Alex Thomson on how he plans this year's Gathering to be one big charity love in
Do you love charity? Unsure? Perhaps you just love the charity you work for, or another charity that doesn’t pay your wages but you’re happy to give your time to for free? As events manager at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), I know better than most how much there is to love in Scotland’s charity sector, so I doubt many of you don’t feel passionately about one cause or another.
I love charity is the theme of this year’s Gathering because SCVO believes Scotland’s third sector deserves a bit of love! The Gathering is the free annual event that we put on every year to help Scottish voluntary organisations become the best they can be.
This year, we’ve gone the extra mile in a bid to celebrate all the great work we’ve seen over the last year, despite some negative and often unpleasant coverage of the sector.
It is SCVO's mission to make sure everyone else also understands the sector and gives it the love we know it deserves
Alex Thomson
The Gathering provides a fantastic opportunity to learn and develop from a range of different events focusing on everything from health and social care to governance, funding and finance, public relations and digital and technology.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will be opening this year’s Gathering with a breakfast event on Wednesday, 17 February at 8am – so you’ll have to get up early not to miss her.
She’ll be followed by one of the UK’s best known human rights advocates, Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty.
Thursday 18 February will open with well-known Scottish businessman and entrepreneur Jim McColl, who will discuss how the third sector can work with business to create a fairer economy. The whole event will end with one of Scotland’s most successful social entrepreneurs, Josh Littlejohn, revealing how he managed to persuade Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney to visit Social Bite in Edinburgh.
The Gathering exhibition will once again feature a range of charities, businesses and social enterprises that can help your organisation do its work in the most efficient way. You can discover more about SCVO’s own services such as the benefits of membership, our recruitment website Goodmoves, or the popular SCVO Credit Union, which gives your staff the opportunity to save and take out affordable loans.
There will be around 100 exhibitors highlighting new deals for the sector including insurance providers, office suppliers, media services organisations, social banks and venue providers. You can take advantage of plenty of opportunities for practical free advice on funding from the Big Lottery Fund, on governance from Scotland’s charity regulator, on employment and training opportunities from Skills Development Scotland, and on charity law from Harper MacLeod and Burness Paull.
As well as the usual networking café space, we’re also introducing the Gathering Theatre, which will include a range of short entertainment slots, including TFN Live interviews with some of our top speakers and guests. There could also be a chance to showcase why people should love your charity as we’re seeking a few short films to play in the breaks. If you have a recently made a film under five minutes that you think people would enjoy, you can email a link to [email protected] for consideration.
As usual, if all the hustle and bustle is too much, you can indulge in free stressbusting and pampering sessions and have some fun with our social media booth.
TFN will be celebrating a fantastic year, which has seen its digital output grow from strength to strength, with the launch TFN Live. You can expect to spot the reporting team doing live interviews, live blogging, perhaps grabbing you for a vox pop and creating a wealth of multi-media content.
At SCVO we love charity passionately. It is our mission to make sure everyone else also understands the sector and gives it the love we know it deserves. The I love Charity theme will be visible throughout the event and specifically at our I Love Charity showcase just after lunch on Wednesday. This will highlight our recent research into public trust and engagement with the sector, including the case study of our Charity Town, Bo’ness in West Lothian, and provide first-class advice on how to ensure more and more people love your charity.
Lastly, it’s not too late to get involved and promote your organisation, as there’s still a few exhibition spaces available.
The Gathering is on at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow on 17 & 18 Febraruy. Check out the full programme of events and activities and book to attend on the Gathering website.
Alex Thomson is events & training manager at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
