Charities are being hard hit by the Covid-19 lockdown with directors warning the bodies need help to survive before the pandemic is brought under control.
Sector experts warn that hardly any UK charity will come out of the coronavirus lockdown unscathed.
Almost £4 billion has been wiped from charity fundraising, according to early estimates.
Daniel Fluskey, head of Policy and External Affairs at The Institute of Fundraising NCVO, said: "There may be some individuals that have success but no charity will be unscathed.
"Most charities see approaching a huge financial hole and anything raised is mitigation against that."
The Institute of Fundraising is the professional membership body for UK charitable giving. It has more than 600 organisational members who raise more than £10 billion in income for good causes annually.
Key funding closed
As coronavirus sweeps the country some charities are in the front line of health care using resources.
Others are losing employed staff and volunteers as the country begins another three weeks of lockdown.
Other charities will be needed after the pandemic to help in a country that is likely very different from what it was before the pandemic.
Pretty much every charity is losing support from volunteers who cannot leave their homes or making employees redundant. They have also seen fundraising efforts have ground to a near-halt.
The Charity Commission says it is working with organisations to try to be flexible as they face the unprecedented difficulties of operating in a pandemic.
Mr Fluskey said: “The main areas for charities are closed, from local shops where doors are shut to big events like the London marathon or the Great North Run.
“The cancellations of these events will have put a big hole in the charity reserves.
“It’s not just the fundraising on the day. It’s also the ability to build up a relationship with fundraisers and get them to become regular givers.
“On top of that, community events in local areas are on hold everywhere once the lockdown happened.
“Some are trying virtual events but it is an exercise in mitigation rather than getting sums of money in."
Charities are 'fundamental'
Despite high profile success stories like Captain Tom Moore’s inspirational £20 million fundraiser from his back garden, the charity world is reeling.
The £4 billion estimated lost revenue includes income from big annual events like the London Marathon as well as the small weekly community events, sales in now closed shops and corporate sponsorship.
Mr Fluskey said that charities are coming up with virtual fundraisers and innovative online events but it is a drop in the ocean to the lost millions.
He said government needs to step in to help the charity world.
Mr Fluskey said he is hoping the £750 million already promised to the sector will be increased to a billion-pound-plus, and change to some laws that prevent charities taking on as volunteers people they have made redundant.
He also said the funding needs to be in place so that charities can survive the economic crisis of the pandemic and be able to offer their services in the post-pandemic environment.
That will , he says, include a nation in recession, more unemployment, and less security as the fallout of the outbreak.
“Nobody is expecting the charity sector to sail through this unscathed. We are in crisis [but] charities are a fundamental part of our society, not just a nice idea.”
