Rising fuel, energy and wage costs are pushing Wiltshire charities into financial difficulty, with some reducing services, considering redundancies or closing altogether, according to a voluntary sector organisation.
Wessex Community Action said mounting financial pressures are threatening charities across the county, following the recent closures of Carers Support Wiltshire, Relationships Wessex and Home-Start South Wiltshire.
Neil Cotton, Director of Partnerships at Wessex Community Action (WCA), said other organisations including We Hear You, Wiltshire Mind and Dorothy House have launched emergency fundraising appeals in recent months.
“It’s both concerning and alarming that three charities operating in Wiltshire have permanently closed so far this year and others are making contingencies to maintain their services at a time when demand for those services is rising,” he said.
“All three of the charities who closed cited financial pressures, in particular the challenge of securing sufficient funding to operate, a challenge we have consistently heard is being faced by voluntary and community sector leaders.”
Dorothy House highlighted rising employers’ National Insurance contributions and other increased costs earlier this year, saying the cost of running the hospice had risen from £46,000 a day three years ago to £52,000 a day.
Age UK Wiltshire CEO Sarah Cardy said the charity, which employs 90 staff and works with 200 volunteers across Wiltshire, Swindon and Southampton, has also been hit by increasing fuel costs.
“We’re having to find at least £150 a week extra in fuel costs and we have had to end being part of the Real Living Wage initiative because that would have cost us an extra £90,000 that we cannot afford,” she said.
“We had to go with a two per cent rise, which isn’t much when the cost of living is more than that. When you have staff and volunteers who are on lower wages, they might start to think ‘can I afford to come into the office? Can I afford to volunteer?’ That has a big effect on our service.”
She said charity closures were increasing pressure on organisations still operating, while competition for shrinking funding pots was intensifying.
“There’s more competition for the same pots of money, so some funders close their books because they’ve got so many people coming to them and then it’s harder to raise money,” she said.
“I can see the strain on colleagues in other charitable organisations, you can see burnout and people are exhausted by it really, because it is so hard.”
A WCA poll carried out in January and February among 21 organisations found a third described their financial position as “poor”. Two said it was “quite unlikely” they would still be operating this time next year, while one said it was “very unlikely”.
Half of respondents said they had reduced services in the previous six months because of financial pressures, seven had left vacant posts unfilled and four were considering redundancies.
WCA said it has been lobbying Wiltshire Council and the NHS for improved funding arrangements and closer partnership working with voluntary organisations.
The organisation is also calling for longer-term grants that take inflation into account to help charities plan more effectively.
“We’re calling on all funders to award grants that cover more than one year to allow charities to plan for the future and focus on delivery and ensure grants cover the full costs for delivering the work they support,” said Neil.
WCA is also relaunching a charity leaders’ breakfast network and offering additional “fit for funding” support for groups across the county.
Find out more about WCA’s support for charities, groups and volunteers at wessexcommunityaction.org
Pictured: Age UK Wiltshire is one of the charities under pressure from rising costs, says its CEO SarahCardy
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