Charities could be hit by a £20m donation shortfall as a result of Whitehall’s public sector job cuts, according to a new study, which urges organisations to rethink their supporter strategies.
Using data from the TouchPoints SuperHub Survey for 2010, which included responses from a cross-section of 28,000 adults in the UK, media agency MC&C says that public sector employees make up 20 per cent of the UK population. However, they give 38 per cent of donations from the public and private sectors combined.
With Chancellor George Osborne predicting that 490,000 public sector employees could lose their jobs, MC&C calculates that this would result in a loss of 5.1 per cent of existing income from public sector charity giving, or £20.5m a year.
The research says mental health, overseas relief, the underprivileged and arts and national heritage are the sectors public sector employees are most likely to donate to.
Mike Colling, managing director of MC&C, urges charities to think about their strategies for donors losing their jobs.
“They are likely to be your core supporters – you should still treat them as supporters without asking them for money for a while,” he said. “When they are back in work, they are more likely to come back.”
