Charity Income Spotlight report highlights continued growth in sector
Melanie May | 6 May 2016 | News
Growth continued in the charity sector during 2015/16, but with an increasing divide between large and small organisations, according to this year’s Charity Financials’ Charity Income Spotlight Report.
The report reveals that income reached £71.7bn: a 5.3-point growth in the index and a slight slowdown from the 2014/15 period’s 6.1-point increase. However, while charities in the £50m+ income bands grew their incomes by 11.5 points over the last year, charities in the £1m-£5m band only managed an increase of 1.7 points.
Main income streams
The four main income streams had an almost equal part to play in 2015/16’s growth: voluntary income was the best performer, up 6.7 points in the last year, while investment, trading and charitable activities income also all rose by more than 5.3 points.
The amount generated by charitable activities totalled £33.8bn and was responsible for 53% of income overall: a decrease of just 2% since 2013, despite fears about a reduction in statutory funding sources.
The recent negative media coverage of the sector also seems yet to have an effect on voluntary income. The total amount raised in this stream was £18.6bn – an increase of 5.9 index points on last year, and accounting for 29% of income, down just 1% over the last three years.
Fundraising trading income reached £6.1bn with the report suggesting that this could be the result of charities looking to diversify their income streams and counter potential negative reactions to particular fundraising techniques. Income from this source, which includes charity shops, now contributes 10% of overall income – a growth of 3% since 2013. Investment income contributed £3bn in 2015-16: five per cent of the total income.
Risers and fallers
The top three largest charities by income remain the same as the previous year: Lloyds Register Foundation, The British Council, and The Arts Council of England. Nuffield Health and Save the Children International both climb one place to fourth and fifth place respectively.
Of the current top 20 charities by income, five have dropped at least one place from their previous rank: Cancer Research UK which fell from fourth to sixth place; Cardiff University; Barnardos; CITB and The Girls’ Day School Trust. Cardiff University and Barnardo’s saw a slowdown in growth while with the remaining three, incomes fell. However, in the cases of Cancer Research UK and The Girls’ Day School Trust, this was a result of previous windfall years where income had increased largely through property sales, and in Cancer Research UK’s case, the closure of its pension scheme.
Motability, Oasis Charitable Trust, and The British Council saw the biggest increases in income. Motability saw an increase of an increase of 516%: the result of the £150m payment it received to deliver the one-off transitional package of support for disabled people who will no longer be eligible for the Motability Scheme. The Oasis Charitable Trust entered the top 20 through a 69.5% increase in income, taking the charity from £160.3m to £271.7m.
The full report can be downloaded from the Charity Financials site.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.