Yorkshire charities in crisis as fundraising income dries up

The warnings from charity leaders are stark. Services remain in high demand and yet fundraising income is drying up. Measures introduced to curb the spread of coronavirus have seen charity shops closed, community fundraising events cancelled or postponed and supporter activities put on hold – and the resulting strain is being felt by voluntary organisations across the country. Some are facing imminent collapse, whilst many others have launched emergency appeals for cash as their vital work continues.

Yorkshire children’s hospice Martin House says it is facing a financial crisis. Clair Holdsworth, director of clinical services, says the charity is expecting to lose around £1.7m worth of fundraising income, though this could rise to as much as £7m if the current measures run on beyond the end of May. “That’s quite a significant chunk of the money we get and that’s not sustainable in the long run,” she says.

The hospice, which is based in Boston Spa and cares for babies, children and young people from across West, North and East Yorkshire, remains open for emergencies and end of life care and has launched a fundraising appeal to support it through the crisis. The team, says Clair, is also hoping for much-needed support from the Government, as “an integral part of the NHS and healthcare system”. “We appreciate there’s a part for us to play,” she says.

Barnsley Hospice has also launched an urgent appeal for funds to help keep its doors open. Chief executive Julie Ferry says it is already losing around £2,300 per day due to the Covid-19 crisis, leaving the charity “in a difficult position”. “There’s no other way around it, we need support and we need that quite urgently,” she says.

Like many organisations, it has furloughed a number of its staff. “We’re down to skeleton staff now apart from the inpatient unit, which has got a full clinical team,” Julie says. “But we’ve got staff off sick or self-isolating and we’ve had to redeploy nurses from the day therapy service into there. It’s quite challenging at the moment.”

Over in Leeds, Simon on the Streets is facing an uncertain future. Only last year, the charity, which supports homeless and vulnerable people throughout Leeds, Bradford and Kirklees, celebrated its 20th anniversary. Now, it could be in its final year – and it is appealing for monetary donations to help it survive.

“This is undoubtedly the most challenging period we’ve ever faced,” Louise Lapish, chair of trustees, says. “As an independent charity, we rely solely on fundraising events as well as our supporters and corporate sponsors to survive but nearly everything has had to be cancelled, which is really having an impact on our finances and how we work. Unfortunately, if things don’t improve soon, this could be our final year providing support to the homeless community and helping people get back on their feet when they often have nobody else to turn to.”

It is not just those charities that support humans which are struggling. The RSPCA Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford and District Branch says it is in urgent need of people to become regular givers or sign up to its lottery. Kath Airey, treasurer of the branch, which is a registered charity in its own right, says: “We need to care for the animals that are already resident and be able to accept animals coming in via the inspectorate, which are deemed to be in need of care or might have been abused. However, we have seen our income plummet.”

“We would like to think that we have been very careful with our funding and we have some reserves,” she adds. “But it can be quickly eaten into. Who knows what is going to happen in this uncertain time and how long this will go on for? That’s why we’re making a plea to the public.”

The Sick Children’s Trust, which supports families with seriously ill children in hospital with a place to stay, is also calling for support through an emergency appeal. Chief executive Jane Featherstone says the trust’s 10 ‘homes from home’, including in Leeds and Sheffield, enable parents to be by their child’s side during a period of helplessness. “The reality of the coronavirus is that they may not even be able to do that, to be there for their child in a time of need, unless people donate to keep our houses running.”

The charity has had to adapt its service, reducing capacity at its houses in order to meet social distancing guidelines. “We normally have playrooms, kitchens and communal areas within the houses,” explains Sam Haley, head of operations for the North. “We’ve had to close them off to avoid families congregating and offer a slightly more limited service so that we aren’t putting people at risk.”

Over in York, The Island children’s charity has also been affected. The charity, which provides mentoring sessions for nearly 170 vulnerable young people in the city, has temporarily closed its services. But with its families still in need of support, it has launched an appeal to raise £25,000 so it can deliver fortnightly hampers of food and household items, wellbeing resources and indoor activities, as well as operating a 24-hour phoneline for those at crisis point.

“There are families who are grateful and are in need,” explains CEO Nigel Poulton. “This will make a real difference, not just in terms of food and resources but also with keeping in contact and families knowing they can reach us if there’s any issues.”

Of course, it is not just the voluntary sector in Yorkshire that is feeling the impact of the coronavirus crisis. Last month, a survey of more than 500 charities by UK body the Institute of Fundraising found charities to be reporting a projected loss of 48 per cent to their voluntary income, with more than half already having reduced their services as a result of the outbreak.

It came just over a week after sector bodies estimated that charities will miss out on at least £4.3bn and called on the Government to provide emergency funding for charities on the frontline of the response to Covid-19, as well as a ‘stabilisation fund’ for all charities to help them to stay afloat and continue to operate.

During Prime Minister’s Questions last month, Boris Johnson said the Government was looking at “a package of measures” to support charities. And days later, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Oliver Dowden was looking at a “specific fund” to help, adding “we’ll be seeing more about this in the days to come”.

A spokesperson for the Government said: “Charities and volunteers have a vital role to play in the fight against coronavirus - and we recognise the pressures they are under.

“We continue to work closely with the charity sector to make sure help is directed where it is needed and to discuss how we can support further.”

As charities and supporters continue to warn under the message of #EveryDayCounts, any help cannot come quickly enough.

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