Impact of lockdown
The UK Civil Society Almanac 2023 is a comprehensive resource for data on the voluntary sector’s finances and workforce. This year’s UK Civil Society Almanac, published by NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) focuses on the years 2020/21 and tells a difficult story about the extent of Covid-19’s impact on the voluntary sector.
There is a need for the reliable data provided by the Almanac due to the recent cost of living and Covid-19 crises creating unprecedented pressure on and need for the voluntary sector. The data provides an overview of the state of the sector, including: its overall size and proportions of different size organisations; trends in financing and spending; vacancies and salary levels; and trends in volunteer numbers and attitudes.
One of three key takeaways from this data is that overall sector income has declined for the first time in a decade, with the pandemic seen as a likely cause. The public remains the largest funder of the sector, despite their contribution declining. Another is that the pandemic and cost of living crisis has had a disproportionately negative effect on smaller organisations in the sector, as these organisations are more reliant on income from the public, which has been declining. These smaller organisations are also less likely to receive income from the Government, which has increased its contribution to the sector’s overall income.
A third key takeaway is that overall volunteering levels remain lower than pre-pandemic. There was an initial increase in informal volunteering near the beginning of the pandemic, however this has since returned to pre-pandemic levels, and formal volunteering levels have not recovered from the pandemic after the lockdown led to fewer in-person volunteering opportunities. This means that organisations are struggling to recruit volunteers, which will have a worrying impact on smaller organisations that rely more on volunteers.
The Almanac data can help organisations to influence policy and strengthen campaigns, inform strategic thinking and financial plans, and get more information about the sector in general. To read more about the insights from this research, follow the link below.
https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/uk-civil-society-almanac-2023/