KEY FINDINGS:
Our survey reveals that almost one in five fear their organisation is struggling to survive, rising to more than one in four among charities with an annual income less than £1 million.
Rising demand and an increasingly tough financial environment may be pushing some organisations to breaking point. More than a third had to dip into their reserves last year to cover income shortfalls.
The research, carried out with ACEVO, reveals that charity leaders’ biggest challenges this year are generating more income and achieving financial sustainability, meeting demand for services and a reduction in public and government funding.
The overwhelming majority of charities saw an increase in demand for their services over the past 12 months while an ever greater number expect to see demand growing over the next 12 months.
However, charities are less confident than they were a year ago about their ability to meet it. Only one in seven chief executives said they were completely confident they would be able to cope with growing demand, while over a quarter had little or no confidence their organisation would be able to do so.