St John Ambulance lost nearly 4,000 volunteers between 2021 and 2022 and recorded a net deficit of £3.7m, according to its accounts.
Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 show that the charity had 44,385 volunteers last year compared with 48,120 at the end of 2021.
The charity’s total income grew by £5.9m to £119.9m, despite revenues from Covid-19 support activity falling by £13.6m.
However, its net deficit for the year was £3.7m, compared to a £10.5m net surplus in 2021.
Fall in volunteer numbers
The charity said it “put a significant focus” on volunteer recruitment during the year under review, “both as part of the offer for vaccination volunteers to transition into wider St John roles and for the wider public”.
Despite this, its volunteer numbers reduced by 3,735 between 2021 and 2022.
“We know that for all the progress we have made, some of our basic processes, for example recruitment, can still be and feel incredibly clunky. For good reasons over many years we have overcomplicated processes, inadvertently creating barriers to people joining and staying with St John. In addition, for the over 4,000 people who joined the charity to volunteer in 2022, a comparable number decided to leave,” the accounts say.
“Outside of the major national events we were humbled to support in 2022, we also discovered later in the year that a high proportion of our existing volunteers were less active than they had been pre-pandemic and a proportion had not yet re-engaged. There are many factors at play here – from personal life choices to the type of opportunities available to wider experiences locally. However, we are committed to putting this right in 2023 as we begin our journey to what we want to be, in time, a sector-leading volunteering experience.”
£3.7m deficit
Total income rose to £119.9m last year, up from £114.0m in 2021, against expenditure of £120.2m (2021: £106.5m).
The increase in income was partially driven by higher revenues from first aid provision and youth development, as well as first aid training, which rose from £3.7m to £7.1m and £40m to £52m respectively.
Voluntary income was up by 12%, to £17.2m (2021: £15.3m), “reflecting increased gifts in the form of legacies, where income doubled”.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 support activity fell by £13.6m to £3.5m.
“The overall net expenditure for the year is £3.7m compared to a £10.5m net surplus in 2021, with the result affected by losses on the investment portfolio of £3.4m. 2022 saw a reduction in our support for the NHS Covid vaccination programme. More positively, our first aid training revenue exceeded 2019 levels after being severely impacted by the Covid pandemic and our ambulance and transport services work to support the NHS remained an important part of our charitable activity,” the accounts read.
“Reductions in Covid support activity were outweighed by increased income from first aid training, legacy income and first aid provision at public events. Training and first aid provision returned to pre-pandemic levels.”
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