Running a Charity set up solely to raise money and provide help for those in need comes with a huge range of difficulties. Add a global pandemic to a non-profit organisation’s already extensive list of challenges, and even bigger strain is put on the vital work they do to help those in need. 

Being a Charity Shop volunteer myself, for St. Christopher’s Hospice operating in South-East London - I have become even slightly acquainted with the challenges that the impact of Covid-19 has had on non-profit organisations. The many ways charities garner funds for their much needed work has been greatly compromised due to the unprecedented times of the last seven months.

Speaking with Senior Community Fundraiser at St. Christopher’s Hospice, it became apparent just how severely Covid-19 has affected them. Due to the pandemic’s impact on their funds, St. Christopher’s had to make major cuts in their staff with Mr Davidson explaining "We furloughed just over 100 of our staff at the outset to help reduce costs, but the majority of our staff are care related and so we had to retain them to help meet clinical demand. We have had up to thirty-two clinical staff self-isolating, social distancing or shielding at one time, increasing the overall workload across the clinical team. Our volunteer workforce has reduced significantly, as many are elderly or fearful about their health, putting additional pressure on staff to cover their vital roles."

As well the cuts in employees, many fundraising events that non-profit organisations so heavily rely on were cancelled due to the restraints of the pandemic. Just at St. Christopher’s Hospice, their bi-annual Bluebell Walk, Green St. Green Festival, and Christmas Market were all cancelled. These events are incredibly important in their fundraising with the Bluebell Walk "usually raising approximately £75,000 for the Hospice" and the Green St. Green festival raising "something in the region of £25,000". Although the Hospice were able to recover some funds through organising virtual events, the income from these events was never likely to fully replace the cancelled physical events and the additional value of the Hospice working directly with the community was lost. As well as their own organised fundraisers, the Hospice’s Senior Community Fundraiser, Mr Davidson also expressed that "We have also been affected by the cancellation and postponement of several third party events such as the Brighton Marathon, Ride London, and the London Marathon", adding even more strain on the charity’s income.

According to the Institute of Fundraising, 91% of charities surveyed have already or expect to have their cash flow disrupted, with 62% indicating that this would result in reduced charitable activity. Agreeing with this, St. Christopher’ Hospice, like many charities "normally expect to raise £5m per annum from (their) twenty-five shops" as well as "£4m each year from a range of sources" however due to Covid-19 they "lost approximately £1.2m of income" from March to May just from the closure of their Charity Shops.

Although twenty-three of twenty-five of St. Christopher’s Charity Shops have reopened, they and many other donation-orientated businesses like theirs are still under crippling restrictions, the quarantining of donations and the limited number of customers allowed in the shop at one time just naming a few. The "anxiety from the public about returning to normal shopping habits and a weakened economy having an impact on trade" also are worries concerning the return of their Charity Shops. The similar restrictions in the Hospice itself such as the "limited visitor and volunteer numbers in the wards" also mean that providing much needed care is significantly more challenging.

Speaking on the future of St. Christopher’s Hospice, Mr Davidson acknowledges the tough times ahead. He "expects our income will not return to previous levels in the short to medium term" and expresses that the organisation’s "working assumption is that we will lose at least £2m of income from our shops during 2020/21 alone. Longer term, we are concerned whether we will be able to return to previous levels of income".  Although they "have raised additional income from a COVID emergency direct marketing campaign and from using technology to innovate new ways of fundraising, a reasonable scenario is still a shortfall of at least £1.3m against targets during 2020/21, and a wider concern for the ability to return to previous levels of fundraising in future" weighs heavily on the organisation’s mind.