Charities first started warning Covid-19 would be a financial catastrophe for the sector in March. Reporting across the pandemic & the laissez-faire response of govt has been like watching a slow-motion car crash that is just now starting to hit the wall [THREAD]
#NeverMoreNeeded

Check out this timeline of stories @ThirdSector had to cover in June alone. Note: this is not in any way to bash the charities featured, but to try and showcase the growing fallout in a vital, unsupported sector. Buckle up! #NeverMoreNeeded

3 JUNE

Oxfam GB expects to cut more than 200 jobs with shop closures and the cancellation of fundraising events costing the charity about £5m a month https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/oxfam-gb-expects-cut-200-jobs/management/article/1685139

8 JUNE

Cancer Research UK cancels all 2020 Race for Life events, which raised £35m for the charity in 2018/19 https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/cancer-research-uk-cancels-years-race-life-events/fundraising/article/1685469

10 JUNE

Virgin Money Giving’s top 50 charities saw a 93% fall in donations during the early lockdown months https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/top-virgin-money-giving-charities-saw-93-fall-donations-early-lockdown/fundraising/article/1685772

ALSO 10 JUNE

60 redundancies planned at Breast Cancer Now, as the charity anticipates a £16m fall in income. The charity will cut research spending by at least £2m in 2020/21 https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/sixty-redundancies-planned-breast-cancer/management/article/1685896

11 JUNE

A third of staff at Royal Osteoporosis Society will be affected by a restructure as the charity predicts a “severe drop” in fundraised income https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/third-staff-royal-osteoporosis-society-will-affected-restructure/management/article/1686136

12 JUNE

Snap poll from ACEVO finds more than half of charities have cut front-line spending, with the umbrella body calling for urgent government action https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/acevo-poll-finds-charities-cut-front-line-spending/finance/article/1686139

18 JUNE

RSPCA plans to make up to 300 people redundant, as the charity anticipates a loss of £25m this year https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/rspca-plans-300-posts-redundant/management/article/1687036

19 JUNE

Charities face an income shortfall of £12.4bn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Caron Bradshaw @CharityFinanceGroup warns of the “devastating impact” this will have on service users https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/charities-face-124bn-income-shortfall-year-survey-indicates/finance/article/1687038

23 JUNE

Children’s charity Barnardo’s predicts an income fall of £50m this year: “Many of our challenges will continue into the next few years with the predicted worsening of the economic downturn and as demand for our services skyrockets.” https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/barnardos-predicts-its-income-will-fall-50m-year/finance/article/1687309

24 JUNE

British Heart Foundation faces ‘biggest crisis in 60-year history’, with a fall in income set to halve its annual £100m research budget https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/british-heart-foundation-faces-biggest-crisis-60-year-history/finance/article/1687668

Then we’re into July! And – wait for it – 

3 JULY

Only 1 per cent of £200m of emergency government funding has been paid out to charities

#NeverMoreNeeded https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/1-per-cent-200m-emergency-government-funding-paid-charities/finance/article/1688568

This is just a handful of stories over a tiny period– since then we've seen further redundancies announced at Cancer Research UK, Alzheimer's Society, Performance Birmingham... we are only at the beginning of this wave. Charities warned this would happen, and now it is happening.

I can't put it better than @caronlb:

“I cannot stress enough [...] that this isn’t about the survival of the institution of charity or individual charities, but the devastating impact that this will have on those who rely on the services charities provide."

#NeverMoreNeeded

That last tweet was going to be the end of it, but look – this announcement is TWO MINUTES OLD: Another one bites the dust. Beyond gutting.
#NeverMoreNeeded https://twitter.com/bloodcancer_uk/status/1286315306865037313

https://twitter.com/ThirdSector/status/1288387316650774528