Charity News Review: December Edition

As we come to the last CNR edition of the year, looking back on 2022 it is clear that many ACO charities have had to make significant adjustments to continue to support their beneficiaries through what has been a bleak economic landscape.

In this context, we recently surveyed members to identify how they have responded to the current cost of living crisis (CoL), and this provided some critical insights.

Perhaps not surprisingly over 74% of members surveyed indicated that they had seen an increase in the volume of applications over the recent period and over 50% stated they had introduced new financial support measures in response, such as specific energy and cost of living grants. At the same time it was also clear that charities were prioritising highlighting areas of relevant advice/resources to beneficiaries (such as advice on energy bills and debt management) and often collaborating with other external agencies to offer “wrap around” support.

What was also significant was that a quarter of respondents noted that as a result of the CoL crisis they had introduced specific financial/non-financial support for staff, such as one-off winter payments.

The overall survey response made clear that charities are keen to ensure that – within their own financial constraints – they provide the most effective financial (and non-financial) support to their beneficiaries during the crisis. For further details see survey

On a final (and more uplifting) note – on behalf of the team at ACO, can we wish you and your colleagues a wonderful (and relaxing!) festive period. We look forward to working with you all in the New Year and lets all hope that 2023 perhaps provides a light at the end of the tunnel economically speaking!