Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales have launched a new summary briefing “Small and Medium-Sized Charities after the Crash – what happened and why it matters”. The briefing brings together two pieces of independent research commissioned by the Foundation - NCVO’s “Navigating Change: An analysis of financial trends for small and medium-sized charities” and IPPR North’s “Too Small to Fail: How small and medium sized charities are adapting to change and challenges”.
The research illustrates the critical role that small and medium-sized charities play in tackling disadvantage which makes them essential in delivering the Government’s ‘assault on poverty’. Yet it also shows that these charities that have been hardest hit by the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. If they are to receive the support they need to reach those most at risk, the Foundation believes that a change to their funding is needed and so are calling on government and funders to
- Take steps to reduce the volatility of small and medium sized charities’ income
- Support charities to build their capacity
- Reform commissioning to ensure resources can reach small and medium-sized charities
The research and summary briefing can be found here. You can read more about what this means for charities and what the Foundation are doing about it in their blog. The researchers from NCVO and IPPR North have also written blogs about their reports.