The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) was founded in Ireland in 1844 and is the largest voluntary charitable organisation in Ireland. Our focus is on practical approaches to dealing with poverty, alleviating its effects on individuals and families through working primarily in person-to-person contact by a unique system of family visitation and seeking to achieve social justice and equality of opportunity for all citizens. The Society has across the Island of Ireland 1,164 Conferences across 8 regions.
In 2021, SVP received 191,000 requests for help. In response to these, we provide practical support to people in need through a wide range of services.
Home Visitation is the core activity of the Society in which the majority of our members partake. Our volunteers spend time talking with those who request our help to ensure we fully understand the issues they are facing which enables us to provide the best support possible. Our support can be either non-financial or financial in order to alleviate the impact of poverty and social exclusion. In 2021, the Society provided €28.9 million to individuals and families. (2020: €28.8 million).
In addition to SVP Visitation work, the Society provides a wide range of services, some government funded, for vulnerable people. Such services include 4 resource centres, 10* emergency homeless services, social housing (c. 861 Units), 7 holiday homes, 4 prison visitor centres, children / young adult services and day-care centres. In 2021, the service delivery costs were €19.6million (2020: €19.6 million).
*In 2021, the Society exited 9 of the 10 hostel services, with the Letterkenny service remaining within the Society.
The Society has 210 community charity shops. Our Vincent’s shops are a very important aspect of service provided by SVP. Not only do they provide people with new and lightly worn items at affordable prices, and the community charity shops provide an income source for the Society, which is reinvested directly back into the community through the Society visitations work.
In 2021, total income for the Society was €85.2 million (2020: €79.6 million).
We couldn't carry out our vital work without the generosity of our many donors. SVP is committed to complying with the standards outlined in the Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public and formally adopted the statement in 2013. The Society has a range of income streams.
Income (Euro) |
2021 €‘000 |
2020 €‘000 |
Church Collections | 4,969 | 3,805 |
Legacies | 9,623 | 4,729 |
Donations | 24,833 | 26,326 |
Members Contributions | 16 | 44 |
Fundraising & Other Income | 2,494 | 3,534 |
Government Grants Visitation | 3,565 | 3,323 |
Services: Funders and Fees | 12,928 | 12,981 |
Charity Shops (before costs) | 26,404 | 23,817 |
Total | 84,832 | 78,559 |
In 2021, total expenditure was €80.1 million (2020: €82.8 million).
Visitation work includes non-financial support, advisory assistance, befriending and supporting access to social services. In addition, assistance to individuals can be direct financial support, foods, education, fuel and support with utility bills. Total expenditure for visitation was €28.8 million (2020: €28.8 million)
Our Services including social housing, homeless services, resource centres, holiday homes etc., The Society’s total expenditure for services provision was €19.6 million (2020: €19.6 million)
Charity shops total expenditure was €20.9 million (2020: €22.0 million), and the management, support, governance, and administration representing 10% of the Society’s total expenditure in 2021.