One in eight UK adults have been supported by charities since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, research has revealed.
Of those who have received support, nearly four million said they never expected to need help and three quarters of those helped have been dependent on regular support since the health crisis began in March 2020.
The findings have emerged in research commissioned by the insurance and savings industry’s Covid-19 Support Fund.
As many as two in five (39%) of people believe they expect to need charity support for at least another six months.
Young adults and those in London are among the most likely to use charity services. In London almost all (95%) those in receipt of charity support say they are dependent on the help they receive.
The largest areas of support are mental health, food and employment. Two in five 35-54-year-olds have needed mental health support from a charity.
“This research paints a worrying picture of how dependent people across the UK have been on charity support since the beginning of this crisis,” said
Yvonne Braun, executive lead at the Association of British Insurers for the Covid-19 Support Fund.
“The support people have needed hasn’t been a one-off, instead many have required regular help from these organisations. And many people would have suffered more without the help that many charities have provided them with this year. It is also clear that without charities, the emotional impact of not having any support could have worsened this crisis even more.”
Earlier this month the Covid-19 Support fund announced £7.8m in funding for Action for Children and Carers Trust to boost support for young carers.
The Charity Governance Code has been updated to give a greater emphasis to charities’ responsibility to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
The revised code includes a specific EDI principle and has been written following consultation with the charity sector and advice from independent EDI consultant Pari Dhillon.
Four stages of practice are recommended for charities on their “EDI journey”.
The NCVO has updated its guidance for charities around the recruitment and management of volunteers under local restrictions in England that came into force this month.
On December 2, an England wide Covid-19 lockdown was replaced with tiered local restrictions.
Tier one is the least restrictive, and currently applies to Cornwall and the Isle of Wight. Meanwhile, tier three is the most restrictive and applies to areas in the Midlands and North West among others.
To help charities to engage and support their volunteers under the new restrictions the NCVO’s free to view Knowhow page on Involving Volunteers has been updated.
“Under the local tiered restrictions, in all tiers people can volunteer outside their home and meet in groups of any size – indoors and outdoors whilst volunteering,” it states.
However, in all tiers charities are encouraged to ask volunteers to volunteer from home if they can. Volunteering outside of their home is permitted in all tiers if they cannot volunteer from home or do not need to self isolate.
But in tier 3 areas “if your workplace has been told to close, you will be unable to volunteer there”.
The guidance also references latest social distancing guidelines in all areas, including washing hands and wearing a face covering indoors.
“As part of your duty of care to your volunteers, volunteer involving organisations should undertake a covid-19 risk assessment about the volunteer activities and share the results with the people who are volunteering with them,” the guidance adds.
A raft of charities have teamed up for a digital fundraising campaign urging the public to donate “digital pennies” when they spend online.
National Emergencies Trust, CLIC Sargent and Blue Cross are among charities to partner with the Roundups app, to launch the #RoundupsPennyAppeal campaign ahead of Christmas.
The app works by linking up to payment cards and rounding up payments to make donations to a chosen charity. This can be for as little as 10p and a weekly cap can be set. The app also allows donors the chance to track how their donations are being spent.
To promote the appeal representatives from more than 20 charities have taken part in a video to encourage people to use the app.
Third Sector speaks to organisations about their Christmas campaigns. How can collaborative fundraising help your organisation this Christmas. Read more here.
The Third Sector Digital Fundraising Forum, powered by Third Sector, is a free-to-attend, two, half-day exclusive event taking place on 15 & 16 December.
A Third Sector forum consists of two elements: Dedicated 1-2-1 meetings with suppliers and providers to create the contacts and gather the tools necessary to make your plan a reality and content sessions designed to inspire and encourage you to make the next step in your organisation’s growth and development.
We will deliver a packed programme of educational and motivational content sessions and networking opportunities with not only like-minded individuals, but potential avenues to expand your digital fundraising capabilities.
A group of influential Conservative parliamentarians has called for the minister for civil society to be “upgraded” to a new minister for volunteering, according to a new report on the lessons learned from the first national lockdown.
The report, called Connecting Communities, was undertaken by the One Nation Conservatives parliamentary group of about 100 current and former Tory MPs and peers, including Amber Rudd, the former home secretary, and Nicky Morgan, the former education secretary.
The report drew on evidence from constituency surveys, national data, and case studies to highlight what could be learned from the first Covid-19 restrictions between March and July this year.
Key findings included that 97 per cent of first-time volunteers would do so again, and the experience had a positive impact that made respondents feel more connected to their communities.
Charities are being asked to express their interest in a new £46m scheme to help provide more effective and co-ordinated support for some of the most vulnerable people in society.
The Changing Futures programme was launched last week by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
It aims to deliver improvements at individual, service and system level.
For more information on this Third Sector article please click here.
The Southchurch Project has now launched The Wire, a newsletter sharing updates on initiatives and news from the organisation. This newsletter will be published each season, with extra editions for specific events & issues affecting Southchurch.