Credit crunch - December 2008

DIRECTOR’S BLOG
Andrew Beeforth’s Cumbria Life article
see also the website http://www.cumbrialife.co.uk

December 2008

I’m penning this article in a hotel room in Montreal on the eve of a major iternational conference for community foundations. Over 700 people from 30 countries are spending three days learning about how they can improve their grant making and maximize the funds they raise to support their communities.

I’m here courtesy of the conference hosts to share the expertise we developed responding to the Foot and Mouth outbreak and the 2005 floods in Cumbria. Last year we wrote a handbook setting out the role of community foundations in disaster response.

We are now all facing a new type of disaster, a global banking crisis and recession, so I’m going to reflect on what this means for local charities and how they might respond.

The simple fact is there will be less money to go round. Banks, businesses and charitable trusts will all see a drop in the money they have to give away. A back of the envelope calculation would suggest Cumbrian charities will have a reduction in £2m worth of grant funds. This is on top of a similar sum lost to Cumbrian charities last year.

At least one Cumbrian charity had over £200,000 on deposit with an Icelandic bank. The future of those deposits is not clear. These are hard won funds and not easily replaced.

Not only will there be less money to go round, but there will also be increased demands made on some charities. A downturn in the economy, job losses and house repossessions all contribute significantly to social problems leading to an increased need for charity services such as money and debt advice, domestic violence and drug and alcohol support.

As a funder we will need to be additionally vigilant when reviewing applications. We will be looking for sound business cases for activities and ensuring that there is no degree of duplication.

We will want to be confident that we are investing in organisations that are well run and that the money we give out makes a real difference.

This is a time for the treasurers of charities to sharpen their pencils and review their spreadsheets.

Groups should actively explore whether they could merge with another charity.

Trustees should take time to consider whether their activities are the best way of supporting the people they exist to help.

For those people who give regularly to charity, this is a time to continue to commit or if possible increase our giving to help provide for the increase in need. Sadly, as people’s own incomes are affected by the recession, our capacity to give to charity is reduced. However as Christmas approaches, we can consider spending our money in ways which support charities, whether it’s buying charity Christmas cards, using charity shops and websites for gifts or making a donation to a charity someone cares about as a Christmas gift.

Next month I’ll be focusing on how we can continue to support charities after our lifetime ….

Cumbria Grassroots Endowment Challenge Update – Year two begins

The Grassroots Endowment Challenge is seeking to raise money to build permanent grant making funds at the Community Foundation. What’s better is the Government is matching all local donations. These permanent funds are invested and the income used to make grants to local charities – in perpetuity. We welcome donations of all sizes to our main Cumbria Fund and for people able to donate larger sums they can create their own fund.

We’re seeking to raise £1m by March 2011. Year two of the appeal has got off to a good start with a donation of £10,000 from the steel stockists Thomas Graham. Thomas Graham is building a grant fund to support children and young people’s activities throughout Cumbria.

How the scheme works

For every £2 you give the Government will add £1 through the Challenge. If you pay tax and use Gift Aid then £2 becomes £2.56. Add in the match and the fund receives £3.82.

For more visit www.cumbriafoundation.org
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All rights reserved 28/05/2009
Registered charity 1075120