01 Identity
Scottish charity record
- OSCR charity number
- SC016095
- Status
- Active
- Regulatory type
- Standard
- Designated religious body
- No
- Geographical spread
- Scotland and other parts of the UK
- Volunteers
- 0 volunteers
- Staff
- 7
- Postcode
- EH9 1PR
OSCR note: Previous legal name of charity - Royal Society For The Relief Of Indigent Gentlewomen Of Scotland
02 Purpose and work
What the charity exists to do
The Society is set up to support single women who are living in Scotland (for at least 2 years) and who are in need. We further restricted support to only women aged 50 or over. Most support is direct financial assistance in the form of ongoing monthly grants paid to top up beneficiaries' income (but we also pay additional one off grants depending on the beneficiary's circumstances). Grants can be paid long-term provided the beneficiary continues to meet our eligibility criteria, but some are paid for a limited period to help a beneficiary during a difficult period or a time of change. We are also piloting working with partner organisations to allow them to nominate eligible women for a grant. The Society also employs a team of caseworkers whose primary role is to assess new applications for support and the continuing eligibility of existing beneficiaries. However, caseworkers also provide 'light-touch' advice including signposting & help with social security benefits etc.
Charitable purposes
- the prevention or relief of poverty
- the relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
Beneficiaries
- Older People
Activities
- It makes grants, donations, loans, gifts or pensions to individuals
Constitutional objectives
To provide support and aid to women who are resident in Scotland and are of good character and are single and require assistance by reason of financial hardship, age or ill health in the interest of the general public benefit, AND WE do hereby declare that (in accordance with the rule or practice adopted by the Society) the class of single women forming proper objects of the bounty of the Society shall consist of women who are unmarried, widowed, divorced or separated (by formal separation agreement or in terms of a Court decree) from their spouses or civil partners and who are not 'co-habitant' as defined in section 25 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 including any statutory modifications or reenactment thereof for the time being in force. For the avoidance of doubt, women who have entered into a formal contract of civil partnership and are not separated from their civil partner shall not be held to be single. AND WE do further declare that support and aid may be provided to women resident outwith Scotland who were beneficiaries of the Society at the time of the granting of these presents.
03 Annual returns
Income and expenditure history
| Year end | Total income | Donations | Charitable activities income | Trading income | Investment income | Other income | Total expenditure | Raising funds | Charitable activities spending | Other spending | Staff | Return received |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2025 | £6,540,472 | £5,348,047 | £0 | £0 | £1,187,019 | £5,406 | £1,864,323 | £182,711 | £1,681,612 | £0 | 7 | 15 December 2025 |
| 31 March 2024 | £1,147,918 | £18,089 | £0 | £0 | £1,103,829 | £26,000 | £1,737,996 | £163,809 | £1,574,187 | £0 | 7 | 1 October 2024 |
| 31 March 2023 | £1,203,351 | £95,527 | £0 | £0 | £1,106,574 | £1,250 | £1,990,729 | £104,749 | £1,885,980 | £0 | 7 | 7 December 2023 |
| 31 March 2022 | £1,403,208 | £15,364 | £0 | £0 | £1,386,344 | £1,500 | £1,464,718 | £46,355 | £1,418,363 | £0 | 7 | 2 December 2022 |
| 31 March 2021 | £1,422,444 | £41,345 | £0 | £0 | £1,379,908 | £1,191 | £1,492,539 | £77,762 | £1,414,777 | £0 | 7 | 16 December 2021 |
Figures are those reported by the charity and supplied in the OSCR bulk download. Blank facts remain distinct from zero.
04 Contact record
Principal office or trustees address
- Address supplied to OSCR
- 160 Causewayside, Edinburgh
- Website supplied to OSCR
- www.rssws.org
- Parent charity
- Not supplied
No direct external links on this profile. The official OSCR record and source documentation are available through BritDB’s dedicated source page.
05 Provenance
Source for this profile
© Crown Copyright and database right 2026. Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. BritDB is an independent service and does not claim to be the Scottish Charity Register.