Smaller groups disproportionately affected by cuts, according to CUF survey

Spending cuts are having a disproportionate impact on smaller voluntary groups in deprived areas, according to a recent report from the Church Urban Fund. This is because these groups are more dependent on public funding and because changes in central Government funding formulae have led to disproportionate cuts in the budgets of local authorities in more deprived areas, says the report.
The CUF report examined the impact of the cuts six months after the first main round of cuts in April 2011. The evidence was from an online survey of 139 CUF-supported organisations and phone interviews with 12 project leaders.
Around half of the groups surveyed received some public funding, and 70 per cent saw this reduce in the last year. Most groups, whether or not they received public funding, were indirectly affected by the cuts. Project leaders said they are finding it much harder to secure grants due to increased competition for trust funding. Rising costs, financial uncertainty and falling private donations are also common side-effects of the spending cuts.
The report concludes by highlighting the urgent need to do more to support smaller voluntary organisations in deprived areas, including improving access to small grants and funding for local infrastructure organisations, as well as correcting the current bias against the poor in the way central government funding is distributed between local authorities.
Most of the groups surveyed had an annual income of less than £100,000.

Holding on by a shoestring: tracking the impact of the cuts on voluntary groups in England’s most deprived areas can be downloaded via the link below.