Three-year funding key to sustainability, say community organisations
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 13th November 2024.
What does fair and efficient funding look like for the third sector in Scotland? That’s the question the Social Justice and Social Security Committee asked earlier this year.
In response, SCDC and CHEX have reflected feedback from community organisations who told us that longer-term funding of three years of more would provide them with the financial security and sustainability they need to deliver their essential services.
These calls for fairer funding arrangements are growing, and are becoming increasingly urgent as decisions being made right now are leaving the some organisations within sector facing difficult decisions.
Core funding was a key issue. Flexible, unrestricted core funding would enable organisations to plan and align their work with their long-term strategies, affording more time to develop approaches and build relationships and capacity.
Respondents also highlighted the importance of not making funding contingent on new ideas and increasing numbers of beneficiaries. Often, it's continuity that's important for achieving longer-term outcomes, and there needs to be more trust in third sector organisations to be able to ‘get on with the job’ without having to prove they are constantly innovating.
This consultation response makes clear that without increased funding for the third sector at a national level, many of the organisations supporting our most vulnerable communities will simply be unable to continue to do so. Ultimately, this comes down to how we think about public services and the kind of society we want to live in – and that may require significant shifts in our spending priorities.
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