Is your government grant at risk? If so, it’s time to lobby hard!
Howard Lake | 3 August 2010 | Blogs
The Big Society idea sounds attractive for the voluntary sector, offering a bigger role in addressing social issues and maybe access to new funding. How then do we square this vision with the reality of funding cuts to the very organisations the government is seeking to work with and what can charities do about this threat?
I recently I visited a small charity, which gets a block grant from the Dept of Justice. It has just been told it will probably lose all of this funding after March next year, which may mean the end of the charity and its unique work. So how does this fit with the government’s Big Society idea and what can you do if you are in this position?
The charity in question has had state funding for nine years, in which time they have done little to diversify their funding, so they must take some of the blame for their predicament. That said, it is clearly a huge contradiction to talk about a greater role for the sector, only then to cut funding not just by the 25 – 40% suggested, but by 100%.
My advice to this charity was to lobby hard now to change this decision before it is written in stone. They have some influential friends and we worked out a short and punchy case for keeping their grant. They will enlist the support of various MP’s and government advisors to lobby on their behalf. If this does not work, they are planning to harness the power of their supporters to lobby for them. They may also target a national newspaper, likely to be sympathetic to their plight.
If your charity is in this position you now have a very short window to save your funding, as plans for cuts will soon be firmed up, making it harder to force a revision.
It may well be that, when the economy picks up and our national debt is dealt with, the Big Society will be good news for charities, opening up new opportunities for contracting and service delivery. In the mean time though, many charities (both local and national) will face cuts. My message to them is don’t just take it lying down. Fight your corner and lobby hard, as your work and your beneficiaries depend on it.
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.