Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund
Professional services
UnclaimedThe official international aid and development agency of the Catholic Church in Scotland.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, commonly known as SCIAF, is the international aid and development agency of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Founded in 1965 by Monsignor John Rooney and teacher John McKee, the organization began with £8,000 raised from Catholic communities and was subsequently endorsed by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland. Its work combines overseas development, humanitarian response, public education, advocacy and fundraising in Scotland. SCIAF operates primarily through local and church-linked partner organizations rather than by maintaining a wholly independent delivery structure in every country. Its programs have addressed emergency relief, poverty, food insecurity, displacement, youth vulnerability and the wider social and economic causes of poverty and injustice. As of 2022, its country programs outside Scotland covered the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Zambia, Cambodia and Colombia. The organization has also supported emergency responses in countries affected by major disasters and armed conflict through the wider Caritas network. Humanitarian interventions have included an early contribution to partner agencies after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, support for people affected by the war in Darfur, drought relief in the Horn of Africa and eastern Africa, assistance after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and relief following the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, SCIAF routed support through Caritas Internationalis and provided €0.6 million in 2022 to Caritas Ukraine. Fundraising is closely connected to Catholic observance and community participation. Its best-known initiative, the annual Wee Box Big Change appeal, encourages participants to give up something during Lent and donate the money saved. The campaign has produced substantial public contributions, including £3.4 million in 2015 and more than £2.8 million in 2021, the latter including £1.3 million in UK government match funding. SCIAF also participates in Will Aid, a UK will-writing scheme through which participating solicitors prepare basic wills without their usual fee and invite clients to make a charitable donation. In Scotland, SCIAF supplements fundraising with education and awareness work. It visits schools and engages Catholic parishes and the broader public on global poverty, inequality, injustice and the structural factors that influence development. Internationally, it is connected to Catholic humanitarian and development networks, including Caritas Internationalis, Caritas Europa and CIDSE, and it participates in Scotland’s International Development Alliance. The organization’s identity therefore combines a specifically Scottish and Catholic institutional base with international partnerships and a broad development mandate.
History
SCIAF was established in Scotland in 1965 by Monsignor John Rooney and teacher John McKee. The founders began with £8,000 and built on earlier parish-level efforts to support people experiencing poverty overseas. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland quickly endorsed the initiative, giving it an institutional connection to the Catholic Church in Scotland and helping establish the parish and diocesan relationships that remain important to its fundraising model. During its early decades, SCIAF developed from a locally organized Catholic aid effort into a structured international development agency. Its work included raising funds for overseas projects and increasing awareness in Scotland of poverty and inequality in the developing world. By 1980, the organization had raised a record £212,000 for what was then described as assistance to the developing world, indicating the growing scale of its public and parish support. SCIAF’s humanitarian role became especially visible during major international emergencies. After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, it announced £25,000 for partner agencies. In 2007, the Scottish Government announced £250,000 for SCIAF assistance to people affected by the war in Darfur. The organization later organized an appeal responding to drought in the Horn and eastern Africa that raised £1.1 million. In 2013, it launched another emergency appeal for people affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The organization marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2015. At that point, its international work included almost 100 projects providing emergency aid and other assistance across at least fifteen countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This reflected SCIAF’s practice of combining longer-term development work with rapid responses to humanitarian crises, often through local partner organizations and Catholic networks. In the second half of the 2010s, SCIAF supported responses to displacement and natural disasters. In 2017, it worked with Caritas Bangladesh to assist Rohingya refugees who had fled Myanmar. In 2018, it cooperated with Caritas Indonesia after the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami. Its development work also included assistance for vulnerable young people in Uganda. By 2022, SCIAF identified eight countries outside Scotland in which it was active: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Zambia, Cambodia and Colombia. The organization also responded to the war in Ukraine through the Caritas Internationalis network. In 2022, it provided €0.6 million to Caritas Ukraine, a Ukrainian Catholic humanitarian and nonprofit organization. Fundraising and public engagement have remained central to SCIAF’s Scottish work. The annual Wee Box Big Change appeal is built around Lent: participants are encouraged to give something up and donate the money saved. The appeal raised £3.4 million in 2015, more than £900,000 in 2019 and over £2.8 million in 2021, when the total included £1.3 million in UK government match funding. SCIAF also works with schools and communities to explain the causes of global poverty and injustice. Its membership of Caritas Internationalis, Caritas Europa, CIDSE and Scotland’s International Development Alliance places it within both Catholic and wider Scottish international-development networks.
- 2022
Ukraine humanitarian support
[1]SCIAF supports Ukraine through Caritas Internationalis and provides €0.6 million to Caritas Ukraine.
- 2018
Sulawesi disaster response
[1]SCIAF responds with Caritas Indonesia after the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami.
- 2017
Rohingya refugee response
[1]SCIAF works with Caritas Bangladesh to aid Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
- 2015
Fiftieth anniversary
[1]SCIAF celebrates fifty years and reports almost 100 international projects across at least fifteen countries.
- 2013
Typhoon Haiyan appeal
[1]SCIAF launches an emergency appeal for communities in the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
- 2007
Darfur assistance
[1]The Scottish Government announces £250,000 for SCIAF assistance to people affected by the Darfur conflict.
- 2004
Indian Ocean tsunami response
[1]SCIAF announces £25,000 for partner agencies responding to the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
- 1980
Record fundraising reported
[1]SCIAF raises £212,000 for international aid, marking an important early fundraising milestone.
- 1965
SCIAF is established
[1]Monsignor John Rooney and teacher John McKee establish the organization with £8,000, following parish-level aid efforts and receiving endorsement from Scotland’s Catholic bishops.
Products and positioning
A Catholic, Scotland-based international development and humanitarian organization that combines partner-led overseas assistance with parish fundraising, public education and advocacy on global poverty and injustice.
Development assistance
International development programs
SCIAF supports longer-term projects intended to reduce poverty and strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities. Delivery is generally undertaken with partner organizations in countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The work forms part of the organization’s broader Catholic and community-based development model.
Emergency relief
Humanitarian emergency assistance
SCIAF raises and distributes support for people affected by natural disasters, drought, armed conflict and displacement. Examples include responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami, Darfur, drought in eastern Africa, Typhoon Haiyan, the Sulawesi disaster, the Rohingya refugee crisis and the war in Ukraine.
Fundraising campaign
Wee Box Big Change
The annual Lenten appeal asks supporters to give up a discretionary item or activity and donate the money saved. It is designed for participation by individuals, families, parishes and schools, and has become SCIAF’s most recognizable fundraising initiative.
Public education
Education and awareness programs
SCIAF engages schools, Catholic parishes and the wider Scottish public on global poverty, injustice and the underlying causes of unequal development. This work complements overseas assistance by seeking to build understanding and support for international development.
Marketing campaigns
- 2022Ukraine humanitarian response
Ukraine · Scotland
SCIAF supported humanitarian assistance in Ukraine through the Caritas Internationalis network after Russia’s invasion.
Outcome. SCIAF provided €0.6 million to Caritas Ukraine.
- 2013Typhoon Haiyan emergency appeal
Philippines · Scotland
SCIAF appealed for donations to help people affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
- 2004Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami emergency response
Indian Ocean region · Scotland
SCIAF directed an emergency contribution to partner agencies following the earthquake and tsunami.
Outcome. A £25,000 donation was announced for partner agencies.
- Wee Box Big Change
Scotland · United Kingdom
An annual Lent-based fundraising appeal encouraging people to give something up and donate the money saved to SCIAF’s international aid and development work.
Outcome. The appeal raised £3.4 million in 2015, more than £900,000 in 2019 and over £2.8 million in 2021.
Brand decisions
2022
Route Ukraine support through the Caritas networkStrategyBackground
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a large-scale humanitarian emergency requiring support for affected communities.
Action taken
SCIAF provided assistance through Caritas Internationalis and allocated €0.6 million to Caritas Ukraine.
Aftermath
The decision extended SCIAF’s emergency-response model to the Ukraine crisis through an established Catholic humanitarian network.
Contribution to Caritas Ukraine. €0.6 million (2022)
Sources2 sources
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