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30/07/2026

This month’s TFN magazine – available at https://tfn.scot/magazine/july-2026/read – examines division and how it can be overcome.

We hear from Billy Singh - campaign manager, Show Racism the Red Card Scotland - Iris Ellman of Refuweegee and chief executive of Voluntary Health Scotland Tejesh Mistry about the work they are doing to achieve a truly inclusive society.

We also meet Beyond Srebrenica a winning charity who share the lessons of the Srebrenica genocide, and other atrocities across Bosnia and Herzegovina, to promote diversity and tolerance at home.

We then speak to director Felipe Bustos Sierra to explore the transformative power of community action and how it unites and overcomes division

Our terrific regular columnists also look at the same topic from different angles – Ewan Aitken, Sara Redmond of The Alliance, Christine Carlin and Charlotte Bray.

This edition also includes an important piece dealing with burnout in charity sector leadership, as Emma Hutton former CEO of JustRight Scotland, writes honestly and unflinchingly about her years of crisis and recovery – and the lessons she is still learning

Elsewhere, SCVO’s David Livey analyses the latest findings from the long-running Third Sector Tracker; Matt Stevenson-Dodd, founder and CEO of Trust Impact, writes on why the future of the third sector depends on proving impact; Lorna Robertson takes a deep dive on important changes coming to employment legislation – especially around unfair dismissal.

03/06/2026

The latest TFN mag is out now and you can read it all here: https://tfn.scot/magazine/may-2026/read

The new magazine looks at the Holyrood elections, the history of our sector and reveals this year's Scottish Charity Awards nominees

This month’s TFN magazine has a foot in the past and the present.

We look at this month’s Scottish Parliament elections and what they might mean for our sector.

On the surface, not much has changed in that the SNP is still by far the largest party.

But look closer and a fair bit has shifted, mostly with the presence of an enlarged Green group and a new Reform block.

It’s maybe too early to say definitively what this means for the voluntary sector in Scotland – but TFN will be there (both through our online news service and the magazine) to analyse it in the months ahead.

Looking backwards we have a fascinating feature on the development of the charity sector in early modern Aberdeen, based on Dr Grant Schreiber’s doctoral research. What learning is there for the sector in the 21st century? As Dr Schreiber makes clear, some of the issues they were grappling with then are still with us now.

Back in the present, the announcement of the Scottish Charity Awards finalists is something we look forward to every year – and you can find out who they are in this edition.

All that plus our usual brilliant line up of columnists and regular features.

And don’t forget - if you work for a member or supporter organisation, why not set up an account so you can access members only content such as the full archive and exclusive content.

30/04/2026

This month’s TFN magazine – available here: https://tfn.scot/magazine/april-2026/read – is the last edition of TFN magazine before Scotland goes to the polls on 7 May for the election.

So we have presented the six main parties (based on polling) with SCVO’s election manifesto and asked them to use it to frame their pitches to the sector –
Alexander Stewart of The Scottish Conservative Party
Gillian Mackay of Scottish Green Party
Claire Baker of Scottish Labour Party
Alex Cole-Hamilton of Scottish Liberal Democrats
Graham Simpson of Reform UK
Shirley-Anne Somerville of Scottish National Party (SNP)
give us their thoughts.

We also hear from Christian Aid Scotland, SCIAF and Quakers in Scotland as faith groups unite in a call for global justice ahead of the Scottish elections; Andy Paterson of Social Enterprise Scotland writes about changing the economic model in Scotland and Ollu, a parent supported by Save the Children Scotland shares the reality behind child poverty.

Continuing the Scottish election theme, Ewan Aitken of Cyrenians and Sara Redmond of The ALLIANCE talk passionately about their asks from the next Scottish Government.

Elsewhere, we hear about the devastating impact of last year’s Nation Insurance hike, with input from Charity Finance Group, VCSE Observatory, NCVO Directory of Social Change and others.

To mark – but relevant all year round – Katie Carmichael takes a deep dive into the power of design to tell stories and amplify messages in the voluntary sector and beyond.

We also hear about a remarkable Home-Start volunteer and the story of how kids at one of the UK’s smallest primary schools are now the proud owners, and makers, of two majestic scrap metal sculptures…

It's a packed mag this month and it's available to read and share here: https://tfn.scot/magazine/april-2026/read

17/03/2026

This month's TFN magazine is available now and you can read it all here https://lnkd.in/eA4VuWGy - this month we look at global civil society, aid cuts, Scottish charities making a difference, AI and digital and more.

It feels like something significant has shifted in the world since the last edition of TFN's magazine. Since then, we have seen a massive lurch towards war with the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

These crises move us to look both ways – at what's happening internationally and how that can and will impact us domestically.

In that spirit, TFN's March edition looks outward and examines how civil society is responding to the major issues of the day, with major new reports from CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and Bond. We also look at the domestic context civil society, which encompasses the voluntary sector, is operating in.

And linking both the domestic and international, we focus on the devastating impact of UK Government aid cuts with input from SCIAF and Oxfam Scotland.

While looking outward, TFN continues to scan across the sector in Scotland, highlighting its successes. Some of them are featured here: from celebrating 25 years of Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland with Justine Duncan, to Mission of Innocents' new creative hub and Sistema Scotland's fantastic Big Noise project.

There is also a very timely look at how charities can respond to digital and AI challenges, speaking to John Fitzgerald about SCVO's digital call to action and case studies from PATH Scotland and Enterprise

And last but not least, we have our usual brilliant line-up of columnists: Ewan Aitken, Christine Carlin, Sara Redmond and Charlotte Bray, this month joined by Professor Alaa Garad, SFHEA, FRSA, PhD who gives his insights into
and how it can help organisations thrive.

Truly, our sector contains multitudes. We hope we have provided at least a flavour of that this month.

You can read it all here https://lnkd.in/eA4VuWGy - and feel free to share the link!

23/01/2026

Welcome to the first TFN magazine of 2026 – which you can read in full here: https://tfn.scot/magazine/january-2026/read

The first mag of 2026 looks at fundraising, workforce, inclusion, the Scottish budget and much more...

We start the year with a bumper edition, and we take a look at a perennial issue in our sector – fundraising.

Understandably, with the strains and stresses caused by the cost of living crisis, there has been a dip in amounts fundraised. How can organisations adapt and overcome this?

The one thing we know about our fundraisers is that they are drivers of innovation. They will find a way!

If 2026 already looks like being a tumultuous year, the stage as always is set by what came before, so we round up reactions to the Scottish budget, which will in a large part set the scene for May’s Holyrood elections.

And whatever happens, there are issues that we will always have to face – so we present Niall Christie’s look at the travails over inclusion which have engulfed Girlguiding. There is much here that is applicable to the wider sector.

A highlight of the sector’s year is SCVO’s Gathering, which takes place next month. This will coincide with the publication of a major voluntary sector workforce survey. You can find a snapshot of some of the results on these pages.

You will find all of that in this month’s magazine as well as TFN's usual line up of excellent columnists.

And don’t forget - if you work for a member or supporter organisation, why not set up an account so you can access members only content such as the full archive and exclusive content.

12/12/2025

New mag looks at the precarity of funding, the mis-match between what the sector gets, how it gets it and the increasing amount demanded from us and you can read it all here: https://tfn.scot/magazine/december-20/read

Welcome to TFN magazine’s final edition of the year.

This month we hit themes which we have been returning to a lot over the past year – and will continue to in the years ahead.

The precarity of funding and the mis-match between what the sector gets, how it gets it and the increasing amount that is demanded from us.

We have returned to this theme and will keep returning to it because it frames absolutely everything we do. It is literally the stuff of the sector’s existence.

This month, we look at the architecture of funding – and specifically the geography of the funding landscape.

Is there a level playing field for smaller charities when applying for funds?

One of the biggest stories of the past year has been the impact of the hike in employers’ National Insurance.

Linked to the precarity of funding, this has taken a real toll

The first data-sets are becoming available about its impact – and, as expected, the results aren’t pretty.

The wider operating environment also impacts funding. This month we look at the impact the UK Government’s hard line on people seeking refuge in the UK, and we find that it could have a big impact on those providing frontline services to some of the country’s most desperate and vulnerable people.

We also look at the need to defend human rights and have an excellent focus on RNIB’s Tech Hub – an example of where, if things can feel gloomy, we must remember the transformative effect our work and services have.

You will find all of that in this month’s magazine as well as TFN's usual line up of excellent columnists.

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