News from across the third sector #NeverMoreNeeded

Legacy impact not as bad as first thought

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on charity legacy income is less bad than previously thought, experts say. The charity legacy consortium Legacy Foresight said at the end of April that legacy income could fall by between 8 and 27 per cent over the following year because of the Covid-19 outbreak. But the latest figures from the consortium estimate that legacy income, which was worth £3.2bn in 2019, could shrink by between 4 and 23% this year because of the virus. Legacy Foresight said the average value of residual bequests was likely to drop by between 3 and 7% in 2020 because of the impact of the crisis on house prices and share prices. But due to delays in property sales in a subdued property market, the flow of residual cash income will be disrupted, it said. Because of the virus, Legacy Foresight said, there would be an increase in the number of bequests over the next five years. It predicts between 8,000 and 10,000 more bequests will be made than if the pandemic had not taken place, equivalent to a rise of between 1.2 and 1.6%. But the consortium also estimated that legacy income would grow by between 9 and 13% over the next five years, less than the 13 and 18% it predicted in April.

Rising number of charities apply for emergency funding

There has been a sustained rise in the number of UK charities applying for emergency funding from government, according to a survey from Pro Bono Economics (PBE). Of those who took part in the survey, 42% said that they have applied for emergency funding from the government’s support package, up from 37% last week and just 28% two weeks ago. PBE is conducting a weekly tracker to find out how coronavirus is affecting charities. Over the course of 9 and 10 June, a total of 231 respondents filled in the survey. The respondents were split between 77 small charities (annual income of less than £500,000), 127 medium sized charities (income between £500,000 and £10m) and 27 large charities (income of £10m or more). Of those who responded, 86% said they expected covid-19 to have a negative impact on their ability to meet their objectives over the next six months, with 38% saying they expected it to be a “large” negative impact. One in ten said they thought it would have a positive impact.

Beat the boredom

This Thursday 14 June join National AIDS Trust for The Big Online Escape. The school-themed virtual escape room will take players back to the classroom to solve puzzles, riddles and secret codes on a quest to make it to the school disco. The event will take place on Zoom. All the money raised will help National AIDS Trust in their fight for the rights of people living with HIV through challenging injustice and pushing for policy change. During this lockdown period the support of the public is more important than ever to ensure this work can continue. The Big Online Escape is open to all and this will be a great event for (socially-distanced) teams to enjoy. Being school-themed fancy dress is encouraged and there will be a virtual disco to finish off the night of fun. For details and tickets visit https://thebigonlineescape.eventbrite.co.uk

Re-cycle charity running low on bikes

A Glasgow cycling charity, which aims to make bikes affordable for all, has seen demand for escalate during the pandemic and is running out of bikes to refurbish. Bike for Good, which takes in donations of old unwanted bicycles and refurbishes and services before selling them on is in need of more donations to meet demand the demand. The charity said the appetite for cycling has “gone through the roof” since lockdown. Kimberley White, of Bike for Good said: “It is incredible the amount of people who now want to take up cycling, and this reason is why we exist as a charity. Please help us to meet demand and afford everyone a chance at owning an affordable mode of transport.” As well as the refurbish and sales Bike for Good ran an initiative to help NHS and other essential staff get to work.