How is the cost of living crisis affecting charities?
The rise of the cost of living means more people are in need of help, and charities are finding themselves overwhelmed with enquiries. In addition, donations are continuing to drop below pre-pandemic levels.
The spiralling inflation has been on everyone’s mind in recent months. Seeing the prices increase daily can cause a lot of anxiety as people don’t know if they will be able to pay their bills or put food on the table. According to the Office for National Statistics, 77 per cent of adults in the UK reported feeling very or somewhat worried about the rising costs of living, and 50 per cent of those who stated being very worried think about it nearly every day. The inflation is currently at nine per cent and Bank of England is expecting it to peak at 13.5 per cent, as announced on its last quarterly economic review.
People are worried about putting food on the table, being able to afford transportation to get to work or send their children to school. Paying for gas, fuel and electricity can be a struggle for many people and a lot of them have to make difficult choices on what costs to leave behind. Charity giving is one of the costs many people can no longer afford. Research published by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) showed that between January and April 2022, an estimated 4.9M fewer people said they donated to charity, when compared to the same months in 2019, pre-pandemic.
The rise of the cost of living also means more people are in need of help and charities are finding themselves overwhelmed with enquiries. According to CAF’s Research, 86 per centre of charitable organisations are worrying about the effect the cost of living will have on those that depend on their services, and 71 per cent expressed concern over managing increased demand for their services. COVID-19 had a huge impact on the income of charities and now, this national crisis is making organisations worried they will be able to keep providing their services and 35 per cent believe their charity will struggle to survive the crisis, according to CAF research.
Unsurprisingly, foodbanks are under intense pressure as they try to feed those who were already struggling before the current crisis, as well as those who have had to turn to foodbanks as a result of the surge in every-day expenses. In a survey carried out by the Independent Food Aid Network, 80 per cent of foodbanks reported that they have struggled with food supply issues in the past four months, and 78 per cent noticed a drop in food and financial donations. With the increase in those relying on foodbanks, yet a decrease in donations, there is a feeling of anxiety around how they are going to keep up with the demand as it continues to increase.
One charity (of many) that has faced a recent spike in demand for their services is WILD Young Parents Project, which recently received a grant of £63,770 from the MCF to help fund its project to support young parents and families in Cornwall. The team has been reporting the impact of the cost of living crisis, and noticed a significant rise in the frequency of young parents requesting support with the cost of food, utility bills, and transport – meaning they have had to reduce the frequency of their child’s visits to nursery and community play areas.
Cornwall Freemasons meeting the beneficiaries of WILD Young Parents Project
After the impact of the pandemic, we are really worried about how our youngest, most vulnerable families will get through this winter. The ‘lockdown babies’ of the last couple of years deserve better than this.
But it’s not all doom and gloom; with the help our grant, WILD is working to respond to these issues by forming a cost of living working group, which focuses on offering practical and emergency support, as well as linking with other local charities to work out collaborative ways to support people through the crisis. WILD will also be attending a multi-agency gathering called “Turning the Tide on Cost of Living Summit”, at Falmouth university, where sectors plan to work together to help the most vulnerable people through the cost of living crisis.
We are proud to support charities like WILD Young Parents Project and many others that are doing vital work to support their beneficiaries through the cost of living crisis, including families, children and young people, and the elderly.
