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Our weekly survey is designed to take the temperature of the civil society sector as the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold, monitoring the pressures being faced by charities and voluntary organisations across the country and understanding how the picture is changing over time. Over the course of 16 & 17 June 2020, a total of 184 respondents filled in the survey.

• Nine-in-ten charities (90 per cent) said they expected COVID-19 to have a negative impact on their ability to meet their objectives over the next six months, with four-in-ten (39 per cent) saying they expected it to be a “large” negative impact. 7 per cent said they thought it would have a positive impact.
• Half (49 per cent) said their level of concern about COVID-19’s impact on their ability to deliver was broadly unchanged over the past seven days. Two-in-five (40 per cent) said their concern had increased, and one-in-ten (10 per cent) said their expectations had improved over the previous seven days.
• Nine-in-ten charities (92 per cent) said they expected COVID-19 to reduce their income over the coming six months relative to pre-crisis plans. Two-in-five (40 per cent) expected a reduction of up to 25 per cent and one-in-three (34 per cent) thought their income would be 25 per cent to 50 per cent lower. Nearly one-in-five (18 per cent) thought the drop would be more than 50 per cent.
• Three quarters (74 per cent) said they expected to see an increase in demand for their services over the next six months, compared to pre-crisis expectations. Two-in-five (40 per cent) expected to see an increase of up to 25 per cent; 17 per cent expect an increase of 25 per cent to 50 per cent; and 17 per cent expect to see more than a 50 per cent increase in demand for their services. Meanwhile, one-in-seven (14 per cent) said they expected to see a fall in demand for services.
• Approaching two-in-five charities (37 per cent) said the single biggest issue they were facing was the impact of social distancing on their ability to deliver services. For the second week in a row, the second most cited issue was the uncertainty COVID-19 is creating on planning for the future, with 29 per cent of charities reporting this as the biggest negative impact. 27 per cent said the biggest impact was on their ability to fundraise.
• Nearly all (96 per cent) of the respondents said they’d taken some form of action in response to the financial challenges raised by the crisis. The most cited response was the furloughing of staff and use of the government’s Job Retention Scheme, with 63 per cent saying they’d done this. Reducing activity in a “significant” way was the second most common action, with 58 per cent of charities doing this. 49 per cent said they had sought funder flexibility on their spending plans, project delivery and reporting requirements and 49 per cent had also applied for non-government COVID-19 emergency funding. 45 per cent had drawn down on financial reserves.
• 40 per cent said they have applied for emergency funding from the government’s support package.
• When asked to rate the sufficiency of the government’s financial support for civil society in the face of COVID-19 (where 1 = entirely insufficient and 10 = entirely sufficient), the average score across all respondents was 4.2. Three-quarters (73 per cent) scored the response at five or below, with two-in-five (43 per cent) scoring it 1-3 and one-in-ten (10 per cent) scoring it 8-10.
• Three quarters (76 per cent) charities said they thought it was “unlikely” that the financial challenge associated with COVID-19 would cause their organisation to stop operating altogether in six months’ time. However, one-in-ten (11 per cent) said they thought it was “likely” that they would cease operating – though only 1 per cent said it was “very” likely.

Due to the smaller sample size we received this week we have not separated responses by charity size.

Commenting on the findings Anoushka Kenley, Research & Policy Director of Pro Bono Economics, said:

“After two months of weekly surveys, one observation really stands out—little has changed for charities. Each week of our survey, most are just as worried about the impact of covid-19 as they were the week before. Nine-in-ten charities have consistently told us they expect their income to decline as a result of covid-19. One-in-ten still think it’s likely they will face closure within six months.

“This could be a week of change for some organisations, as charity shops re-open and the easing of physical distancing raises the prospect of returning to more traditional means of service delivery. But that picture is likely to look very different for different organisations.

“As time has gone by, so concerns about what happens once the immediate health crisis eases have risen up the agenda. Difficulties with planning for the future remain the second most pressing issue for charities right now, and many organisations have told us that they are worried about what the funding backdrop will look like in 2021.”

With the sample size having fallen over recent weeks and there being little evidence of any big changes in responses from week-to-week, we have decided to switch from a weekly tracker to a monthly one. Our next survey will therefore run in mid-July.

Figure 1:    How do you expect COVID-19 to affect your charity’s ability to deliver on its objectives in the next six months?

Notes:    16/17 June = 184 responses. Past weeks: 231, 261, 323, 196, 406, 126, 433 responses respectively.

Source:  Charity responses to PBE & Civil Society Media survey.

Figure 2:    How has your level of concern about COVID-19’s impact on your charity’s ability to deliver on its objectives changed over the last seven days?

Notes:    16/17 June = 184 responses. Past weeks: 231, 261, 323, 196, 406, 126, 433 responses respectively.

Source:  Charity responses to PBE & Civil Society Media survey.

Figure 3:    What is the current single biggest negative impact of COVID-19 on your charity’s ability to deliver on its objectives? 16-17 June

Notes:    184 responses.

Source:  Charity responses to PBE & Civil Society Media survey.

Figure 4:    What actions have you taken in response to any financial challenges that COVID-19 have presented to your organisation? 16-17 June

Notes:    184 responses. Respondents were asked to tick all options that applied.

Source:  Charity responses to PBE & Civil Society Media survey

Figure 5:    What impact do you expect COVID-19 to have on your organisation’s income over the next six months relative to your pre-crisis expectations?

Notes:    16/17 June = 184 responses. Past weeks: 231, 261, 323, 196 responses respectively.

Source:  Charity responses to PBE & Civil Society Media survey.

 

Figure 6:    Roughly what impact do you expect COVID-19 to have on demand for your organisation’s services in the next six months relative to your pre-crisis expectations?

Notes:    184 responses.

Source:  Charity responses to PBE & Civil Society Media survey.

Figure 7:    How likely is it that the financial challenges raised by COVID-19 will mean your organisation will no longer be operating in six months’ time? 16-17 June

Notes:    16/17 June = 184 responses. Past weeks: 231, 261, 323, 196, 406 responses respectively.

Source:  Charity responses to PBE & Civil Society Media survey.

Figure 8:    On a scale of 1-10 (1=“entirely insufficient”; 10=“entirely sufficient”) how would you score the COVID-19 financial help being provided to civil society by govt? 16-17 June

Notes:    184 responses.

Source:  Charity responses to PBE & Civil Society Media survey.

 

Figure 9:    Add your comment on what COVID-19 means to your organisation and what more the government, funders or others could be doing to support you: 16-17 June (selection)

Notes:    184 responses.

Source:  Charity responses to PBE & Civil Society Media survey.