Call for continuing energy bill support for voluntary organisations

​

Charities hit hardest by rising energy costs are facing lack of support unless the government continues supporting bills past March 2023.

​

An appeal has been brought forth to the government to ensure voluntary organisations get continued support from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), outlining the risks for communities if the current support package does not continue.

​

It is essential that charities raise their voices in this call to the government. Charities need to express the critical situation facing communities up and down the country, and outline to MPs what will happen if charities facing rising energy costs aren’t supported.

​

Charities are particularly vulnerable because of the nature of the services they run and how they generate income.

​

Many charities facing rising energy costs have said that without ongoing government support they will be forced to reduce services, sell essential community buildings or even close completely. This will have a devastating impact on people and communities.

​

Charity bodies urge government to hasten EU replacement funding after fresh delay

​

Charity sector bodies have said the latest apparent delay in the government’s distribution of EU replacement funding could be damaging to local communities and vulnerable people.

​

November’s autumn statement appears to have removed a previously-pledged first £400m payment from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to local authorities, which had been scheduled for this financial year.

​

Chris Walker, NCVO’s policy and public affairs and manager, said the membership body had “repeatedly urged” the government to start working on the UKSPF early to address “inevitable challenges” it will have faced setting it up.

​

“The Government must make it a priority to get this money out of the door, but increasingly it looks like we won’t see this in this financial year. Although funding has been committed, if there are more delays, we could see damaging disruption in communities.”

​

Richard Sagar, head of policy at Charity Financial Group (CFG), said he was “surprised” that the £400m of UKSPF funding previously pledged for 2022-23 was omitted from the autumn statement’s updated spending plans.

​

“There remains great doubt about when the funds will be allocated and the time window in which the funds can distributed and invested narrows."

​

“This means that potential recipients, including charitable organisations, will have less time to plan. In turn, this could reduce impact.”

​

​

Third of consumers may cut charity donations over festive period

​

More than a third of consumers may cut their charitable donations in the next three months, according to new research.

​

A survey of more than 1,000 people conducted by agency Beautiful Insights found that 36% of consumers may make these changes, which could see charities lose £580m.

​

Many expect the next three months to be financially challenging with 54% believing their finances will get significantly worse.

​

However, over half, 55%, of people believe charities should be running big Christmas TV fundraising campaigns despite the cost-of-living crisis in the UK. This jumped to 64% amongst those who were shown a charity advert before answering the question.
 

The research also found 77% of consumers believe card providers should waive fees when collecting charity donations. Half add that they are also more likely to give to a charity again if donating is quick and easy. 

​

Charities concentrated in affluent south of England

​

There are more third sector organisations (TSOs) per person in the more affluent southern regions of England than elsewhere, according to a new report. 

​

According to the Third Sector Trends 2022 report, there are about 4.4 charities per 1,000 people living in London, compared to 3.4 across England and Wales overall.

​

The report says there are 4.2 charities per 1,000 people in south west England and 3.6 in the south east, compared to 2.6 in Yorkshire and the Humber.

​

In the least affluent areas, there tends to be a higher concentration of charities with an annual income of £50,000 to £25m than in the most affluent areas, where there is a larger proportion of micro and small organisations.

​

“The likely reason for the larger proportion of small organisations in wealthy areas, is that social capital is stronger, and people have greater financial resources at their disposal,” the report says.

​

“Each of these factors may incentivise people to engage in charitable work and/or be interested in the idea of setting up and running TSOs.

​

“In poorer areas, there is a stronger concentration of larger charities for several inter-related reasons. At a practical level, it is cheaper for organisations to establish themselves in less affluent areas because properties and rents may be lower.”

​

33% of Brits plan to shop with charity retailers as a result of cost of living

​

33% of British people say they are adjusting their Christmas shopping plans by shopping with charity retailers as a result of the rising cost of living, according to a new British Heart Foundation (BHF) survey.

​

The survey of 2,010 people found that over two in five (46%) Brits aged 16-24 and over a fifth (22%) aged 55 and over said they will change their plans to buy from charity shops this festive season due to the cost-of-living crisis.

​

They said that they will be buying 4 items each on average. Second-hand books, toys and clothes, were at the top of the list of gifts that they will buy.

​

37%% of shoppers also said they  motivated to buy their Christmas presents from charity retailers to help fund a good cause, 34% to save money, 22% to be able to find unexpected treasures/items (22 per cent) and 21% to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

​

This festive season, the BHF is urging people to shop online or in one of its 700 UK shops and stores. By choosing the BHF, shoppers will be helping to give the gift that keeps on living – by funding lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.

 

Every pound raised in the charity’s shops and online stores helps support the 7.6 million people living with heart and circulatory conditions.

 

Most charities using reserves to cover core costs

​

Most charities are worried if they can survive the cost-of-living crisis and are using reserves to cover their core costs, according to research conducted by Charities Aid Foundation.

​

51% of charities said they were using their reserves to cover core costs, compared to 40% a year earlier.

And 55% said they were worried about struggling to survive in the current economic climate, compared to 52% a month ago.

​

A quarter said that they have made cuts to services but now have no room to do further.

​

49% of the 324 charities surveyed in November felt very confident they had the funds to meet demand for their services, compared to 58% a month before.

​

Two-thirds said a decline in fundraising income concerned them, while three-fifths said they were worried about increasing costs, such as energy. 

​

And almost two-thirds reported that demand for their services had increased compared to this time last year, including a third who had seen demand grow significantly. 

​

The research is based on polling with 675 charities across October and November. Half of the charities surveyed had an income of less than 100,000, a third had an income between £100,000 and £500,000 and a sixth had an income over £500,000. 

​

Ousting of Muslim NUS President condemned

​

The National Union of Students (NUS) is accused of being “not a safe place for Muslims” after Shaima Dallali became its first president to be summarily ousted following antisemitism allegations made before even, she took up her elected post in July.

​

“The investigation into Shaima has been politicised from the beginning, and due process has not been followed, opening Shaima up to the court of public opinion and denying her the opportunity to fairly represent herself,” the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) said in a statement.

​

“NUS’ failings with regards to Shaima reflect its failings towards Muslim students at large – and these reflect its neglect of duty towards its membership at large,” FOSIS said.

​

Dallali,27, who was elected at the NUS Annual Conference in March for a two-year term from July, revealed on the first day of Islamophobia Awareness Month had not even been told that she had been dismissed, saying she “only found out on Twitter,”.

​

The Muslim Council of Britain said the dismissal of the Black Muslim NUS President, who faced a flood of Islamophobia abuse herself, was “deeply troubling and raises questions on proper due process.”

​

An NUS discipline panel claimed it had found “significant breaches” of a policy when Dallali was elected as president in March, yet it failed to offer any written reasons for the summary dismissal other than presumed briefings given in advance to the media.

​

Labour Shadow Minister, Wes Streeting, a former NUS president, also commended the ousting of Dallali while rejecting claims she was a victim of sexism and racism herself, and also agreed the government was “right” to withdraw from engaging with the NUS.

​

At the time of her suspension in August, Dallali said on Twitter: “Don’t ever believe that an organisation is ‘progressive’ or cares about justice before finding out how they treat women of colour and/or Muslim women. Many enable oppression and Islamophobia. They will punish us for daring to be political and make us believe it’s our fault.”

​

Fundraisers Networking Virtual Event

​

This event will take place on Thursday 15th December at 11am – 12pm via zoom.

​

These friendly sessions involve a Get Grants Expert providing an update on the current grant fundraising landscape, before facilitating discussions about how the grant fundraising world continues to change, and what opportunities and challenges this presents to you as fundraisers.

​

By attending this event we aim to give you the opportunity to:

​

• Join the Get Grants community and connect with like-minded people.

• Share fundraising frustrations and successes.

• Learn from the real-world experiences of fundraisers at all levels of experience.

• Get new fundraising ideas and inspiration.

• Gain opinions and advice from Get Grants Fundraising Experts.

• Tell us what else Get Grants can be doing to better support you.

​

​

​

Meet the Funder Virtual Event – Seven Trent

​

This event will take place on Wednesday 25th January at 10am – 11am via Zoom.

​

Get Grants Funding Experts are joined by funders to talk about their funding programmes. The event gives attendees the opportunity to speak directly to funders, take part in discussions, get unique insights, and ask questions specific to their project or organisation.

​

These events are suitable for fundraisers working for a wide range of not-for-profit organisations of all sizes.

​

Attending this event, we aim to give you the opportunity to:

​

• Hear about the current funding opportunities through Severn Trent Community Foundation

• Identify the current priorities for the Foundation.

• Gain an insight into the decision-making processes led by the funder.

• Receive advice direct from Severn Trent Community Foundation.

​