Coronavirus: Children’s charities threatened by major income drop

A survey by think tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) found that the majority of charities carrying out this work have to cross-subside contacts through donations and other revenue.

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But with charities facing a substantial drop in income, due to cancelling fundraising events and closing their shops, many are set to struggle to maintain provision, the NPC research warns.

New research reveals charities and public services more vulnerable to COVID-19 crisis than currently understood #STOTS2020 https://t.co/ZTxzpjvtt5 pic.twitter.com/TCSP50Wm4X

— NPC (@NPCthinks) March 24, 2020

It found that 54 per cent of charities surveyed deliver public services and more than half (59 per cent) of these are cross-subsiding contracts from other sources such as fundraising.

Charity leaders, including the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), are calling for urgent government support and funding for the voluntary sector. They warn that the charity sector is set to lose £4.3bn in the next 12 weeks due to the pandemic.

#EveryDayCounts if charities and other voluntary organisations are to get the financial support they urgently need from the chancellor @RishiSunak.

This thread explains why⬇️#coronavirus

— NCVO (@NCVO) March 22, 2020

The NPC survey findings, of 300 charity leaders, have been released in the think tank's State of the Sector 2020 report, detailing challenges facing the sector.

This also found that charities' confidence in using digital technology has dropped, by 11 percentage points from 70 per cent to 59 per cent since 2017. This comes as charities are battling to move operations and support online amid the pandemic.

Last week charities, the National Youth Agency and UK Youth, published series of guides for the youth sector, which stressed the need to use digital tools, such as video conferencing and social media, to continue supporting young people.

“Charities are mobilising to help thousands of people across the country but they are also crying out for more help and support,” said NPC chief executive officer Dan Corry.

“Their income is collapsing just as people’s need to use them starts to grow. Our research reveals some underlying problems in the sector which the crisis will undoubtedly exacerbate.

“The response both from policymakers and the sector to the crisis needs to take these pre-existing weaknesses into account, and make sure issues like the lack of core funding, the weaknesses on using digital technology and the cross subsidy of contracts are not overlooked, or we could see charities fail and thousands of vulnerable people put at risk.”  

This week a raft of children’s charity leaders, including Children England chief executive Kathy Evans and NSPCC Chief Executive Peter Wanless, have urged the government to prioritise protection and support for children during the pandemic.

A joint statement from the group states that emergency legislation being passed this week around the pandemic “must also be introduced in a way that reduces the unprecedented strains on families, which could compromise the welfare and wellbeing of children, and ensures that no child is left at risk or unnecessarily criminalised”.

Ensuring children are not at risk of abuse or neglect amid school closures for most pupils, is among their calls.

Protecting disadvantaged families from financial insecurity and preventing child poverty should be other priorities. The group also wants to ensure the mental health of children is being supported.

The statement, which is also signed by among others Children’s Society chief executive Mark Russell and Just for Kids Law chief executive officer Enver Solomon, adds: “We continue to do all we can to support the collective effort to face this challenge and to ensure the social and economic effects of the coronavirus are not felt in the lives of our children in the years ahead.”