Some might say there is no need for the second-ever UK local charities day, the government-backed initiative on 15 December, since local charities are such a patently good thing that this is just a backslapping exercise.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
In recent years local charities have faced huge challenges, which show no signs of abating. This week it was announced that inflation had risen to more than 3%, putting a further squeeze on household incomes. Higher costs have a direct impact on charities, reducing people’s disposable income so that they have less money for charitable donations.
These challenges have led to one in five UK charities struggling to survive, according to the Charities Aid Foundation. Research from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations shows that this particularly affects small charities, which are seeing their incomes fall while the incomes of large charities grow.
Despite this tough landscape there are reasons to be hopeful. I have the pleasure of working every day with inspirational charities that make a real difference – small charities like Clear Buckhaven, which is transforming underutilised public spaces in a former mining community in Fife into productive green spaces. Or Vauxhall City Farm, which is helping to reconnect young children with nature, food and the environment. These kinds of local charities are exactly the organisations local charities day has been set up to support and acknowledge.
What more can be done to help local charities in these challenging times? First, we all need to look at what more we can do. This Christmas I’ll be donating to a local children’s clothing charity in Edinburgh, giving away clothes that no longer fit my children. Small actions like this are often the lifeblood for local charities.
But there are also bigger actions that can support local charities. Many streams of funding for which charities can apply have restrictions on how the money is spent. This denies charities the flexibility they need. Funders should offer restricted and unrestricted funding, enabling charities to respond when circumstances change, such as in providing emergency funding following recent flooding in Lancashire.
The government can also play its part. Fundraising by society lotteries is capped, with a £10m limit on ticket sales each year and a £4m limit on the value of tickets in a single draw. This restricts the amount of money that can be raised for good causes. Small changes to the law, which are backed by a huge number of charities, would make a big difference and provide many local charities with much-needed funds.
Let’s use this year’s local charities day as an opportunity to celebrate local charities and the work they do in challenging circumstances. But let’s also use it to support them, so they can thrive in the years to come.
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Clara Govier is head of charities at the People’s Postcode Lottery.
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