Charity News Review: November Edition

Chief Executive writes…

It seems a sign of the current period of economic turbulence that we are living through that Harold Wilson’s remark “a week is a long time in politics” now seems so dated… it should now surely read a day!

We await the Chancellor’s next Fiscal Statement later this month, but it is clear that there will be tough times ahead and we will continue to work with our fellow charity bodies within the Civil Society Group to continue to press the case for the charity sector with the new Government.

In the meantime, charities continue to look for ways to support their own staff experiencing financial difficulties through the current cost of living crisis. Later this month we will be publishing a short guide to some of the options in which employers can provide practical means of financial support – such as through their payroll system (e.g., one-off payments/loans) and flexed working conditions. At the same time, we will also consider some of the key issues around whether establishing hardship funds may be appropriate means of delivering specific financial assistance.

Moving forward, we are keen to identify how ACO members across the network are adapting to the challenges placed on both their organisation and the beneficiaries they support through the CoL crisis and we have put together a brief survey to try to capture this. We would be very grateful for your charity’s participation – this information will provide invaluable insights into the steps charities are currently making to modify (or not) their grant-making operation.