It is no exaggeration to say that the impact of the coronavirus on the income of charities has been devastating. The sector’s umbrella bodies and others have been conducting regular research into the current and projected effects of the lockdown and ongoing social distancing measures on charities’ budgets, and the picture is grim. Here are a few snapshots:

• Between 23 March and 12 May, 84% of charities reported a decrease in their income (survey by Chartered Institute of Fundraising (IoF), NCVO, CFG and PwC).
• Charities are expecting an average cut of 24% to their income for the year – a £12.4bn loss across the sector (IoF survey above).
• Some 95% of charities said they expected Covid-19 to reduce their income over the coming six months relative to previous plans. One in 10 expected their income to be down on budget by more than 75% (survey by Pro Bono Economics).
• Over half of 4,827 Scottish charities (51%) surveyed in May had lost income from fundraising (survey by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator).
• Cancer Research UK, the UK’s highest-earning fundraising charity, anticipates a £300m drop in income over three years.
• In May 2020, the number of people who said they had given to charity in the previous three months was at its lowest level since polling began in 2011, at 60%. This compared with 69% in January 2020 (nfpSynergy survey of 1,000 people).

What’s more, this is all happening against a backdrop of falling public donations even before the pandemic struck. The annual UK Giving Survey of 2019 by Charities Aid Foundation showed that the key measures of giving are declining; for the third year in a row, significantly fewer people said they were giving to charity.