Irish recession continues to take its toll on voluntary sector
Paul Artherton | 29 October 2013 | News
Falling charitable donations and cuts in government spending have forced many major Irish charities to scale back their activity, according to a survey conducted by the Irish Independent.
Most charities taking back in the survey said that they had to reduce services, lay off staff and cut the pay of those left in the organisation to survive. Forty leading charities responded to a series of questions about how the recession had had an impact on their day-to-day activities.
Charities had also adopted a range of other strategies to weather the recession, including using reserves to fund running costs and shutting down services for short periods to save money. Barnardos for example, has taken the latter course twice – once in 2012 and once this year.
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Deidre Garvey of charity umbrella group The Wheel said that before the recession 60% of money coming into the voluntary sector came from the state but that their research indicated that this figure was now closer to 50%.
“What we’re seeing is state funding being cut in the order of 30% or 40%. Voluntary sector cuts tend to go straight through to service cuts,” she told the Irish Independent.
The survey also included a review of CEOs salaries which showed that most had reduced their incomes over the last few years. The highest paid CEO received around €234,000.
About Paul Artherton
Paul Artherton has a BA (Hons) Degree from Queen’s University and a MA Degree in Journalism from Pennsylvania State University. He has worked in PR and fundraising for over 27 years. Previously assistant director for fundraising and public relations at the Simon Community Northern Ireland for seven years, for the last 17 years he has run his own fundraising consultancy business specialising in fundraising, sponsorship, public relations and recruitment. His clients have included charities, private sector and public bodies. Examples include the Ulster Cancer Foundation, Simon Communities of Ireland, NI Hospice, North and West Belfast Health and Social Services Trust, Aiken Promotions, the Industrial Development Board and the Ulster Museum. He has lectured on voluntary sector management at Queens University Belfast Institute for Continuing Education. Since 2010 Paul has been a lay member of the NI Charity Tribunal.