NCVO Road Ahead Report – what will charities face in 2022?
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has recently published its Road Ahead report for 2022, in which it has analysed the biggest trends, opportunities, and events that will impact charities and volunteering in the year ahead. Buckle up – we’ve read it, so you don’t have to, but there are some things we all need to take note of.
We have all seen our household bills slowly creeping up, and we’re all waiting for the dreaded hike in our gas and electricity costs. These pressures are set to deepen existing economic inequalities and increase the demand for the charity sector. At a time where charities are already struggling, they face a rise in people around the UK in dire need of their help.
However, the problem is twofold. With rising prices, higher bills, and inflation putting pressure on household finances, this is also likely to result in fewer people donating to charity. It risks regular donors being unable to afford to give, and it is likely that a regular monthly donation will be the first thing to go as people look to reduce their spending to afford the basics. While the Charities Aid Foundation reported that more people donated money to charity in 2020 than in 2019, this figure then dropped from the end of 2020 and into 2021. The NCVO predicts that this will continue to drop into 2022, meaning charities will have even less funding to cope.
Lower-income families are set to be hit the hardest as wages and benefits won’t be rising fast enough to meet these new costs. It will also impact on charities, who will see increased costs to pay staff, run premises, and deliver services.
The NCVO report also outlines the increase in cashless giving. Pre-pandemic, around half of the donations to charity were made in cash; this dropped to fewer than 1 in 10 in summer 2020. It didn’t stop people from giving though, as they moved to give through websites and apps, or with their debit cards.
Digital and cashless giving are offering charities the opportunity to influence donor behaviour and maximise their donated income. The NCVO has also said that offering donations through a website or an app will attract younger donors and that social media is an important source of income.
In a time where bills are rising at an alarming rate and charities need donations to continue providing their services, Toucan allows regular donors the opportunity to give as and when they can, rather than being tied to regular donations on a monthly basis. With Toucan, you can share all the good you’re doing from the app directly onto your social media accounts so your friends and family can see.
Read the full Road Ahead 2022 report here.
