As a result of changed behaviour during the pandemic, these organisations are having to deal with a variety of hardships, including fewer volunteers, donations, and reduced opportunity to raise sufficient capital.

Specifically, charities have been hurt by the reduction of street collections as less people are venturing to high-streets and city centres.

Restrictions have also created uncertainty around physical events, resulting in businesses being more cautious with their fundraising and holding fewer functions in aid of charity.

A report published by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising stated that one in five charities reduced its spend in 2021; with 54% of charities expected not to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels of fundraising events.

A lack of large fundraising events has had a significant impact on the industry and poses a real threat to efforts moving forward. This may mean that the whole landscape of charity fundraising must change to keep up with the required donations needed to stay operational.

Furthermore, a shocking 53% of charities reported a decrease in donations since the outbreak of COVID-19, according to the Charities Aid Foundation.

While this is a scary statistic, 49% of charities have stated that they have sought or received some form of emergency funding during the peak of the pandemic throughout 2020/21.

If your charity is one of those struggling, there are a few options for you to consider.

Grants and Funding Options for Charities

1. Government Funding

Despite a lot of government support initially being offered during the pandemic, many of the deadlines for these grants are now closed.

However, there are still some industry specific funding options available, so it’s worth taking a look at their financial support page to see if any of the help still on offer is applicable to you.

2. National Emergency Trust (NET)

NET created a scheme in March 2020 to help gather funds for local charities that have been affected by COVID-19.

Grants are distributed through a network of local community foundations and can be as large as £307K.

To apply for a grant from NET for your charity, you’ll need to apply directly to your local community foundation. To find the options available to you, visit the Community Foundations website.

3. The Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund

Through this scheme, social lenders can provide emergency loans to charities and social enterprises. This fund is part of a £100m support package provided by Big Society Capital. It provides loans of between £100k - £1.5m to UK charities and social enterprises to help them to survive, recover and grow.

Find out more information about this funding here. The deadline to apply for this fund is 11:59pm on Friday 20th May 2022, and applications will be reviewed on a first-come-first-served basis.

4. The Yapp Charitable Trust

You could be eligible to receive a grant through the Yapp Charitable Trust if you run a small charity with a total expenditure of less than £40,000 per year. This grant aims to help support core operational cost and staffing and offers charities in need up to £3,000. You can visit their website to apply, but it’s worth noting that it may take up to five months for a decision to be reached.

5. Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust

Through their Ann Rylands Small Donations programme, the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust is offering grants of up to £1,500 to smaller charities that support older people, people with disabilities, and those facing hardship in their lives. Find out more by visiting the trust’s website.

6. Volant Charitable Trust

If your charity aims to help with social deprivation and seeks to offer aid to vulnerable groups that have been impacted by COVID-19, you could be eligible to get funding from the Volant Charitable Trust’s COVID-19 Response Fund. Visit the trust’s website to find out more information about this grant.

7. National Lottery Funds

Whether you’re located in England, Ireland or Scotland, you could be eligible to get charity funding from the National Lottery Awards. This initiative offers grants of £300 - £10,000 to voluntary community foundations.

The National Lottery Community Fund also continues to support organisations that have been affected by the pandemic. Find out more information here.

Charity tax relief

Charities have access to tax reliefs that are not accessible to normal businesses.

To benefit from tax relief, your charity must be recognised by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). You can apply for recognition on the government website.

To claim tax back for your charity, you can use Gift Aid. This is a scheme that allows charitable organisations to claim an extra 25p for every £1 that is donated to their cause.

Find out more about Gift Aid and how it works for charities here.

Fuel and Power Relief (VAT Notice 701/19)

You may be eligible for a reduced VAT rate on your energy bills. To find out if you meet the criteria, check out this page on the government website.

Additionally, business utilities are often overlooked as a way to save money, even though switching energy supplier can save you up to 62% on gas and electricity each year.

If it’s been a while since you looked into your business energy usage, Business Electricity Prices has helped organisations and charities all over the UK save money on their renewal, with many seeing average annual savings of up to £1,067.