There are fears that people in need will be unable to find support in Bath & North East Somerset as more charity and voluntary organisations face substantial losses of vital funding.
The coronavirus crisis has led to massive drops in fundraising income for charity and voluntary organisations, with many now having to make hard decisions about whether they can continue to operate.
In B&NES, a number of local charities have all issued urgent fundraising appeals in the last 7 days.
3SG provides support to charities and voluntary groups operating in B&NES.
Director James Carlin, said: “So many people in Banes are thankful for the support they receive from local groups. The organisations we work with provide practical help, advice, cultural activities and, in many cases, the only social contact people have.
“We are all focussing on tackling the coronavirus outbreak but the problems charities are there to address – poverty, long-term health conditions, disability, mental ill-health, domestic abuse, loneliness and a whole range of issues – are still there as well.
“Charities are keen to do everything they can to help in the current crisis and to continue to support the people who they work with but many are now having to make hard decisions about their future.
“We really appreciate Wera Hobhouse MP’s efforts as part of the #EveryDayCounts campaign, to ask for help but so far the Government has only hinted that a package of support for the charity sector might eventually be available.
“We are joining forces with the Bath Fundraisers’ Group to ask people from across the local area to support their local charities at this difficult time.
“3SG have an active list of fundraising appeals on our website: https://www.3sg.org.uk/news/appeals-for-funds-or-supplies-for-covid-19.”
Nationally, there have been reports that some household name charities are on the edge of collapse. St John Ambulance, which is at the forefront of the response to the coronavirus outbreak, has said that they will run out of cash reserves in August.
Barnado’s, Britain’s biggest children’s charity, has already seen its fundraising income drop by over 30%.
Major fundraising events such as the London Marathon have been cancelled and the closure of numerous charity shops has also had a devastating effect on charity income.
