As we know, the funding landscape for charities has been, and most likely always will be, challenging; however, kickstarting another funding snowball effect was the announcement of the decline in Sport England’s grant-making.
On its own, this announcement may not feel too overwhelming; however, this news has led to further declines, with the National Lottery and central government reporting a reduction of 20% in their grant-making.
At Beyond Profit, we have been delving further into the impact these announcements have on the charity sector as we also begin to see (and feel) disparity in grant distribution, the challenge of reporting and data, and ultimately, how you can continue to serve your community in the face of these challenges.
What we know
The latest charity data tells us:
- There has been a 13% decline in National Lottery grant-making
- There has been a 27% decline in central government funding
- Smaller grant makers are leading the way, distributing under £1 million annually
- Approximately 2,000 UK grant makers are providing an estimated £400 million annually in grants to individuals
- Forty-seven accredited community foundations have increased their grant-making by 6% (approximately £175 million) to support local initiatives.
What does this mean for charities?
Understanding the state of the sector allows us to see the silver lining and further opportunities amid the dominating headlines of funding reductions.
For example, the opportunities now available through innovative fundraising and collaborations with community foundations and those smaller UK grant makers.
Details of the most up-to-date community foundations and grant makers can be found in the links below:
Alongside these, charities can also tap into other innovative sources of funding and fundraising, including:
Social media – an extremely powerful tool to help you reach a much wider audience and share your story, social media is now also being used to promote fundraising initiatives. For example, individuals can now use their social media channels to set up fundraising for special events such as birthdays, urging their followers to donate to their chosen charity as a birthday present.
Crowdfunding – one of the most popular ways for charities to maximise their fundraising efforts is crowdfunding. Encouraging individuals to set up “Go Fund Me” or “Just Giving” pages to collect money for your charity.
Private donors – more and more people are looking to work with charities privately, donating money/gifts in their Will to a charity of their choice, or making one-off donations.
Corporate partnerships – today, many organisations and businesses want to promote their corporate social responsibility and support local initiatives, often choosing a “charity of the year” with all activities the organisation takes part in raising funds for the charity. For you, this is a great way to showcase the great work you do, increase support through volunteers, raise your profile, and boost your funding source.
Charity partnerships – sometimes working solo is great; however, working in partnership with another charity that shares your values, where there is great opportunity and shared benefit in working together to secure a grant or larger funding stream, is much better.
Keeping your books in order – at Beyond Profit, we can’t emphasise enough how important it is to keep your bookkeeping up to date and in order. Recording all donations, grants, and fundraising initiatives appropriately and understanding conditions that may be attached to these in certain circumstances is vital.
Make sure to check out our post on “Different types of Fundraising” for further details.
As we head into the last quarter of 2024…
As we start preparing and strategizing for 2025, there is still, of course, significant concern over key funding sources continually declining. However, we must take the positives and build our community reach, tapping into community foundations and smaller grant makers who want to be involved and show their support.
Working together and in collaborative partnerships as well as improving reporting and the availability of funding data so we can strengthen the overall impact and effectiveness that grant makers provide in the UK will all positively contribute to funding success.
For all of your finance related queries and for further information, advice, and support with day-to-day bookkeeping, end-of-year accounts, or even management accounts to Trustees, book a discovery call with the team at Beyond Profit today.
Helping charities to manage the finance minefield, we’re on hand to support you and answer your questions.
