At this time of uncertainty and disruption due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the sector is facing new challenges every day. There are a number of different ways that your organisation can seek support around topics such as remote working or financial sustainability, as well as share you experiences with others.
Support open to Scottish charities:
1. The Scottish Government announced on 18 March 2020 a £20m Third Sector Resilience fund “to help ensure the health and continued viability of the third sector organisations affected by cash flow and other problems, which have a key role to play in our national response.” More details will follow on the SCVO website as they are announced. There is no indication that this fund wouldn’t be available to Scottish charities working internationally, but we are following up with the Scottish Government to seek more detail.
2. SCVO have an information hub about COVID-19, and are publishing useful guides including ‘my top ten remote working tips’ and offering 15 minute free chats to get to grips with remote working as well as creating a Slack channel to share ideas about digital working
3. ACOSCVO are holding digital meetings and have created a Linkedin group for voluntary sector Chief Executives and senior leaders
4. Third Sector Lab’s Ross McCulloch is hosting a Zoom call on Friday 20 March to talk about how charities can deliver information and support digitally
Many organisations are also seeking the views of charities about the impacts of COVID-19 on their operations and sustainability. The IoF alongside NCVO and CFG are seeking your views on the financial impact of coronavirus, you can complete their survey before 23 March 2020. SCVO also have a dedicated mailbox to gather information from members and the wider voluntary sector, which you can email brief information to experience@scvo.org.uk .
How the Alliance can help you digitally at this time:
· For more information about COVID-19 please read our resource list which is updated regularly
· Connect with other Alliance members using our online forum the Alliance Community. Watch this video and follow these simple steps to set up an account
· Access free legal services though TrustLaw
· Apply for the Alliance Training Bursary and use it to take an online course if you are able to work from home and access the internet
· Attend one of our working groups digitally using Zoom or tune into one of our webinars, see all of the dates on our upcoming events page
Resources and wider reading:
a. OSCR are constantly adding to their update from the regulator FAQs section, it covers conducting governance meetings digitally and gives clarification on notifiable events amongst others
b. SCVO have published a useful article on business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting things like policies you will need to review including sickness, travel and meetings, remote working and expenses
c. The Directory of Social Change have shared their home working policy
d. Charity Comms have crowdsourced seven essential digital tools for remote working as suggested by their Twitter followers
e. Devex have lifted their paywall and made all of their COVID-19 content and articles free
If you have any further questions or would like to discuss the impact that Coronavirus COVID-19 is having on your organisation, please email admin@intdevalliance.scot
Please note, following Scottish Government guidance the Alliance team is now working remotely and the best way to contact the team in the first instance is by email.