1 / 35

Living on the Edge: Grant-makers and small and medium-sized charities

Living on the Edge: Grant-makers and small and medium-sized charities. Duncan Shrubsole, Director of Policy, Partnerships & Communications Alex Van Vliet, Research & Data Analyst Caroline Howe, Policy & National Programmes Manager. www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk.

sbrennan
Download Presentation

Living on the Edge: Grant-makers and small and medium-sized charities

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Living on the Edge: Grant-makers and small and medium-sized charities Duncan Shrubsole, Director of Policy, Partnerships & Communications Alex Van Vliet, Research & Data Analyst Caroline Howe, Policy & National Programmes Manager www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  2. Grant makers and small and medium-sized charities • Who we are • Why we care • What we’ve done • What we’ve found out • What that means to us and funders more widely #ACFconf #smallbutvital @LBFEW

  3. Introduction • How many of you consider yourselves funders of small and medium sized charities? • Turn to your neighbour, introduce yourself and say what size organisation you fund and why

  4. The Foundation • Founded in 1985, one of 4 Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) Foundations • Distributed £340m to 42,000 local charities over 30 years • Independent charitable trust, 4 LBG Trustees • National reach, local presence • Fund charities with an income between £10,000 and £1m tackling disadvantage Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  5. Our programmes Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  6. What do we do?

  7. Research: Why? • Raising the voice of small and medium-sized charities in the policy debates that affect their work • Making the case for reforms that will benefit our grantees • Requires good quality evidence of their needs and strengths • Incrementally build the evidence base Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  8. Research: How? • In-house survey of the experiences of grantees around challenges and support • 800 responses (50% response rate) • Mandate for raising our voice and voices of grantees

  9. Research: Challenges facing charities

  10. Research: What? • Two independent research reports • Evidence review by IPPR North • Audit of the financial landscape by NCVO using almanac data

  11. Research: Why small and medium-sized charities? • Local knowledge and understanding • Rooted in local communities – with, by and for • Boosting local social capital • Build and nurture social networks • Working with complex needs • Trusted, ‘whole person’ responses • Innovation in service delivery • Flexible and adapt to changing needs Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  12. Research: Size of the sector What proportion of the sector is small and medium? • 64% • 77% • 93% • 97% Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  13. Research: Size of the sector What proportion of the sector is small and medium? d) 97% Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  14. Research: Size of the sector Change in number of charities in each income band (%) Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  15. Research: Income By what proportion did income from Government change for charities with an income of £100k - £1m? (08/09 – 12/13) • 0% • -19% • -38% • -56% Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  16. Research: Income By what proportion did income from Government change for charities with an income of £100k - £1m? (08/09 – 12/13) c) -38% Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  17. Research: Income By what proportion did income from Government change for charities with an income of >£100m? (08/09 – 12/13) • 56% • 38% • 27% • -5% Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  18. Research: Income By what proportion did income from Government change for charities with an income of >£100m? (08/09 – 12/13) b) 38% Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  19. Research: Income from government and individuals Change in income from government and individuals (08/09 – 12/13) Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  20. Research: Income from local and central government The biggest change has been in income from local government Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  21. Research: Income from grants and contracts Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  22. Income of smaller charities is more unstable Proportion of charities within typology categories (%)

  23. Trends in income sources

  24. Impacts of trends in income Decreased spending on staff costs (£100k-£500k income band): Change in proportion of spending on charitable activities and generating funds, 2008/09 to 2012/13 (% change)

  25. Research: Commissioning We asked small and medium-sized charities about their experience of bidding for contracts. What proportion said they found it ‘difficult’ or ‘impossible’? • 4% • 17% • 37% • 49% Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  26. Research: What? We asked small and medium-sized charities about their experience of bidding for contracts. What proportion said they found it ‘difficult’ or ‘impossible’? d) 49% Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  27. Research: Commissioning Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  28. Research: Commissioning Evidence from 120 tenders show that this is because: • Commissioners lack understanding • Processes inadvertently exclude smaller providers • Specifications actively shut out smaller providers Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  29. Things are getting tougher still

  30. The impact is disproportionate across England & Wales

  31. Research: Charities need more support Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  32. Research: Charities need more support Help to establish new income sources Push for changes to commissioning Mentoring opportunities Support with lobbying/campaigning Supporting charities to work together Training opportunities Establish networks between charities Other None Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  33. Research: Informing strategy Core grant making: • Listen to grantees • Core funding for longer Other support • ‘Enhance’ – consultants; action learning sets; mentors • Making the case for small and medium-sized charities – research; communications; thought leadership; commissioning toolkit Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  34. Research: Informing strategy What does all this mean for funders more widely? - What are you doing to help small and medium-sized charities to thrive, not just survive? - How can you use the research to inform your own strategy? Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

  35. Where you can access the research? www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/news/research • Expert Yet Undervalued and on the Frontline • Small and Medium-sized Charities after the Crash • Navigating Change • Too Small to Fail Coming soon: • Commissioning in crisis Follow us on Twitter @LBFEW #smallbutvital

More Related