Treatment for the charity sector’s unhealthy status quo
Think tank: Pro Bono Economics
Author(s): Dr Beth Kitson
August 21, 2024
This report from UK think tank Pro Bono Economics looks at the charity sector’s unhealthy status quo.
Recent riots have put the instability of the UK’s communities in the spotlight. And as night follows day, they have also highlighted the communities’ strengths: the people who freely give their time and money to respond to need, the leaders who reach across divides, and the organisations which coordinate, build partnerships and ensure this action can take place at scale. As the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has rightly recognised, charities and community groups are often those crucial organisations. They are essential to the immediate response and the long-term rebuild and restoration of communities nationwide.
The pandemic and cost of living crisis both tested charities’ ability to respond to challenges in a rapid and agile way. While charities rose to those occasions, they also cost the sector some of its own resilience. Now, as the economy gradually returns to growth – albeit a sluggish growth – the charity sector has in turn emerged from existential crisis. It has now reached a new status quo.
But that new status quo is neither healthy, nor stable for the people who rely on, volunteer with and work for charities.
