Slowdown in charity donations due to credit crunch

As a nation Britain has always been charitable and most have been happy to donate money to worthy causes. However, the global credit crunch and the financial crisis is hitting both consumers and businesses hard, and recent reports have shown that this has led to a slowdown in the level of charitable donations coming in.

The report showed that one in four charities had seen a drop in the level of donations being made over the past year, and one in twelve charities has had to make employees redundant. One in five charities had seen a rise in demand for their services.

The survey was carried out amongst five hundred charities by the Charity Commission. The results showed that charities involved in providing care for the elderly and social care had seen a jump of over 20 percent for their services, but many are under real financial pressure due to the credit crunch and the lack of donations from cash strapped consumers.

One official stated: “Even before last week’s problems with Icelandic bank collapses, some charities were really being squeezed by higher costs and higher demands for vital services. They will wonder how they are going to survive the current crisis while trying to continue meeting people’s needs.”