These issues that affect many adults in the UK of course, also, are felt in the charity sector. The high levels of inflation mean that overhead costs for charities are, of course, increasing, alongside a demand to increase wages to help staff cope and sustain their own livelihoods. Charities – as is the case with most people in the UK – find themselves spending more.
Unfortunately, despite rising operation costs, unsurprisingly perhaps, more people have sought out the help of charities. The same report by the CAF saw that around 71% of charities expressed concern over managing increased demand for their services. Make-A-Wish, for example, is expecting the number of children eligible to receive a wish will increase in the coming years – a number that has already doubled in the past 15 years. On top of this, the costs of caring for a child living with a life-threatening condition can be extremely high, and there are often cases where a parent will not work in order to become a full-time carer. The need for help is higher than ever.
Sadly, research has shown that there has been a general drop in the amount of money donated to charities by members of the general public; according to the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), between January and April 2022 approximately 5 million fewer people donated to charities than they had done in that same time period back in 2019 (pre-pandemic). Similarly, one in eight donors is considering cutting back on or reducing donations to charities. With people already struggling to make ends meet – according to a report by the FCA in October 2022, approximately 1 in 4 British adults of adults in the UK were either in financial difficulty or would fall into trouble if they suffered a financial shock – often charitable donations and giving is one of the first things to go.
This looks like a bleak picture for the charity sector and even bleaker for the ones who need to turn to these charities for help, although, it is not necessarily. While it is certainly true that people are donating less to charities, fundraising is proving to be the solution. National and worldwide fundraising projects are still proving to be hugely popular – for example, Movember is on track to raise over £53 million this financial year. And this is not solely the case for big charities – smaller charities have expressed that almost 100% of their donations come from fundraising efforts. There has also been a big push to put pressure on big corporations to give more, which has proved successful – in 2020 donations from family and personal foundations grew by approximately 1%, while corporate foundation giving increased by 12.5%.
So, while there is a decrease in personal donations, there are increases in other areas of giving. Thankfully, charities are able to keep on supporting those who need it most.