Most UK charities have seen demand for their services increase “a lot” over the past year while many are facing increased competition for funding, according to a survey of sector leaders.
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) surveyed 784 charity leaders and 86% said that their charities had recorded increased demand for their services over the last 12 months, with 54% of those reporting that it had risen by “a lot”.
This marked an increase from 43% in 2023 when a similar survey was conducted.
Meanwhile, 18% of charity leaders said they do not feel confident that they have the funding necessary to continue their operations by the end of the decade.
Demand outstripping funding available
Despite improvements to the UK economy over the last year, the survey also found that 28% of charity leaders felt uncertain that their organisation would be able to meet the rising demand.
The challenge is exacerbated by increased competition for funding, with half of the leaders surveyed citing this as one of the main problems facing their organisations.
This uncertainty over funding also appears to be forcing charities to change how they operate, with 30% of leaders reporting that they had either reduced the size of their workforce or were planning to do so.
Charity leaders that were most likely to say that demand for their services had increased “a lot” were those running poverty-relief organisations (67%).
This was followed by human rights/equality and diversity charities (66%), and others helping those in need (55%), which encompasses essential services including food banks, debt advice, and domestic abuse support.
One anonymous chief executive of a human rights charity in the north of England reportedly told CAF: “We’re not even meeting the demand that exists now and we’ve got 70 people on our waiting list for counselling.”
‘New government needs to introduce national philanthropy and giving strategy’
Ashling Cashmore, head of impact and advisory at CAF, said: “While the worst effects of inflation may have subsided, charities are still having to do much more with less.
“They are dealing with ever-increasing demand which is only expected to rise as we head into winter – yet their income is not keeping up and there is less funding to go around.
“We need to work together to create a stable environment for our hard-working charities and those they support.
“The new government has said it wants to reset its relationship with civil society and an important next step would be to introduce a national strategy for philanthropy and charitable giving to make sure charities receive the support they desperately need.”
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