one in 10 organisations saying that they find applying for contracts easy, it’s clear the system is not working as intended.
“We still see too many public bodies default to rigid, complex processes that place insufficient emphasis on quality, impact and community need.
“The result is that too many voluntary organisations are locked out, meaning our communities lose their ingenuity, experience and reach.”
Scottish charities’ income rises to £18.8bn
Meanwhile, regulator OSCR has reported that the total gross annual income of Scottish charities has risen by 3% year-on-year to £18.8bn.
OSCR’s report, which covers the year to June 2026, reveals that 48% of Scottish charities had incomes below £25,000 per year – the smallest income bracket.
Conversely, 8% of charities had incomes of £500,000 or more, and these organisations accounted for more than 93% of the sector’s total income.
“More than half the charities on the Scottish charity register collectively account for less than 0.5% of the gross annual income for the sector,” the report reads.
Of those smaller charities with incomes of £25,000 or less, 26% had incomes of less than £5,000.
Two-thirds of Scottish charities have no paid staff so are volunteer-run, according to the report.
Meanwhile, 18 universities accounted for 31% of the total income of Scottish charities.
“There are certain types of charity that have a large influence on the overall income figures for Scottish charities,” the report reads.
“These include higher education charities, further education charities, registered social landlords and arms-length external organisations.”
OSCR collated data on 24,946 voluntary organisations on the Scottish charity register.
Of this number, 23,640 were registered only in Scotland while 1,306 were cross-border voluntary organisations.
