One fifth of England’s volunteer centres suffered 50% or more income reduction last year

Howard Lake | 14 May 2013 | News

New data from NCVO reveals that many of England's volunteer centres suffered substantial drops in their income in the 2011/12 financial year.

According to the 2011/12 Annual Return for Volunteer Centres, which looks at volunteer centres’ income and activities, 40% of volunteer centres for whom there is data for both years lost over a quarter of their income compared to the previous year. Furthermore, 21% experienced cuts of 50% or more in their income.

Some fared better: 26% of respondents who replied to the survey in both years said that their organisation's income had increased compared to the 2010/11 financial year.

Volunteer centres help find the right roles for people who are keen to volunteer, and support organisations who need advice on volunteering issues.

The online survey was sent to 261 volunteer centres in late 2012. It was completed by 160 centres, a response rate of 61%.

Government funding

The NCVO survey confirmed that local government remains the most common source of funding for volunteer centres in England: 83% of those who responded said they received this type of funding.

Central government funding is, of course, continuing to be reduced. In 2010/11 24% of volunteer centres received this funding. In 2011/12 that had dropped to just 7%.

Commenting, Justin Davis Smith, NCVO’s executive director for volunteering and development, said: "We know… that volunteer centres can be the start of a journey back into employment for many people who need to find ways to gain skills, something which is particularly important as the economy remains challenging. It is also crucial we have a strong local support network in place in order to sustain new interest in volunteering following the Olympic and Paralympic games.

"The pressure many volunteer centres are under at the moment is daunting, with many carrying on through enormous dedication and innovation from staff and volunteers".

New ideas

NCVO is working with Nesta on a programme to support the piloting of innovative ideas in volunteer centres. Eight volunteer centres have been awarded funding of up to £50,000 for projects aiming to help tackle challenges facing their communities.

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.