Business
Covid and the landscape of fundraising Nigel Carter explains how the pandemic has impacted the work of charities.
service delivery, finances, staff retention, or staff morale, from the months of frustration and uncertainty. Charities which are reliant on community fundraising and smaller local charities have been arguably hit the hardest. Smaller charities and local charities who previously may have lacked the infrastructure to deal with delivering services digitally have had to spend funds, most likely out of their reserves, to make sure that their service would be able to stay in operation throughout the pandemic, and unfortunately the pandemic has seen many charities fold.
Fundraising has always been an essential part of a charity’s income. Some charities rely solely on fundraising while for others it’s a smaller piece of a wider income stream. No matter how heavily a charity relies on fundraising, its importance remains critical to its financial security, as well as its ability to achieve goals – whether they be research, support, or awareness. Businesses have had to overcome an incredible series of financial and logistical challenges over the last two years. These have also been felt by charities, particularly in how they approach fundraising.
Nigel Carter is the CEO of the Oral Health Foundation.
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Less disposable income for individuals and corporates has led to reduced donations while the practicalities of managing a highly transmittable virus has forced charities to abandon their traditional avenues of fundraising and service offering. During this time, a new approach to fundraising has been essential for charities, not only to survive, but to thrive. As we come out of the many restrictions placed upon us over the pandemic, and as business income starts to recover, we will emerge with a different fundraising landscape that embraces traditional forms with exciting new innovations led by an ever-important digital world. Charity commission research has shown us that most charities (60 per cent) saw a loss of income, and a third said they experienced a shortage of volunteers. The research also shows that over 90 per cent have experienced some negative impact from Covid-19 – whether that’s on
It’s not just small charities which have been forced to adapt – we have also had to make sure our services can be delivered completely online. For the last two years our awareness campaigns, like National Smile Month and Mouth Cancer Action Month, have been entirely digital. Both campaigns have a long history of delivering support, education and resources in person through community events and activities. During the pandemic, this has simply not been possible for either us or our volunteers. Changing the way we deliver campaigns has reduced the amount of direct face-to-face support we are able to provide. There are many positives switching to digital, however, we cannot escape the fact that it excludes some people from accessing vital information. These are often people more at risk of oral disease, such as the elderly or those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Covid also changed the scope of grant funding dramatically. With help from government grants, we have seen so many trusts and community funds offer extra support and grants for charitable organisations which helped people directly affected by coronavirus. This came as much needed support to nonprofit organisations who rely heavily on raised donations to operate. They helped fill a gap when the industry wasn’t sure how digital fundraising would develop.
DentalInsider 21/04/2022 10:13
