Charities facing uncertain future, finds Kreston Charities Report 2023

With Britain in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and a bleak economic outlook, charities are starting to feel the pinch. Whether it’s decreasing funding as donors grapple with their own soaring costs, an increase in demand or recruitment challenges, there is no doubt that charities face an uncertain future.

All of this comes not long after the Covid-19 pandemic, which had a monumental impact on the charitable sector, seeing an increase in demand for services and a big impact on mental health.

Every year, Kreston Reeves and the Kreston UK Charity Group which represents more than 2,000 charities, seeks the views of charities. This year, over 50 UK charities contributed to our report, exploring and explaining how they plan to deal with relevant issues such as cyber security, diversity and the climate crisis.

Here are the report’s top 10 findings:

1. 1. Recruitment has become more challenging for charities since the pandemic in 2020.
2. 2. 78% of charities had not increased pay by at least the rate of inflation at the time of the survey.
3. 3. 84% of charities have seen costs, excluding salaries, increase by at least 5% in the last year. 46% have seen costs rise by over 10%.
4. 4. 73% said their financial reserves are sufficient to cover future development plans and contingencies for increased costs or reduced income.
5. 5. Collaboration between charities and public sector organisations has increased since the pandemic.
6. 6. The majority of charities surveyed are concerned about a lack of diversity among the board of trustees.
7. 7. 82% of charities said their beneficiaries are more affected by mental health issues than they were before the pandemic/cost of living crisis.
8. 8. 76% of charities surveyed felt the charity sector as a whole is more valued by the general public than it was pre-Covid pandemic in 2019.
9. 9. 85% are satisfied that their charity has reasonable and proportionate cyber security measures in place to protect it, but only 56% have cyber insurance cover in place.
10. 10. Most charities are now addressing environmental matters but 72% do not report on environmental impact.

A full copy of the Charities report can be downloaded below.

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