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UK charities maintained or increased income during pandemic

A new study has revealed that the charity sector have continued to received public support during the pandemic.

The pandemic and ensuing lockdowns have hit the UK economy hard, but new research suggests that the public has remained supportive when donating money to charity. 

Although the last two years have been a time of restricted opportunities, many of the charities surveyed by fundraising platform Enthuse revealed 61 per cent had maintained or increased income since the pandemic began. 

“Charities have had to work incredibly hard during the last 20 months to try and bridge the gaps in their income and have continually had to pivot fundraising to ensure it is both safe and viable for their supporters. This has been a uniquely challenging time’, said Chester Mojay Sinclare, CEO and founder of Enthuse.

“The sector’s natural optimism has shone through and morale has remained high. I’ve also been struck by how the sector is taking the few positives the pandemic has brought and is building those into future fundraising for example the accelerated development of virtual events and digital transformation,” he said. 

Focusing on the last 18 months, the report looked into how the pandemic had an impact on UK based charities, receiving responses from more than 200 in total. Each of the charities were surveyed in November and December of 2021.

A majority said they saw the shift to digital fundraising as “an opportunity for 2022.” This was in spite of the fact that only 12 per cent of them initially considered themselves to be “digital first.”

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The report reveals that most charities hosted virtual fundraising events, campaigns and activities during the pandemic  even though nearly half of the 204 charities had no in-house digital capabilities and considered themselves to be either “ad hoc” or “starting out” in terms of online fundraising.

Switching to online content is also suggested to have led to an increase in support from a younger demographic. Almost two-thirds  of the charities said they are planning to continue holding virtual events in the next year. 

Four out of the five charities spoken said that they are feeling “fairly” or “very” optimistic about the year ahead. 

With support and income growth coming from all areas and after a difficult two years, the sector as a whole thinks it has turned the corner. 

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