Small Charities Face Slow death

Fundraising data and recent polls have shown a surge in donations to new NHS charities since March. Causes such as animal shelters, disability support groups and homeless shelters have, however, seen a fall. The government issued a £750m bailout to the sector in April but there are now growing calls for more support.

We at Yorkshire Cat Rescue take in around 800 animals a year at our centre in Keighley, West Yorkshire. But with 10 of our staff still having to work from home and the centre unable to reopen safely, the 130 cats currently in our care are being looked after by dozens of foster carers spread around the county.

We have had to cancel our usual fundraising activities including an abseil and a charity ball. All four of our charity shops have also had to shut again following the start of the month-long national lockdown. "In the early days of lockdown we did quite well, we made some money," said Mrs Atkinson founder of YCR. "But we were making hundreds rather than thousands. We used to make around £10,000 a month. If we have a successful virtual quiz, that's great - but it might be at the expense of a charity ball that raises £8,000.It's put us back a decade."

Mrs Atkinson said there were dedicated grants available for animal charities, but she said they were "massively oversubscribed". Many foundations were prioritising giving funds to causes that were "directly Covid related", she said. "They maybe don't realise that we are taking cats from people that are ill, people that have lost relatives or that have lost jobs. "We are running around picking up the pieces of people's lives."