to think fuck you to all the people whinging about charities getting support

[chomalungma]

Because right now, that's what I feel.

I work for a charity. I don't earn much money but I know that our charity does a lot of good in the local community. We get some money from Government for doing work that should basically be being done by Government but they haven't bothered and leave it to us to pick up the pieces.

We make a massive difference in our community. We have volunteers but there are also paid staff who are needed to support the work.

I could leave and get a much better paid job elsewhere. But the work we do is needed and we make a difference.

And then there are the people who say that charities don't deserve it because of the well paid salaries people get.

I wish. I so fucking wish. Many of our experienced staff earn just above minimum wage for doing a role that would earn much more in the public sector, let alone the private sector.

People don't realise what charities do until they aren't there. Or until they need them.

Thankyou to all the people who work for a charity or who understand the difference we make.

YANBU

I don't work for a charity but I do work in the fundraising sector. Charities are grossly underfunded and fulfil a lot of public services that government has failed to do or have withdrawn. Some vulnerable people in our society will be depending on them even more now!

I think it's the CEO's salaries (and bonuses) of the large, national charities that people find hard to understand (stomach?) rather than the the workers as a whole. And these are the ones that get media coverage and people lump them into one group.

And these are the ones that get media coverage and people lump them into one group

I know - and it's so depressing. Because charity workers are underpaid compared to other areas and they make a massive impact in their community.

We don't leave because we like what we do and the impact we have.

YANBU I have worked in the charity sector for 15 years. I've been with my current employer for 5 years and like you we make a massive difference to the local communities we have a presence in. We are working our arses off to change the way we support people, safely mobilise volunteers and continue to have an impact with our policy work. I'm so proud of what we do and I'm surrounded by dedicated and compassionate people who could all earn more in the private sector.

We already support the NHS with some of our services and I'm delighted that we may get some recognition in the form of financial help. We're projected to lose a significant amount of fundraised income this year and my particular service is entirely dependent on donations.

YANBU at all.

About time. I have worked with charitable organisations for almost 20 years. They do amazing work. Work with some of the most vulnerable communities for little financial gain, often doing the work local authorities can't because of years of cuts. Year after year they have seen their funding decimated and several organisations I have worked with have folded.

This funding is long overdue and well deserved.

I too work for a well known charity. And I am on a piss poor wage but I like my job and everything it stands for so I carry on.

I’ve been furloughed - so 80% of the little pay I already had.

Unfortunately even our volunteers seem to give us a hard time just because we are paid staff and they don’t consider that without us there is no them.

YANBU. I've worked in the charity sector and still do a lot of work with them (freelance).

Most will have taken a major hit with all the sporting events, fundraising challenges etc scheduled for the year being cancelled. Plus people cancelling direct debits etc due to financial constraints.

This in a very significant part of their revenue.

Likewise I work in the charity sector. I think it's a start but I'm concerned there is none for overseas charities, this is going to hit Africa/India etc very hard I imagine. Hope there is more if that happens.

Who is whinging about it? All I've seen is support. It is fantastic that the government are supporting charities.

You are being unreasonable to say 'the government can't be bothered and leave charity to pick up the pieces'. Charity is essentially a stealth tax on the rich - it is only those that can afford it that pay for it. Every government, whether Tory or Labour, has always been petrified of putting taxes up for fear of losing popularity so both use the practice of running public services through a charity which means the public pay for it without realising it's a 'tax'. Pretty common and policy/practice both here and internationally for donkeys years.

I take it you’re delighted with the 750 million pounds for the charitable sector announced today by the Evil Conservative Government (TM)?

I take it you’re delighted with the 750 million pounds for the charitable sector announced today by the Evil Conservative Government

It's a good announcement. It took a long time to be announced, and there has been a lot of lobbying to get to this stage along with announcements from well known charities that they were at risk of closure including local hospices etc

So yes, it is welcomed.

The people who I have read about complaining are the ones who usually complain about charities spending too much on advertising, admin and 'who have overpaid Chief Officers. And who don't understand how a modern charity has to work.

I've not seen any complaints about charities getting support.

But if the complaints are about CEOs getting large bonuses as well as support, then I agree this is wrong - no matter what kind of organisation they belong to - nothing to do with them being charities or not.
In Switzerland no organisation that is giving out bonuses or dividends is entitled to state support. I would guess it's the same in the UK?

I think it's great the charities are getting support, I was delighted to see it yesterday.

But if the complaints are about CEOs getting large bonuses as well as support, then I agree this is wrong - no matter what kind of organisation they belong to - nothing to do with them being charities or not.
In Switzerland n

The complaints are about charities getting support. The complainants are under the impression that charities don't do anything except spend money on admin and Chief Officer's pay. Because that's the narrative they have been fed.

I've not seen any complaints about charities getting support

You need to read the comments in the Daily Mail. And before someone says you shouldn't read the comments, it's useful to see what people think - because that's very often what popular opinion really is.

I'd like to know how much these charities have in investments before they get a penny from the government.

Lots of them have huge amounts invested very very unwisely with companies which charge them a fortune for investing so badly.

It's a problem that the sector is very unwilling to change.

Agree bloom does children in need not have £10 million in the bank according to what I've seen on previous threads?

I manage a small local charity and was pleased with recent announcement but doubt I’ll see any of that money
Since corona virus we have set up new services to help people affected by it and have had to change systems and processes to comply with lockdown whilst still helping people in our core business
I’m working longer hours than usual and managing all my staff and volunteers remotely brings many challenges
We do hold money in reserves but most of that is to meet our commitments and for things like redundancy payments
I try to ignore the daily mail type comments they have no idea how most charities are run
We are losing both donations and some of our earned income at the moment which worries me for the future

Children in need may have that in the bank however this will be for distribution to other charity's through grants surely? They aren't keeping that in the bank as reserves for them. The charity I work for regularly receive grants from CiN and other distribution charities

I take it you’re delighted with the 750 million pounds for the charitable sector announced today by the Evil Conservative Government (TM)? wink

This money is not a generous sum from a wonderfully caring government. Don't be fooled. These charities are largely doing work that should be funded by the government as standard. This isn't a huge favour that the government is doing. It's less than the bare minimum that we should expect. They've saved themselves a fortune compared to the money they should have been forking out all along. The package includes £200m for hospices, for example. People who are dying should not need to rely on charities to support themselves and their families. That support should be coming from the government and it should be available to everyone. One charity that's close to my heart is a children's hospice. They are amazing and support local families who have a child with a life limiting condition. They have the capacity to help around 25% of the families who need them. That's all. This government funding might allow them to limp on during the next couple of months. So no, it's not enough and the fact that the government has responded to lobbying on this matter is certainly not proof that they care about those who rely on charities.

Charity is essentially a stealth tax on the rich - it is only those that can afford it that pay for it

This is utter rubbish. Of course it's not only rich people (or even mostly rich people) who give to charity so it's absolutely not a "stealth tax on the rich" We are certainly not a high earning household but we do give to a few local charities each month because we feel it's important and we prioritise it. I know from conversations with two very wealthy (millionaire) family members from separate households that neither of them give anything at all to charity. The government's decision to leave all this vital work to the charity sector is not intended to spread the burden and allow the wealthiest to carry the lion's share of the load. It's literally just about palming off the responsibility and hoping that someone, wealthy or not, will stump up the cash instead of them.

I know a few people who used to work in the public sector and went on to move to a charity job after redundancy because they didn't want the horrendously stressful conditions they experienced in their job.

They are loving it, go on about how they finally feel they are making a contribution, that the job is rewarding, atmosphere much less stressful, not harassed by targets that need to be meeting, slower pace, more flexibility etc...

Then in the next breath, they complain how they can't enjoy the holidays they used to have, going to shows they used to enjoy, the meals out that they looked forward to etc...

I think charities are wonderful and do a fantastic jobs and I have full respect for the work they do, but I do believe the remuneration is proportional to what they get out of it, that is a more rewarding role.

It's not just what they have in the bank, sitting there as ready cash, it's millions tied up on investments which under perform because of the idiots on their boards.

it's millions tied up on investments which under perform because of the idiots on their boards

Yes - small local charities which depend on fundraising, donations and Government support and grants have millions tied up in underperforming invesments.....

It is great to hear so many charity workers on here saying the same thing and expressing the same feelings I have about the work we do.

while I think its great that the government is supporting charities once again animal charities have not been included, there are small animal charities that have an impact on human lives, our one takes in
cats that belong to people who have to go into care homes and it comforts owners to know their beloved cats will get a good home, without charities there would be an explosion of feral and stray cats on the streets we rehome to people who would live on their own and the cat is their companion and sometimes a lifeline we have taken in cats from hoarding situations this is just a few examples, some of the smaller rescues (dog and cat) are going to go under which will overwhelm the charities that do survive im waiting for the but animals don't matter brigade but animals integrate with humans and have done for thousands of years