Recession in Ireland hits fundraising
Howard Lake | 8 October 2008 | News
The deepening economic gloom in Ireland is beginning to be felt in the charity sector, according to reports in the media and from some charities. Already one of the most high profile charity balls in Ireland has fallen victim to the Irish recession.
The Irish Times says that next year’s Toothfairy Ball has been cancelled and the million-plus it raised for three charities, including Adi Roche’s Chernobyl Children’s Project, will be a big loss.
“Even last June, I felt the auction was like pulling teeth. There was no money in the room,” said Roche. As a result, the charity will have to dip into its emergency reserves for the first time in its existence.
It is also understood that a number of major Irish charities are considering a public appeal to ask donors not to cut back on their charitable giving. This is in response to a decline in income with a number of events and appeals.
From the late 1990s to last year many Irish charities experienced significant income growth in parallel with the boom in the Irish economy and many fear that the recession will have a direct impact on their fundraising.
Some charities in the social welfare area fear a double whammy of declining fundraising and government cut backs in their grant income.
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.