UK Social Sector Health Check Report

For Charity Bank's inaugural UK Social Sector Health Check report, they polled 182 social sector leaders to understand the challenges they face and to assess the impact of the current climate on the sectors ability to respond to the needs of people and communities.

They invited guest contributors to share insights on the state of the sector, how political and Brexit uncertainty are impacting, as well as commenting on the latest on funding, regulation, technology and governance.

To find out what social sector leaders think, read the full findings by downloading report.

There’s no doubt that the last few years have proved challenging for the social sector. A decade of austerity has seen local authorities forced to slash their services, with charities and social enterprises having to plug the gap, often on significantly reduced budgets.

The results make for stark reading. Charity Bank found that 85% of charities expect demand for their services to grow over the next two years. 86% are concerned about future grant funding and 82% don’t think they’ll be able to sustain donations over that period.

However, the social sector is resilient and well versed in responding to challenging situations. In the words of one respondent, “Challenging times often generate the most innovation”.

Elizabeth Chamberlain
Head of Policy & Public Services, NCVO

Carolyn Sims
Director of Lending, Charity Bank

Jon Weller
Director of Development, Imago

Alex Whinnom
Chief Executive, GMCVO

George White
CEO, Martha Trust