CAF Charity Resilience Index highlights uncertain months ahead

We are all acutely aware of the severe financial strain facing people and organisations up and down the country. Charities find themselves with an increasing number of families relying more and more on their essential services. They are providing debt advice, food packages, somewhere warm to stay and care for the vulnerable. But they are having to meet this growing demand while facing their own financial challenges. They are stretched beyond measure with inflation increasing their costs and donations falling.

Charities play a distinctive role in society as a whole and in the communities in which they work. They are recognised for their ability to really understand local needs, to fill gaps, to provide specialist knowledge, and to stay close to the needs of the people who rely on them.

Having been so dramatically demonstrated by the pandemic, and now the cost-of-living crisis, the resilience of the charity sector has never been more important.

Today, after surveying over 1,300 organisations, we publish the Charity Resilience Index. This report offers insights into charities’ challenges, their ability to adapt, and their confidence for the future. The Index is a practical tool, which we hope will be especially useful during this challenging time by providing a quantitative basis for understanding the outlook and experiences of charities across the sector.

Our wider research into charity resilience, charity finance, and changes in giving habits is providing evidence of the challenges that charities are facing. These insights inform our work with partners across the charity sector and support our engagement with the Government and partners on issues of public policy. We are strong advocates for unrestricted funding, especially to build organisational resilience, since charities are best placed to decide how to use funding. After three years of very high demand, many also need to invest in their people, processes and systems but lack the funds to do so. Government, charities and business all have a role to play in promoting recovery, growth and social progress across the country.

2023 is going to be another enormously important year for all of us socially and economically – every one of us, and every community, has a vested interest in strengthening the resilience of charities across the UK and around the world.

Neil

This article first appeared in the CAF Charity Resilience Index, published by Charities Aid Foundation on 1 March 2023.