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 is an island of Ireland organisation.
In 2022, SVP received 220,000 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 most 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 to alleviate the impact of poverty and social exclusion.
In addition to SVP Home Visitation work, the Society provides a wide range of services, some government-funded, for vulnerable people. Such services include Social Housing, Homelessness, Child and Family Services and Charity Shops.
The Society has community charity shops throughout the island of Ireland. Our Vincent’s shops are a very important aspect of the service provided by SVP. Not only do they provide people with lightly worn items at affordable prices, but the community charity shops provide an income source for the Society, which is reinvested directly back into the community through the Society Home Visitations work and Services Provision.
In 2022, total income for the Society was €97.8 million (2021: €86.9 million).
The Society could not carry out its 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. The Society has a range of income streams.
Income (Euro) |
2022 €‘000 |
2021 €‘000 |
Church Collections | 7,802 | 4,969 |
Legacies | 8,672 | 9,623 |
Donations | 28,407 | 24,833 |
Members Contributions | 57 | 16 |
Fundraising & Other Income | 2,458 | 2,261 |
Government Grants Visitation | 2,285 | 3,565 |
Services: Funders and Fees | 11,024 | 15,191 |
Charity Shops (before costs) | 37,049 | 26,427 |
Total | 97,754 | 86,885 |
In 2022, total expenditure was €91.7 million (2021: €80.9 million).
Visitation work includes non-financial support, guidance, befriending and supporting access to social services. In addition, assistance to individuals and families can be direct financial support, foods, education, fuel, and support with utility bills. Included in Visitations expenditure is the direct assistance and supports to individual and families of €37.7 million (2021: €29.0 million).
Our Services include social housing, homelessness, and child and family services, including resource centres. The Society’s total expenditure for services provision was €14.0 million (2021: €20.3 million)
Charity shops total expenditure was €26.2 million (2021: €20.9 million), and the governance, management, support, and administration represented 11% of the Society’s total expenditure.