Challenging Times

A recent Third Force News article ‘Job cuts and depleted reserves: the troubled state of the Scottish charity sector’ has shone a light on the continuing challenges faced by Scotland’s charities and social enterprises.

Concern for Scotland’s charitable sector has been widely reported throughout 2025, with rising costs, financial constraints and volunteer shortages compounded by short-term funding cycles.

SCVO’s Scottish Third Sector Tracker’s latest update demonstrates that these trends are continuing to meaningfully impact charities across the country.

As a result, Third Force News reports ‘the number of charities forced to make job cuts has doubled – and many organisations are eating unsustainably into their reserves just to survive.’

‘Increasing numbers of organisations are struggling to meet the demand for their services, while six in ten organisations feel the use of their reserves to be unsustainable, up from four in ten just six months earlier, and the number of organisations making redundancies has doubled, from 5% to 10% in the same period.’

The latest update shares that ‘despite these pressures, many organisations continue to meet the growing demand by adapting services; collaborating with other organisations; and applying for additional funding and fundraising. However, the sector’s reliance on limited financial reserves, and the unsustainable use of those reserves, raises concerns about long-term sustainability.’

Circular Communities Scotland’s 2024 Impact Report reflected these sentiments, with members citing core costs, lengthy funding applications and increasing bills as major causes for financial stress. Conversely, 78% of our members (who responded to our survey) said that they were confident that they would be able to deliver their projects and services effectively over the next 12 months.

Circular Communities Scotland works hard to ensure our members are supported, particularly when sector circumstances make providing exemplary services for communities even more challenging.

Member Benefits

Circular Communities Scotland provides a myriad of benefits including:

Marketing Support.

Whether your organisation is sharing important services for your local community, need support promoting a fundraiser, or want more volunteers, share your communications with us, and we’ll work to promote them through our social media and eNews.

Member Enquiries.

Have a problem you can’t solve? Reach out to our Membership team to ask for a member enquiry. We’ll reach out to our national network of reuse charities and social enterprises. Chances are, someone has overcome the same issue.

One to One.

Meet with one of our managers to gain insight into the sector or invite the Circular Communities Scotland team to your premises. We’re always here to support and engage with our members across the country.

Policy & Funding Info.

Our members are automatically signed up to our Policy & Funding eNews, which provides well researched insights into Scotland’s policy landscape relating to reuse charities and social enterprises in Scotland. Scroll to the bottom to access up to date funding schemes and information.

Events.

Attend member only events, including our popular Funding, Finance and Business Seminar, Annual Conference, and local member events to network with other reuse charities, funders and supporters in your community.

eNews.

Subscribe to our eNews and view our Sector Support section, which covers a range of alternative support services in Scotland that support charities, including the Scottish Government Cost of Living and Running Support site, Social Enterprise Support Map Crisis Recovery and more.

To reach out to us about accessing your member benefits or to speak with a member of our team, email info@circularcommunities.scot