A2 Online Survey Analysis of participants
1. Response Rate & Demographics
137 responses to the survey are included in this analysis: 127 fully completed surveys and an additional 10 partial responses where respondents completed more than two-thirds of the survey. A further 253 people started the online survey, but did not progress sufficiently far to be included in the analysis.
Main Aims of Organisation
Respondents were asked to tick up to three main aims of their organisation, based on the charitable causes in the new Charities and Trustee Investment Act (Scotland) 2005. The top three aims of responding organisations were:
1. The advancement of citizenship or community development (45.3%)
2. The relief of those in need by disadvantage (31.4%)
3. The advancement of education (28.5%)
There was a relatively low response from organisations aiming to advance religion, representing only 2.9% of the sample compared to around 25% of all charities in Scotland ( OSCR, 2005) 27.
Table 14: Main Aims of Organisations based on Charitable Causes
| N | % of Organisations |
|---|
f) The advancement of citizenship or community development (including rural or urban regeneration, the promotion of civic responsibility, volunteering, the voluntary sector or the effectiveness or efficiency of charities) | 62 | 45.3% |
|---|
n) The relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage (includes relief given by the provision of accommodation or care) | 43 | 31.4% |
|---|
b) The advancement of education | 39 | 28.5% |
|---|
d) The advancement of health (including the prevention or relief of sickness, disease or human suffering) | 28 | 20.4% |
|---|
l) The promotion of equality and diversity | 25 | 18.2% |
|---|
i) The provision of recreational facilities, or the organisation of recreational activities, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities or activities are primarily intended | 20 | 14.6% |
|---|
a) The prevention or relief of poverty | 19 | 13.9% |
|---|
g) The advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science | 19 | 13.9% |
|---|
Other (please state) | 14 | 10.2% |
|---|
m) The advancement of environmental protection or improvement | 9 | 6.6% |
|---|
h) The advancement of public participation in sport (meaning sport which involves physical skill and exertion) | 6 | 4.4% |
|---|
j) The advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation | 5 | 3.6% |
|---|
k) The promotion of religious or racial harmony | 4 | 2.9% |
|---|
c) The advancement of religion | 3 | 2.2% |
|---|
e) The saving of lives | 0 | 0.0% |
|---|
o) The advancement of animal welfare | 0 | 0.0% |
|---|
Main Beneficiaries
Figure 9 shows the proportion of organisations participating in the survey by their identified main beneficiary group. The majority of responses were from organisations working with: no specific group (26%); children or young people (25%); or people with disabilities or health problems (21%). There were no responses from organisations focused on LGBT people or the natural environment and only one response from an organisation with a focus on a particular ethnic group.
Figure 9: Survey participant organisations by main beneficiary group
Geography
Respondents were asked to identify the geographical spread of their work and the specific area they operate in. Figure 10 shows that the majority of participating organisations (42%) work within one local authority area, while 19% cover all or most of Scotland and 15% work across several local authority areas. Only a small proportion of participating organisations (12%) were focused on a specific community or neighbourhood, yet these organisations make up the majority of Scottish charitable organisations 28, indicating that the survey may have failed to engage a representative proportion of the smallest voluntary organisations.
Figure 10: Geographical Coverage of Survey Participant Organisations
6% of participating organisations operated across the United Kingdom, while 22% operated across Scotland. A small number of organisations responded from most local authority areas (except South Ayrshire, Shetland, Midlothian and Clackmannanshire), with an inevitably larger number from Edinburgh (11%) and Glasgow (9%).
Table 15: Geographical Coverage by Local Authority
Main Operating Area | No. of Orgs (%) | |
|---|
International | 0 (0%) |
|---|
UK wide | 7 (5.6%) |
|---|
Scotland wide | 27 (21.8%) |
|---|
City of Aberdeen | 5 (4.0%) | East Renfrewshire | 2 (1.6%) | Orkney | 1 (0.8%) |
|---|
Aberdeenshire | 3 (2.4%) | City of Edinburgh | 13 (10.5%) | Perth & Kinross | 3 (2.4%) |
|---|
Angus | 3 (2.4%) | Falkirk | 2 (1.6%) | Renfrewshire | 2 (1.6%) |
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Argyll & Bute | 2 (1.6%) | Fife | 2 (1.6%) | Scottish Borders | 4 (3.2%) |
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Clackmannanshire | 0 (0.0%) | Glasgow | 11 (8.9%) | Shetland | 0 (0.0%) |
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Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 3 (2.4%) | Highland | 4 (3.2%) | South Ayrshire | 2 (1.6%) |
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Dumfries & Galloway | 4 (3.2%) | Inverclyde | 1 (0.8%) | South Lanarkshire | 1 (0.8%) |
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City of Dundee | 3 (2.4%) | Midlothian | 0 (0.0%) | Stirling | 1 (0.8%) |
|---|
East Ayrshire | 2 (1.6%) | Moray | 1 (0.8%) | West Dunbartonshire | 1 (0.8%) |
|---|
East Dunbartonshire | 1 (0.8%) | North Ayrshire | 1 (0.8%) | West Lothian | 4 (3.2%) |
|---|
East Lothian | 4 (3.2%) | North Lanarkshire | 4 (3.2%) | |
|---|
Turnover
Figure 11 shows the proportion of organisations completing the survey from each annual turnover category. There was a fairly even representation from organisations of different financial sizes, with the largest proportion (28%) being organisations with an income of between £100k and £500k per year. Smaller organisations represent the largest proportion of the voluntary sector across Scotland ( OSCR, 2005) and therefore the survey sample is bias towards larger organisations in terms of representativeness of the sector as a whole.
Figure 11: Annual Turnover of Survey Participant Organisations
Overall the survey sample contains a reasonable spread of organisations of different financial and geographical size, location and remit. However, there was limited representation from organisations working with LGBT people, ethnic minorities or with the aim of advancing religion.
The relatively low number of participants and high proportion of drop-outs may be due to the length and complexity of the survey. Some organisations contacted us to say that they did not have the time to complete the survey or they did not feel it was relevant for them.