New research from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) suggests that the cost of living crisis has sparked a cost of giving crisis for charities that could see 1 in 5 stop operating this winter.
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UKFundraising writes:
NCVO surveyed over 580 charities and voluntary organisations across the country between September and October with 19% saying that if current conditions don’t improve, they could be forced to pause operations completely until the economic outlook improves, leaving them unable to support the communities and people they serve. With current figures showing nearly 170,000 charities in the UK, this could equate to around 34,000.
On top of this, almost a quarter (24%) of the charities surveyed say they are planning to reduce the volume or variety of services they offer this winter to cope.
Overall, 85% predict that this winter will be as tough – or even tougher (54%) – than last winter, and over a quarter of charities (27%) are already saying they will be unable to meet the level of demand this winter.
Triple threat
NCVO says charities are facing a ‘triple threat’ of lower incomes (61%), higher costs (77%), and increased demand (67%)…
NCVO says urgent support is needed to help charities. It is calling for government action to properly fund charity contracts and to ensure that both contracts and grants for charities delivering services are uplifted to meet the costs of delivery. Over £16.8 billion of contracts and grants in the UK charity sector come from government and the public sector. However, NCVO says, these contracts are not ‘uplifted’ each year to reflect the rising costs of delivering these vital services.
Cost of Giving support portal
It has also launched a Cost of Giving Crisis support portal to help charities of all sizes this winter. This includes financial management support, information to help charities manage their energy costs and efficiency, guidance….
