Donate has launched three emergency campaigns as the coronavirus crisis deepens.
Charities across the UK are losing out on essential funds due to social distancing, according to the National Funding Scheme.
The scheme, which offers a range of fundraising services to charities through its Donate platform, said measures to control the spread of coronavirus had led to “huge losses” among organisations who rely on face-to-face collections.
Event-based fundraising has also suffered from the outbreak as Britons are told to stay at home to avoid spreading the deadly virus.
Donate has now launched three emergency campaigns to support charities helping vulnerable people amid the crisis.
The organisation is urging UK-based charities who are suffering cashflow problems due to coronavirus to use its online and SMS payment platform to raise funds. An account can be set up in less than 24 hours, and Donate has waived its dormancy fee in response to the ongoing emergency.
One organisation already benefitting from Donate’s services is The Big Issue North.
Bronte Shiltz, from the charity, said: “Coronavirus has had an enormous impact on our vendors. The average Big Issue North vendor earns just £60 per week and many have no other source of income. As selling Big Issue North is a formally recognised form of self-employment, they don’t receive paid sick leave. This means that the impact of even one week of poor sales could be almost impossible to bear, and if the pandemic continues for an extended period of time, many could face destitution.
“To make matters worse, many of our vendors are particularly vulnerable to the virus. One in five of our vendors have a long-term illness or disability, and among them, 22% have asthma or COPD and 13% have diabetes – conditions with associated mortality rates of 6.3% and 7.3% respectively.
“Particularly worryingly, a third of our vendors are currently homeless – including half of our vendors over the age of 60. This means that they are unable to self-isolate safely and cannot protect themselves from potentially fatal infection.
“We have now established a hardship fund, which we plan to use to house homeless vendors and to cover the cost of rent, bills and shopping for vendors who are unable to work, or to earn their usual level of income. We have been doing this primarily through Donate, which has been doing really well. We are particularly reliant on text and online donations at this time, as much of our income from members of the public typically comes from donation forms printed in the magazine.”
More information about the emergency campaigns can be found on the Donate website.
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