Survey estimates true cost to charities
Outdated and overcomplicated application processes have cost hard-pressed British charities at least £442 million through attempts to secure desperately-needed funds during the Covid-19 pandemic, a new survey reveals.
One in eight UK charities (13%) have reported spending the equivalent of three working days a week (21 hours or more) on grant applications since March this year.
This makes up 60% of the average working week and equates to over £20,350 a year in potential staff time per charity - collectively costing the third sector £442 million annually. Meanwhile some charities have reported spending over 40 hours a week on grant applications (7%).
Looking at Scotland, 12% of charities are spending spend three working days a week or more on grant applications, which collectively equates to over £63 million in Scottish staff time a year.
When looking at the whole of the UK, even though a large proportion of time is being spent trying to secure funding, over half (51%) of those who answered, have seen a decrease in their success rate compared with last year. More than one in five (23%) think this could be down to an increase in competition for grants and over one in ten (12%) stating they have fewer human resources to complete grant application forms.
The online poll of 1,002 third sector organisations across the UK, was commissioned by Brevio, a new platform that streamlines the grant application process for charities and funders. Of those who responded in Scotland, over seven in ten (74%) believe that the grant making system needs modernising and 82% do not believe that the current grant application system is operated on a level playing field
More than six in ten (61%) Scottish charities believe that the current grant application system works in favour of well-established charities (i.e. that have strong brand recognition / are well known to the public). This was the second highest response in the UK, behind only the North of England (64%). Three in ten (30%) of Scottish charities also believe the grant making process actively discriminates against organisations that don't have well connected people on their boards.
Just under a third of Scottish charities (32%) think the system actively discriminates against charities based outside large cities, while 9% feel the grant making process discriminates against organisations led by people from ethnic minority backgrounds; and one in ten (10%) also feel it discriminates against organisations that focus on issues/ causes that concern a smaller part of the population e.g. LGBTQ+, ethnic minorities etc.
Of those who answered in Scotland, nearly half (48%) believe there should be a simplified and centralised application system (similar to UCAS for university applications) to avoid having to repeat and gather similar details for every application.
The findings come amid fears that up to one in ten UK charities could be forced to close as a result of the pandemic.
Commenting on the findings Marcelle Speller, founder of Brevio, said: “The pandemic has brought into sharp relief what funders and charities have known for years: the current grant model soaks up too much valuable time, energy, and ironically, money. With many charities now battling for their very existence, it’s clear we need to grasp the nettle and begin to create a level playing field that will help brilliant organisations across Britain do what they do best in their communities and beyond.”
