Some 61% have furloughed staff
Nearly all charities taking part in a survey say they expect covid-19 to have a negative impact on their ability to meet their charity objectives over the next six months.
The weekly survey of the civil society sector by Pro Bono Economics showed 94% of respondents worrying about the immediate impact of the lockdown on their organisation while 50% said this impact would be a “large” negative.
Nearly half (48) of the respondents said the single biggest issue they were facing was the impact of social distancing on their ability to deliver their services. Just over one-in-five (22%) said that the way in which Covid-19 had affected their ability to fundraise was the biggest single issue. Just under one-in-five (18%) instead pointed to its effect on their ability to plan for the future.
And the most cited response was the furloughing of staff and use of the government’s Job Retention Scheme, with 61% of respondents saying they’d done this.
Commenting on the findings Matt Whittaker, chief executive of Pro Bono Economics, said: “The charity sector is accustomed to working under pressure, but these latest results highlight the new pressures it is now having to deal with as a matter of course.
“The landscape has changed dramatically and there is little sign that the challenges are going to ease: rather, more than half of the respondents to the survey say they’ve grown more pessimistic over the last week.
“The overriding message from this week’s survey findings, and from the comments made by respondents, concerns the insufficient levels of financial support currently offered to the charity sector.
“Many organisations, both small and large, say they are in grave danger of falling through the cracks and that their long-term survival is at threat. Smaller charities feel that financial support is only being channelled to larger organisations, while larger charities say that there is a disproportionate – if understandable – focus on front-line services dealing directly with the covid-19 crisis.
“It is clear that, if we want the sector to survive and to continue to make a vital contribution to society, these organisations need more financial support – and they need it now. Otherwise they won’t be in a position to help the people most in need as we emerge from lockdown.”
More than two in five charities said they had drawn on their financial reserves. And nearly one in four (23%) said they’d applied for support from the government’s £750m charity-specific package.
