Sector bosses at odds with economic forecasts
Howard Lake | 5 March 2008 | News
Almost two thirds of charity leaders think that the general situation for their organisations is likely to improve over the next 12 months, but that economic conditions within the voluntary sector are likely to worsen.
The first Charity Confidence Survey carried out by the NSVO also revealed that only 19 per cent of leaders thought that government policies were likely to impact positively on their operating environment in the same period. NCVO says this points to a ‘perception gap’ where leaders think that the national situation of charities is worse than the experience of their own organisation.
Head of research at NCVO Karl Wilding said: “Our first Charity Confidence Survey has shown that charity leaders are a confident lot. We will be tracking charity confidence on a quarterly basis to see if levels improve or worsen over a range of criteria, including staffing, campaigning and advocacy and barriers to success. The survey will provide a valuable tool for charity leaders to plan for the future.”
The survey also found that 88 per cent of voluntary organisations planned to collaborate with other organisations over the next 12 months, and 59 per cent planned to compete more, suggesting that many charities are collaborating in order to compete for contracts.
The survey is available from the NCVO website, priced £25 for four issues to NCVO members. More than 200 people took part in the inaugural survey, and anyone who participates gets the survey free.
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.