Cambridgeshire Cost of Giving. Be an activist Presentation from 2023 CCVS AGM

2. “With costs climbing,
funding falling and
demand increasing, this is
not just a cost of living
crisis.
For charities, this is a Cost
of Giving Crisis.”

3. A staggering 85% of charities
predict that this winter will be as
tough, or even tougher, than the
last. And as many as 27% said they
already believe they won’t be able
to meet the increasing demand for
their services.
If they don’t get the urgent
support they need, 1 in 5 five
charities say they could be
forced to ‘disappear’ this
winter, leaving the people and
communities they serve at risk.

4. Is next year going to be
better than last year?
43%
14%
43%
59%
10%
32%
Yes No Don't know
Is next year going to be better than
last year?
2023 results 2022 results
There has been a marked drop in optimism in the
last year, with only 43% of groups believing the
next year will be better than the last.
We are also seeing more groups who are uncertain
and this probably reflects that there is little clarity
about when the current crisis might ease.
Those organisations with an income below £10K are
more optimistic (with 66% saying next year will be
better). This may indicate that optimism is closely
related to the ability to find the money needed to
deliver services but may reflect the wider
recognition of a bigger picture that larger groups
have.
Support Cambridgeshire annual survey
2023
4

5. Nottingham Trent University Barometer Survey

6. Barriers
52%
25%
18%
31%
17%
8%
21%
33%
29%
27%
42%
36%
35%
29%
11%
19%
34%
20%
38%
45%
29%
4%
27%
21%
6%
8%
12%
21%
Lack of funding
Difficulty recruiting staff
Difficulty recruiting trustees
Difficulty recruiting volunteers
Difficulty retaining volunteers
Lack of digital skills or
equipment for your staff
Lack of digital skills or
equipment for your client group
Big issue Small issue No issue Not applicable
The principle barriers facing groups are
the lack of funding and their difficulty in
recruiting volunteers. The size of the
organisation by income shows
differences with the larger ones being
more worried about funding and the
smaller ones more worried about
recruiting volunteers.
In the comments the main issues
continue to be about money and
volunteering, especially the lack of core
funds and the number of older
volunteers who are not being replaced
when they move on.
Support Cambridgeshire annual survey
2023
6
Did respondents think these things were barriers to their groups work?

7. The barometer survey highlights real
issues for the paid workforce, and whilst
nationally this is growing quicker than in
the private sector, we know locally many
organisations are struggling to recruit.
The research indicated that nationally
30% of charities were reporting
increased levels of burn out and 25%
were seeing higher sickness absence.

9. CCVS and our partners are here to help
• Help with Funding.
We can offer advice on how to diversify your income. We can help with funding applications by acting as a critical friend. You can visit
Support Cambridgeshire 4 Community to find both local and national funders.
https://funding.idoxopen4community.co.uk/supportcambs
• Help with volunteering.
Volunteer Cambs – visit the new website developed to help recruit and manage volunteers. https://www.volunteercambs.org.uk/
We can help you to improve how you manage and recruit volunteers through training, one to one support and networks.
• General help and support.
Have a look at our extensive training offer https://supportcambridgeshire.org.uk/training/whats-on/
Come along to one of our network events to get hints and tips and learn from other organisations.
https://supportcambridgeshire.org.uk/relationships/
Individual support and advice. Contact us and we can help with issues and problems, even if we don’t know the answer we probably
know who best to ask to get the help you need. enquiries@cambridgecvs.org.uk