Just heard an age uk branch is closing it's doors!!!

[girlfriend44]

They say due to operating costs and lack of funding they are closing.
This is shocking, the amount of work they do for older people.
Let's hope it's not a new trend.😥
They have been doing so.much good work with dementia cafes for instance.

Our local branch has stopped paying volunteers travelling expenses (citing cost), my neighbour can't afford the community transport fare to go and volunteer any more (been going 25 years). They're getting more and more depressed without the routine and friendship of the other volunteers.
I think things like this will increase the need for nhs and social care services. At a time when we have an increasing elderly population this is not good.

Using charities to prop up what the state should do is a UK disease and when living costs increase, voluntary contributions fall away.

Interesting because its the first I've heard of it today.

Interesting because its the first I've heard of it today.

Ours closed about 3 years ago.

Which branch is this? The one in my mum's area offered a lot less services than where ILs lived. They had masses of really useful help from them but in mum's area someone responds to voice messages about 3 or 4 days later and just sends a link to a leaflet.

Do charity shops generally still get the shop premises for free (as a donation)?

There's a charity in our area with about a dozen shops. As leases come up for renewal they are closing the branches down with a move to a different funding model.

I would imagine they pay rent, but a subsidised one.

Sadly some causes seem to attract far more donations than others, meaning some charities really struggle.

I think they still pay rent on the shops.
Locally to me two branches merged several years ago to reduce overheads.

If it is a charity shop they are not subject to business rates so landlords let the charities use them as a mitigation until they secure a tenant. More permanent ones pay rent but no rates.

When cost of living bites the population as a whole then there is less money to give to charities.

At the moment the local (multiple) animals rescues are refusing to take in strays, nevermind those whose owners can no longer look after them. They are overwhelmed. Local CP alone had over 150 cats last month, and nobody wants to give one a home so it's bottlenecking.

The local food banks have very empty shelves and have appealed in the local newspapers as they can't feed the usual amount of people, however even more people are asking for food help.

I can see lots of charities will be closing down unfortunately, and will just rely on those volunteers shaking cans outside supermarkets.

However this has happened before in the 80s (and previous to that), and will happen again at some point.

It's time the children in need was changed to the elderly in need then for a change.

Perhaps some of the older people they help could make more regular financial contributions, if they can afford to?
Where does most of their funding come from, as a charity

St Catherine's Hospice has just announced job cuts and the need to save £1m to be able to survive due to CoL and inflation.
How do organisations such as Age UK, Macmillan, Air Ambulance etc survive in these times when people just don't have the money to donate.
Sad.

No, that type of 'divide and conquer' attitude is what successive governments have created to keep people busy fighting amongst themselves for scraps instead of demanding the government step up with improved policies and fiscal management.

I agree with a poster above who said that charities shouldn't be used to fill the gap created by Government's failures.

The state through the NHS or LA's etc, funds lots of charities, the charity I work for has it's core funding from the NHS. We can often be more responsive to the needs of service users and more accessible to those who need us.

Sadly funding is getting harder and harder to get, and there are more large charities - sometimes formed from multiple charities that have merged - who are highly efficient at hoovering up contracts which is a shame for small, local charities who miss out because they have less resources and experience writing bids.

Also - if you want to leave money to the local branch of a charity in your will, please, please specify that it's the local branch you want the money to go to, otherwise they're highly unlikely to see a penny of it.

They've closed branches before in West Cumbria and Suffolk, Herefordshire and Worcestershire is just the latest. Charities and community groups are plugging the gaps where the public sector has scaled back but without additional funding, many cannot sustain the pressure. It's why we need a community wealth fund and for governments to use dormant assets in a way that helps foster a better environment for these groups and organisations which have a wealth of expertise in how to support people at a community level. This is a good letter published by the NCVO just after the election which outlines the key issues very well: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/an-open-letter-to-keir-starmer/

Asking the older people to help.tje older people?

Asking the older people to help.tje older people?

Well they are putting prices up in the stores which, they are probably doing for overheads but so many people have stopped using them as the prices become unaffordable

But why children every year.
Why not people in.need or even animales in need.

Yes, heard that about hospices too sadly.