A few days after we published our blog Which charities will survive the pandemic? the Institute of Fundraising published its 2020 Benchmark Report The Status of UK Fundraising.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is another report that highlights the negative impacts of the pandemic on charity fundraising, with more charities (27% of respondents) reporting declining income compared to last year (remembering that Covid-198 only really affected the last 1-2 months of the year) and a staggering 29% of responding charities reporting that they are not confident they will be able to continue post-lockdown.

This last statistic will, if realised, be devastating; almost a third of the charity sector (by numbers at least) disappearing in such a short space of time will be a blow to communities and society at large from which it could take decades to recover.

On the positive side, the report shows 66% of respondents believe their organisation is coping well in responding to Covid-19 and there has been a major increase in charities trying out virtual fundraising. 44% of respondents state that their organisation is willing to innovate and try new things; no doubt many being forced to do so during lockdown.

Interestingly, two thirds of homeworkers during lockdown reported that they would like to work from home more that they did previously (when they can return to the office) and slightly more said they had done some training and development during lockdown.

What does this all add up to?

We’re not sure anyone can draw firm conclusions yet. The situation continues to be fast-moving; at the time of writing local lockdowns are spreading, cases are again on the rise and dire predictions are circulating about a second peak in the winter.

That said, we believe there are grounds for optimism. As we have said in many of our Covid-19-related blogs, embedding innovations tested during lockdown, embracing new ways of working and scenario planning for a “better than before” future are important building blocks of an optimistic future for many charities. The 2020 Benchmark Report shows that two-thirds responding charities share that confidence.

However, we believe that governmental and charitable funders, and the public at large, have an obligation to watch out for the other third who aren’t even sure their charity will exist for much longer. Society cannot afford to lose that extent of charitable and voluntary activity at a time when the value of local volunteering and charitable services have been so amply shown to be essential.

It is encouraging to see many funders, over the last month or so, switching into funding the survival and recovery of smaller charities (with less emphasis on direct response to the effects of pandemic itself). But we are concerned funders may be asking the wrong questions. Most are asking applicants not only to show that they need urgent financial support but also to show that they were financially stable before lockdown (whatever that means).

Is past performance really an adequate measure of future potential in such a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment?

Should funders and policy makers instead be focusing more on finding ways to assess the future prospects of those seeking help (as well as whether they need help to survive)?

Perhaps these funders would be better advised to ask questions about what has been learned, how innovations will be taken forward, what will (or needs to) be different in service delivery and how efficiency can be maximised (including through new ways of working and by capturing the surge in volunteering).

We are participating in a number of discussions with associates and collaborators on these issues and would welcome any ideas or comments to feed into those deliberations.

Meanwhile, if you would like to explore how we can help your charity develop “better than before” plans, please contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk.