Every two years, on behalf of the Hampshire CVS Network*, Action Hampshire sends out the State of the Sector survey to voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in Hampshire, with the aim to understand the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.
Launched on 2nd December, this year’s survey focusses on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. By cost-of-living crisis, we are referring to the increasing costs of essential items and services, which are rising much faster than average household income; a situation which began in October 2021 (Hourston, n.d.).
We have completed an initial analysis of the data from the first two weeks of the survey collection, to provide a snapshot of what you have been reporting so far. The findings are presented in the blog post below.
The extended deadline to complete the survey closed at Midday on Monday 23rd January.
The final State of the Sector report will be available early March 2023. Click this link for our main State of the Sector page.
Key Findings
Finances
- Worryingly, 44% of respondents said their annual income had either decreased a little or a lot since October 2021. Despite this, the financial picture is still hopeful for some as 31% of respondents said their annual income had increased a little since October 2021.[1] There were no significant differences between large and small organisations, however, it is important to note that a smaller amount of ‘larger’ organisations have responded to the survey.
- 57% of respondents said that the cost of living crisis has affected their organisation’s financial situation[2], with many people citing increasing bills and rent as an issue. Some reported the amount of people accessing their services has decreased, as they feel people cannot afford extra things. This reflects data from the Office of National Statistics (2022), that found 68% of adults were spending less on non-essentials. Other organisations suggested demand for their services has increased as people need more support, but their organisation’s financial situation has not increased to match this. As a result, some are dipping into their reserves to survive. This evidences the difficult situation many organisations are in, supporting the NCVO (2022) data that ‘income (declining and dipping into reserves)’ and ‘demand for services’ were two of organisation’s top 3 concerns.
Staff
- 48% of organisations said the cost of living crisis has affected their ability to recruit and/or retain paid staff since October 2021[3]. When asked how it has affected their ability to recruit and/or retain paid staff, many organisations reported not having enough funds to match wages with the rate of inflation. Despite this, 16 organisations said they have provided a pay increase/support payment to support paid staff with the cost of living crisis and 6 shared that they had provided mental health support.
Volunteers
- 62% of organisations stated they struggle to recruit volunteers[4]. Of this number, 40% (n=18) said their experience of recruiting volunteers had gotten either a little or a lot harder since October 2021. The remaining number of organisations stated their experience had not changed, indicating that it has been consistently difficult to recruit volunteers since the beginning of pandemic recovery, as highlighted in our 2021 State of the Sector report.
- Of those that said the cost of living crisis had impacted their ability to recruit/retain volunteers since October 2021, many suggested that people are not in the position to volunteer (both financially and regarding time constraints) resulting in a lack of volunteers. In fact, 47% of respondents felt that the number of people with time available to volunteer had either decreased a little or a lot since October 2021[5]. These findings mirror the national picture, as NCVO’s (2022) research found that levels of formal volunteering have decreased significantly. However, in contrast, our survey found only 31% of organisations said they struggle to retain volunteers[6].
Services
- Almost half of respondents (49%)[7] stated that demand for their services has increased either a little or a lot since October 2021, highlighting how increasing living costs (Francis-Devine et al, 2022) has driven more people to rely on the support of the VCSE sector.
- 32% of organisations felt their capacity to deliver their services had either decreased a little or a lot since October 2021[8], which may be linked to the decrease in both public donations and funding from government (Mudie and Franklin, 2022). However, positively, 51% said their capacity had not changed, highlighting the tenancy of the sector to support those in need despite facing issues themselves. Organisations reported ‘Income’, ‘Recruiting/retaining volunteers (including trustees)’, and ‘Energy prices’ as the top 3 most significant challenges they will face over the next two years.
Currently, data from the survey is showing a very mixed picture. The cost of living crisis seems to be having a negative impact on organisations’ financial situation but organisations remain hopeful that they will still be operating in 2024, with 89% stating it is either quite or very likely[9].
Look out for the State of the Sector report that will be released early March, containing the full results and deeper analysis. Don’t forget you have until Monday 23rd January to share your experiences in the survey and other research activities, click this link to find out more and take part.
*The members of the Hampshire CVS Network are: Action Hampshire, Basingstoke Voluntary Action, Community First, Hart Voluntary Action, Gosport Voluntary Action, One Community, Rushmoor Voluntary Services, Unity.
References
Francis-Devine, B., Bolton, P., Keep, M. and Harari, D. 2022. Rising cost of living in the UK. (HC 9428). [Online]. London: The House of Commons Library. [Accessed 20 December 2022]. Available from: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9428/CBP-9428.pdf
Hourston, P. n.d. Cost of Living Crisis. [Online]. [Accessed 20 December 2022]. Available from: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/cost-living-crisis
Mudie, R. and Franklin, B. 2022. Hard Up: How rising costs are hitting different places, and how they can respond. [Online]. London: Centre for Progressive Policy. [Accessed 20 December 2022]. Available from: WJ4317_CPP_Report-15_Cost_of_Living_6_0_single_pages.pdf via this link.
NCVO. 2022. The UK Civil Society Almanac. [Online]. [Accessed 20 December 2022]. Available from: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/uk-civil-society-almanac-2022/#/
Office for National Statistics. 2022. Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: 22 November to 4 December 2022. [Online]. [Accessed 20 December 2022]. Available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/publicopinionsandsocialtrendsgreatbritain/latest
[1] Based on 48 responses
[2] Based on 47 responses
[3] Based on 21 responses
[4] Based on 45 responses
[5] Based on 45 responses
[6] Based on 45 responses
[7] Based on 47 responses
[8] Based on 47 responses
[9] Based on 46 responses
