- EVOC

Organisational Support… I’m Here to Help!

5 May 2025 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

by Tracy Baird (Development Worker)

Running a charity has its ups and its downs. Setting up a charity is just the same. There is so much to think about; constitutions, regulations, charitable purposes, legal responsibilities… it seems like the list just goes on and on.

It can be a lot.

But here at EVOC, it is my job to help you.

I’m Tracy and I am involved in organisational development support. That means that I am on hand to help ensure that your organisation is run as well as possible. It’s as easy as that!

I have been lucky enough to work with so many great individuals and organisations in my two years with EVOC. Many have come to us asking about setting up a brand-new charity for a cause they are passionate about. And it has been great to watch many of these dreams become a reality and to see new organisations doing such good in their local communities. Becoming a charity isn’t always straightforward but their hard work has paid off and I love being just a small part of that journey.

Others have come to me because there has been a decision made or a complaint raised. Have they done the right thing? What do they do next? I ask questions and pour over their governing document to get to the right answer. Not only for their organisation but for the trustees and individuals involved. After all, a well-run group of trustees means a well-run charity.

Training is also a big part of the work that I do and I get to run some fantastic courses with my colleagues and our fab training co-ordinator Julie Anne who does all the hard work promoting, posting, emailing, booking and looking after all our attendees. I just get to have a chat with lots of interesting people who come along to find out more about setting up a charity or their responsibilities as a trustee or charity finance or how to apply for that all-important funding.

So, if you want to set up a charity and you are confused about purposes and trustees and charity finance and funding and… who on earth is OSCR?! I am happy to help.

If you are already a charity and are wondering if you are doing something correctly? I am happy to help too. Unsure if I can help? Ask anyway! If I can’t help, I will direct you to someone who can.

After all, well-run charities make for a strong charity sector. And charities are the lifeblood of so many communities across the city. Let’s work together to make them run well.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your story.

If you would like to ask for some advice please complete this online form, or if the issue is time sensitive please call 07761 039391.

Challenging, Inspiring, Impactful, My First EVOC Experiences

17 April 2025 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

by Katie Marson (Development Worker, EVOC)

Since coming into post as a Development Worker at EVOC in January 2025, the final stage of the delivery of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund has been a major priority.

It has been a challenge, but I have been continually inspired by the work of the 103 community projects we awarded grants to, and the conversations I’ve had with community members.

One of the most impactful parts of this process has been organising the delivery of training to support funded groups and organisations. Part of our agreement with Scottish Government is the option to set aside a portion of the budget to capacity building for the sector. Based on feedback from funded organisations and aligning with established priorities for this year, we focused the training in three areas – suicide intervention, trauma informed practice, and impact evaluation for charities – providing eight days of training to over 60 staff members across the sector.

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) gave participants practical, evidence-based skills and techniques to intervene and support individuals contemplating suicide and also counted towards their CPD. Trauma Skilled Approach training focused on skills and techniques to develop safe and effective working relationships when working to support individuals who have experienced trauma.

“The trauma training helped me to recognise tips when dealing with clients experiencing trauma, especially when doing groupwork, [I] will definitely put these into practise.”
Trauma Skilled Approach training participant

Introduction to the Basics of Evaluation provided a practical overview of how to effectively evaluate project outcomes. Off the back of the announcement of significant cuts from the EIJB, we considered the importance of the sector’s ability to evidence its impact with strong evaluation skills and hope that this opportunity has helped organisations feel better equipped to evidence the value of their work.

As we make plans for the next year of the Communities Mental health and Wellbeing Fun, I am looking forward to continuing to work as part of the TSI Team. I believe in the fund’s community-based approach, and in EVOC’s commitment to fair funding which listens to the needs and asks of the community.

CEO Update: 21 Feb 2025

21 February 2025 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

It is the 21 February and the days are getting longer but more importantly, the future is looking brighter.

EIJB Fund Cuts

On Thursday (yesterday) the City of Edinburgh Council held a full Council meeting. I was in attendance to make a deputation on behalf of the voluntary organisations impacted by the cuts by the EIJB grants programme for social care. This followed months of work by colleagues from across the sector who have worked tirelessly for the affected organisations. The work was largely done by members of the Third Sector Reference Group that came into existence after the EIJB meeting on 1 November which led to a three month extension to June 2025.

[Read more…]

Inspiring Medical Students with Real-life Experiences

13 February 2025 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

by Danny McShane, Helena Richards and Ruth Wyatt

Danny is a Community Link Worker (CLW) employed by Pilton Community Health Partnership

I have been delivering CLW information sessions with Edinburgh Medical students over the past 4 years as the CLW from Bangholm Medical Centre in northwest Edinburgh. I believe one of the most valuable aspects of these sessions for students is that they provide three-dimensional real-life case study examples and discussions to stimulate the learning and reflection of the students.

It is an opportunity for students to learn about how the CLW service works for patients and staff in GP practices and this helps the students to reflect on their understanding of the issues faced by different patients beyond strictly medical issues.

Through the case studies, the sessions permit us to explore in practical real-life terms how we CLWs engage with and support patients to access community services. And also, how this can improve their health and quality of life. As a CLW I find it interesting to hear how the students engage with the case studies and issues involved and how they understand from the patient’s point of view. I always find our discussions very rewarding around the fundamental factors affecting patient health and well-being such as social isolation (and what happens if a patient has no support network), poverty, health inequalities, inadequate housing etc. Some students are very aware of these social issues and others less so, so it’s always helpful to have these conversations, made hopefully more engaging as they reflect typical examples from our experience.

I enjoy when the students ask searching and practical questions about our role within the practice, the key demographics of those we support and what services we enable patients to access to meet their needs. We get to talk about issues faced by for example carers, parents, those in substandard housing, those impacted by trauma, those on low income unaware of their welfare entitlements and how to access these. Each session with each new class of students is a little different, but I like to think that every session provides an excellent opportunity for them to learn more about the CLW service and why our CLW service is so uniquely placed to bring community support closer to the practice patients that really need it.

Helena is the Edinburgh Community Project Manager with Carr Comm

I’ve been participating in this innovative programme for the last 4 years, where groups of 1st-year medical students are introduced to both Community Link Workers and their host Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) to learn about health inequalities and some of the projects which deal with these issues daily. It’s been an interesting and worthwhile experience to play a part, including observing the difference in the starting points between students as they visit our organisation, hear about what we do, ask questions and then discuss a case study together.

However, by the end, they have usually all engaged in discussion about the social determinants of health and how they’re affecting patients at the local practices – and what we are doing to mitigate these effects. It’s great to meet them all, hear a bit from them and be part of a conversation about how life affects people in our communities, why that might be and how we as professionals can be part of making a difference, and how the relationship between medicine and community matters.

Ruth is the Senior Greenspace Officer at ELGT (Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust)

Over the years we have had the privilege of working with many medical students, from different backgrounds and walks of life. The main thing that comes to mind when working with these future medics, is that they all want a better outcome for the people they are going to be treating and working with, in lots of different ways. It’s fantastic to be able to present the work we do, getting them involved practically, where they can be part of a GP practice, get hands on experience of being a CLW and have the opportunity to experience the therapeutic programmes that are available out in communities too.

It’s a real pleasure to be able to develop relationships and build on the work these students have already done, to have the skills under their belts to be working within practices, getting them into the working life of a CLW and offering a unique experience that will broaden their ways of working for years to come. The long-term impacts these opportunities will bring play a huge part in treating people in a sustainable way moving forward.

As a third sector organisation, we are very grateful to get the chance to come together in this way, we are passionate about the communities we work with having access to quality local greenspaces, to help support their health and wellbeing. It allows us to promote this in a positive and practical way, which is only possible where you have all these services working together in collaboration. The connectedness is essential and it’s lovely to see them valuing this.

Edinburgh’s CLWs Support Nearly 1,400 Medical Students

13 February 2025 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

by Alison Leitch, Assistant Service Manager (Edinburgh Community Link Worker Network)

Since 2021, our Community Link Worker (CLW) team has introduced link working and social prescribing to almost 1,400 student medics at the University of Edinburgh.

These sessions contribute to the Health in Communities Practical – part of the Social & Ethical Aspects of Medicine module. Students meet with link workers and third-sector organisations, walk around the local area, and work on a case study involving social issues where a medical approach is not suitable.

We held our first sessions just as we faced the first national lockdown. This meant that everything had to be done online and it stayed that way until 2023.

The sessions involve lots of planning meetings, booking of rooms and coordinating diaries of GPs, CLWs and Third Sector Organisation (TSO) managers which means that January and February seem to pass in a flash. The sessions have evolved hugely over the years with experienced CLWs growing in confidence to speak publicly in person, to newer CLWs jumping in at the deep end and meeting students within the first 6 months of their role. Including a walkabout of the area increases students’ awareness of the homes, shops, roads and services that are commonly found in areas of high deprivation providing an insight into the wider socio-economic challenges in life when discussing someone’s health and wellbeing.

Our involvement with the University has been highlighted at several events; some of the CLWs hosted an information session on medical students at the very first Scottish Community Link Worker Network Conference in 2023, there was such a buzz in the room from other CLWs asking how they could replicate this with medical schools in their area; it was highlighted during a presentation at the 2023 NHS Scotland annual conference as part of the Chief Medical Officers launch of his annual report entitled ‘Realistic Medicine, Doing the Right Thing’; and when our network won the award for ‘Best Local Social Prescribing Link Worker Team’ at the 2024 International Social Prescribing Conference, the judges highlighted the work with medical students when announcing us as winners.

There is no doubt that the session involves a lot of hard work and preparation, but the feedback from all involved makes this one of the highlights of our calendar. Whenever I’ve spoken about the sessions at conferences or events, it is the one subject guaranteed to prompt a flurry of questions or comments. It would be incredible to think this could replicated with other medical schools in Scotland to ensure that every potential GP of the future learns the value of social prescribing at a very early stage and carries this with them throughout their career.

CEO Update: Jan 2025

22 January 2025 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

I have now been in post as CEO with EVOC for 25 days, though it sometimes feels like a lot longer! 

I have had a whirlwind of an introduction, and my feet have hardly touched the ground, which has made it exciting.

I have met a lot of great people from across the sector and our partner organisations, including the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government. I have been made to feel welcome and have learned a lot from a diverse mix of individuals. I have heard of the challenges different organisations are facing right now, and these conversations are shaping my understanding and giving me insights that I will be distilling, with colleagues, into our future planning.

We are currently seeking the views of members and voluntary organisations in Edinburgh to tell us about their needs and the challenges that they are facing in 2025 and beyond. To increase the number of people who can contribute, we are using a survey that will be circulated to our members. Please take a few minutes to complete it to ensure we consider the needs of more organisations in shaping how we work in future and what our priorities will be.

This month we are preparing for our Annual General Meeting at 4pm on Wednesday 26 February which will be held on Zoom. We will report on the year 2023/24 and give a flavour of our plans for the future. We are looking for new individuals with business skills to be elected to the board of EVOC to join a committed group of volunteers who are interested in the development of EVOC as representatives to serve third sector organisations in Edinburgh. You can find how to apply to join the Board of Directors here.

Separately we are seeking a new Convener to chair the board and provide leadership to the organisation and directors. We’re looking for somebody with integrity good governance, leadership, finance and change management experience. If you are interested in this role, please see the details here.

We are spending a great deal of time currently in seeking ways to support those organisations affected by the impending cuts to the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) grants scheme which is a partnership between the NHS and the City of Edinburgh Council. In recent months we have increased our engagement across the sector, so that we are better able to represent the views and interests of voluntary organisations in strategic forums such as the EIJB and the Edinburgh Partnership. We are doing this as we strengthen our culture of service, to our members and to the sector.

With best wishes

Bruce Crawford, CEO

CEO Update: Fri 13 Dec 2024

13 December 2024 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

I am writing this at the end of my first week in the job as chief executive for EVOC. My induction has been non-stop, meeting my new colleagues and some of the people with whom we do business, our partners, funders and members. I have received a warm welcome and look forward to meeting more people from voluntary organisations across Edinburgh in the coming weeks.

EVOC is in a good place. We have an enthusiastic and talented group of employees who are motivated and keen to serve the needs of our members and voluntary sector organisations in Edinburgh. The board of directors have stepped up to handle challenges over the last eight months, taken some tough decisions and reset the compass to enable the organisation to rebuild and thrive again.

In March 2024, EVOC experienced a cash flow crisis, that was a result of procedures not being followed. The board stepped in to resolve the issues and led a process of change, centred around a recovery plan to reduce costs, review activities and restore sustainability. We have appreciated the support from our TSI partners and stakeholders.

The board contacted OSCR (the charity regulator) and they carried out an enquiry which concluded that the EVOC trustees were consistent with the general duties provided for by the 2005 Act and no matters of a regulatory nature that warrant any further action were identified. The audited annual accounts have been approved by the board and submitted to OSCR and Companies House – you can find a copy here.

The board has approved a positive cash flow to March 2026, our financial controls and procedures have been improved. A redundancy programme has reduced the head count, so the organisation is now operating within its means.

Part of the change has been a restructure of staffing, with my appointment as CEO being one of the last steps in the process to create a new leadership team. We are being agile in our operations and working in teams but also in matrix, so will use our talents across projects and workstreams. Our focus will be to continue to deliver services by working towards achieving outcomes that have impact for our members and the third sector.

Looking ahead, we have started the process of creating a new strategy that will guide our work in 2025 and beyond. We will seek input from our members and stakeholders as the strategy evolves, so I encourage you to get involved in the new year.

We will provide greater transparency, particularly in terms of our governance and will communicate openly with our members and the communities we serve.

Thank you for reading this and if you would like to contact me about any of the issues that I have raised, please contact me by email [email protected] or call me on 07761 039 392.

Bruce Crawford, CEO

How Can We Help?

26 March 2024 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

by Jennie Jeffrey (Senior Development, Organisational Development and Support)

Anyone involved in running a charity knows it’s not an easy job.

From building your services, to recruiting and managing trustees, to producing budgets and accounts, to finding funding, and everything in between – the challenges can seem endless. Of course, it’s exciting, rewarding, fulfilling and hugely important too, but rarely straightforward.

Small charities in particular often struggle with gaps in the knowledge or skills they have access to within their Board, volunteers, and (in some cases) staff team. Which is why it’s so important to know where to find the additional support that you might not have in-house. EVOC, as part of Edinburgh’s Third Sector Interface (TSI), is here to help Edinburgh’s charities across a wide range of areas including governance, fundraising, change management and much more.

Because we know how challenging grant fundraising can be for small charities, we’ve also just launched an application review service for EVOC members – so that you can benefit from an external pair of eyes looking at your application before it goes to a funder. Have a look at our webpage to find out more about the kinds of support we offer and how you can access it.

Of course, sometimes what you need is to feel connected and understood by others facing similar challenges to your own. Which is why EVOC also runs a range of Forums connecting charities working in similar areas to each other. Find out more about our Forums and Networks here.

We know running a small charity can be tough – not to mention lonely – at times, so please do get in touch with us if you think we might be able to help. We have expertise across a range of areas, and if we can’t help, we’ll try our best to find someone who can.

Finally, we are looking at ways we can provide more and better support to our sector in Edinburgh. If you have any feedback, thoughts or ideas, please complete this short survey.

Other Organisations Offering Support

We’ll always do our best to help you ourselves, but there are plenty of other organisations offering different kinds of support (please note that, like EVOC, all provide support for free, but some also have paid-for services). Here are a few of them:

Volunteer Edinburgh – supports with recruitment, training and management of volunteers (part of Edinburgh’s Third Sector Interface, alongside EVOC)

Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network – provides advice, training and support to all kinds of social enterprises (part of Edinburgh’s Third Sector interface, alongside EVOC)

Community Benefit Gateway – in-kind support via NHS suppliers

Glasgow CVS – offers service including HR and payroll to charities across Scotland

SCVO – Scotland’s national membership organisation for voluntary sector organisations

Law Works – Edinburgh School of Law free legal advice clinic

Pro Bono Economics – provides services relating to data, statistics and economics to charities

Media Trust – supports charities with comms and digital skills through training and volunteer placement

Cranfield Trust – offers pro bono support, including management consultancy and mentoring, to social welfare charities

Gorgie Farm: What’s Happening

15 August 2023 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

by Suzanne Campbell (Project Manager, Gorgie Farm Site Development)

I started with EVOC in the middle of July, as the Project Manager for the Gorgie City Farm Site.

My role is to work with the local community and other stakeholders (is there another way to say this) to try and find a sustainable community-led future for the Site.

I applied for the role as I have lived in the Gorgie community for most of my life. I wanted to contribute to my own community after working in Leith for the past 10 years – I ran a community-based health project for young people.

One of my first questions – and maybe it’s one of yours too – is what does a community led, collaborative and sustainable future mean?

For me it is about one person not having all the answers.

It’s about developing with people in the community, finding out what might be possible and creating space to discuss that with everyone.

So, how I will start working with others to find out the answers?

Here’s a drawing (mine) of the ingredients we’re going to use to find and co-coordinate our way to that future…

What this actually means is gathering the views of lots of people, creating the right conditions for us to work together, having important conversations – helping everyone involved to listen and grow. Then we can find a way forward together, with the help of strong practices and processes. Not having answers is frustrating, but taking time to explore all the options and hearing from all the communities that wish to be involved will lead to a viable long-term future for the Gorgie City Farm Site.

In the meantime, you might like to know that we:

Have applied for and been awarded funding by Community Enterprise to conduct a research project into sustainable farm models
Are applying for funding to visit successful urban farms in the UK to learn more about the different ways they earn money
Are looking at the health and safety of the land and buildings and what needs to happen before we can welcome members of the public back on Site
Have started research into a constitution to set up a new organisation to take on the future running of the site
Appointed Johanna to the part-time post of Gorgie City Farm Site Gardner and worked with her on a policy, systems and processes to let the Volunteer Gardeners back on site

We’ve set up new Facebook and Twitter accounts to share what is happening, what we’ve learnt and to start answering these questions. We’ll also tell you about consultation opportunities, so keep an eye out.

I’m looking forward to developing this plan with you!

A Moment to Reflect…

8 August 2023 By EVOC Comms Leave a Comment

by John Hawryluk (Project Coordinator, Ukraine)

When Scotland opened its arms to offer safe refuge to 3,500 Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war, Edinburgh’s voluntary sector responded – providing a Warm Scots Welcome. Working closely with public sector partners, including the Council and Scottish Government, our sector mobilised to provide hot meals, Ukrainian language mental health support, English language lessons and other key services needed in the first few weeks of arrival.

Last month saw MS Victoria, which had been contracted by The Scottish Government to provide temporary accommodation and a place of safety for the Ukrainian community arriving in Scotland, fully disembarked of onboard guests. At the passing of such a big milestone, it’s no small thing to quietly reflect on what has been achieved over the last year. Standing at the edge of the pier on Tue 11 Jul to watch MS Victoria majestically sail away from the port, against one of Edinburgh’s rare golden sunsets, I’m not ashamed to say a bit of emotion washed over me. Standing alongside colleagues, partners and the community recounting stories of their time living and working onboard will stay with me through my professional life.

Back to the Beginning…
It goes without saying that Edinburgh has a housing challenge, which is systematic of social housing policies in years gone by, so it was always going to be difficult to marry Scotland’s commitment to a Warm Scots Welcome against available homes. Looking at solutions to support the Ukrainian community, The Scottish Government chartered MS Victoria to provide accommodation for up to 1,400 people while docked at Forth Ports in Leith.

I vividly remember being a volunteer on the response in July last year and being invited onboard ship to view the facilities. This was shortly after the vessel had arrived in Edinburgh and first thoughts were about the morality of providing accommodation on a ship. Then the worry was how the community would be supported to integrate longer term into Scotland’s communities. However, those concerns were alleviated after seeing the onboard facilities and hearing about plans for engagement with partners like the Department for Work and Pensions, NHS and community and voluntary sector partners. As August came around, I had the privilege of joining the team at EVOC full time with MS Victoria regularly acting a remote workplace – I was on and off for meetings, worked with partners and facilitated activities onboard.

A True Partnership…
Over my relatively short career, I’ve had the privilege of working on a variety of projects and with a variety of departments and directorates. However, nothing has matched the commitment of the people and teams in the local authority, government and our sector. How groups and organisations across sectors have worked together over the last year has been nothing short of an incredible feat. It has been an example of true partnership with a shared priority – the wellbeing of the people arriving from Ukraine.

As well as the paid workforce that have supported the cities response, I’d like to pay tribute to the volunteer workforce that has contributed over 7,000 hours of voluntary support over the last year. Edinburgh TSI partners, Volunteer Edinburgh, have been deploying the community taskforce since March last year at Edinburgh Airport, AUGB Edinburgh have opened the Ukrainian community centre weekly providing a range of support services and projects across the city have been supporting and coordinating humanitarian aid collections.