It is widely understood that the Cost of Living crisis is affecting individuals, families and communities. For the charities supporting those most in need, times are equally hard. The Company decided to do something to support its charities, by providing ‘uplift’ grants to all current grant holders.
As millions of people struggle to put food on the table, they often turn to local charities as a way of feeding their families or getting the vital support they need. But charities are struggling too, with organisations facing increased costs, relating to staffing, utilities, operations and service delivery. 82% of charity leaders are worried about the cost of utilities, and 71% are concerned about managing an increase in demand for their services. For charities with long-term grants, designed to cover specific grants over a number of years, many projected costs are now unrealistic for many, with some far exceeding original budgets. This is combined with a reduction in fundraising income: in September 2022, driven by the increasing cost of living, 6% of people reduced or stopped a regular payment to charity and 9% chose not to make a one-off donation - equivalent to around 4.9 million people. Uplift grants are being seen as a key response to these issue, and many funders have used them as a way of responding to the cost of living crisis. Uplifts can go some way to help mitigate the pressure created by increased costs. Earlier this year the Company decided to join this response, by offering uplift grants to all major and small grant holders. Major grant holders (who each received £50,000) were provided with an uplift grant of 10%. Small grant holders (who each received up to £3,000) were provided with an uplift grant of 20%.
In total an additional £25,000 was awarded across all major and small grant holders in May 2023. There was also sufficient budget to provide an uplift grant of £1,000 each to the Company’s church patronages.
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