Earlier this week Directory of Social Change surveyed the thousands of charities it supports to try and understand the real impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on charities across the UK. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond – the shocking results are below. This is such important information to support the #EveryDayCounts campaign, and we’re now sharing it with journalists and politicians.
The findings sadly confirm much of what we’ve been saying to government for weeks:
- Half of charities surveyed said they were already in financial difficulties due to the pandemic, with another 42% expecting to be soon;
- Over 60% of charities who responded are furloughing staff under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme;
- Just 7% of charities surveyed said they qualified for CBILS – the Business Interruption Loan Scheme, with just under half saying they did not qualify and over 40% saying they didn’t know;
- Over half of charity respondents say they will go bust within six months without additional financial help;
- Over 70% of charities surveyed report that they will go bust before the end of 2020 without additional financial help.
Commenting on the findings, DSC’s CEO Debra Allcock Tyler said ‘The Prime Minister, the Chancellor, the Treasury and other decision-makers in government must understand the gravity of these results quickly and take action now to provide swift, substantial and simple emergency financial support for the charity sector – #EveryDayCounts’.
Respondents also provided over 200 heart-breaking stories of the immediate and long term impacts on their beneficiaries. Read more here.