Charities exploring New Ideas to Combat the Impact of the Recession

 

Benevolence Today Coalition Optimistic to meet Need

Asked whether they expected the fallout from the recession to affect their grant-giving to individuals in need, 45 percent of  Benevolence Today partners said no, 40 percent think there may be an impact, depending on how the recession develops. Only 15 percent expected a direct negative impact on their grant-giving.

These findings come from a survey carried out by Benevolence Today, a coalition of 35 benevolent funds, among its partner charities. The majority of Benevolence Today partners are occupational benevolent funds, charities that give grants to people in need who work or have worked in specific professions, trades or industries.

“Through the survey, and through direct contact we had with our partners, we see a much less gloomy picture than other parts of the charities sector seem to see”, says Alan Mottram-Playfoot, Marketing Director at NewstrAid and member of the Steering Group leading Benevolence Today.

He continues “Although half of our partners report an increase in applications since the beginning of the financial crisis, the picture is mixed. Not all industries and professions feel the recession in the same way. People’s decision to ask for help may come some time after they have been made redundant or start to struggle. So we will not see the full impact until much later. However, where we are feeling the effect of the recession already is in donations. Just when we need to prepare ourselves for the coming demands, it’s got tougher to raise donations.”

While some industries are hard hit, others do not see more recession-based poverty. Instead, they continue to help with financial need arising from long-term health problems, care needs and other life crises.

One industry which feels the impact from the recession directly is the building industry. However, many charities cannot help with debt, but occasionally support living costs for a short period of time, to help someone over a tricky period. Some Benevolence Today coalition partners have published advice on coping with redundancy or debt, and the joint web portal of Benevolence Today at www.benevolencetoday.org has just published a pooled collection of such materials.

Where benevolent charities are hit most is on the income side. One in five Benevolence Today partners say the decrease in their income from invested reserves, corporate or individual giving may affect their grant-giving strategy in the near future. Half of Benevolence Today partners say that although they have seen such income reductions, it will not influence their grant strategies in the near future. 15% see no impact of income reductions on their grant-giving strategies, the remaining 15% do not know yet.

The Benevolence Today coalition has laid the groundwork to help its partners combat the impact of the recession. 'Many in the group are exploring new ways of supporting people,' says Susanne Kendler, Head of Development with Benevolence Today. 'In Benevolence Today we explore new ways of engaging with beneficiaries, and develop partnership working with other charities.' 

She continues 'Many of our coalition partners actively look into new ways of working, rather than being pessimistic about the situation. Yes, we will need to do much more on fundraising to make up for our losses. And there are smaller charities in the group who cannot afford to do a lot of work on service development to meet the increased need. But the collaborative framework we have is a good base to feed successful models down from larger charities to smaller ones, so all can benefit and help as many people in need as possible. We are sure that we have a positive story to tell that will influence donors to help our partners do their work to meet the rising need for our services.'

(628 words)

For further information please contact Susanne Kendler at Benevolence Today on 02072168988 or by emailing susanne(at)benevolencetoday.org or Alan Mottram-Playfoot at NewstrAid  on 01371 874198 or by emailing alan.mottramplayfoot(at)newstraid.org.uk

Notes to the Editor:

· The Benevolence Today coalition partners helped 33,000 people in the last year, with a variety of one-off grants, regular income-support, care places, and other advice and support services.  Grants in the last year totalled £30 million across the coalition.

· Useful Benevolence Today partner charities’ online advice on recession-related problems can be found here. http://www.benevolencetoday.org/index.php?id=103.

· Most Benevolence Today partners support people in need with a background in different professions, industries or trades. Some Benevolence Today partners also support older or disabled people in general. Eligibility criteria differ, but as partners in this coalition all Benevolence Today charities aim to raise awareness of their services so that they can help more people in need.

· Benevolence Today is run through a joint campaign office, which is based with one of the coalition partners in central London.

· The Benevolence Today Coalition consists of a group of members of the Association of Charity Officers (ACO). Founded in 1946, this umbrella for benevolent and care charities has over 200 members. Registered Charity No 1118605. A Company limited by Guarantee No 6113479. www.aco.uk.net