Tough times faced by charities
Charities across Bath and North East Somerset are facing challenges over funding issues, the impact of Covid-19, demand for services exceeding capacity and concerns over staff wellbeing says a new study.
The annual survey by local charity 3rd Sector Group (3SG) was conducted among 800 readers of the 3SG newsletter who were sent an online questionnaire.
The majority of organisations which responded came from 3SG’S 170 member charities, social enterprises and non-profit organisations – 97 organisations responded to the survey this year compared to 72 in 2020.
BANES 3rd Sector Group is an independent, membership network representing over 170 local charities, social enterprises and community groups and provides them with training, support, networking opportunities and one-to-one consulting services.
3SG also works with a wide variety of stakeholders including local businesses, healthcare organisations, local authorities and civic bodies. The findings of 3SG’S survey highlighted six key areas of concern for the third sector in BANES:
Long-term funding & financial viability – 90 per cent of respondents are worried about finding sustainable, long-term funding opportunities. 65 per cent of organisations are concerned about their current financial viability, down from 74 per cent in 2020.
Staff wellbeing – 84 per cent of organisations are concerned about the wellbeing of their staff after the rollercoaster of the pandemic and dealing with heavy workloads, fatigue, uncertainty and recruitment challenges.
Impact of Covid-19 – 54 per cent of organisations have been unable to reopen all of their pre-pandemic services leading to a lack of access to support services and activities in the community.
Unmet demand for services – 46 per cent of organisations are currently working at 100 per cent capacity or over, up from 32 per cent in 2020. The biggest unmet needs of charity beneficiaries included mental health needs, isolation, loneliness and getting access to support. Reasons given for this unmet need included funding problems, lack of volunteers and the impact of Covid restrictions.
Volunteer recruitment – half of organisations, 48 per cent, have difficulty recruiting volunteers up from 38 per cent last year as many volunteers have stepped down due to the risks of Covid-19.
Using reserves – 41 per cent of organisations have three months or less of expenditure in their reserves. 33 per cent of organisations are using their financial reserves to cover core costs up from 25 per cent last year.
James Carlin, director at BANES 3rd Sector Group, said: “Our thanks to all the 3SG members and other local organisations who took part in this annual survey.
“It has given us a deeper understanding of the issues facing third sector organisations and despite some glimpses of optimism, the results show a clear and ongoing crisis of unmet needs in the community and charities in need of financial support.
“In light of these findings, I hope the wider community of B&NES will come together to support local charities as they fight to recover from the pandemic by attending their fundraising events, making donations or giving time either by working in a charity job or as a volunteer.”
Kate Morton, CEO of Bath Mind and chair of 3SG’S Board of Trustees, added: “3SG’S survey is unique in our region and is a powerful barometer of the challenges and ambitions of the BANES third sector in 2021-22.
“This year’s results show that funding issues, Covid-19 restrictions, high demand, limited capacity, staff wellbeing and volunteer recruitment all remain challenging.
“Mental health also continues to be a major unmet need across the
I hope the wider community of B&NES will come together to support local charities as they fight to recover from the pandemic by attending fundraising events, donations or giving time.
James Carlin
BANES community along with isolation, loneliness and access to services. However, it is good news to see that collaboration is on the rise between charities which will facilitate the sharing of limited resources to help local communities.”
Claire Wynne Hughes, philanthropy executive for B&NES at Quartet Community Foundation, said: “This timely report reveals the pressures so many organisations are under as they support local communities in Bath & North East Somerset through these challenging times. But it also reveals their flexibility and willingness to collaborate to best serve their communities.
“At Quartet we’re witnessing strong demand for our grants, which mirrors the report’s findings about the current role of grants and trusts as a vital funding source.
“It’s a cause for concern that so many organisations are running at full capacity and are concerned about long-term funding. We all want to see a strong local community and voluntary sector, able to adapt and survive whatever the challenges.”
To join 3SG or find out about how it supports charities and third sector organisations with training, advice, support and networking events visit www.3sg.org.uk or sign up for the 3SG newsletter: http://bit.ly/3sg-newsletter. To find out about support for local residents in Bath and North East Somerset visit www.communitywellbeinghub.co.uk