Three things your charity should be aware of over the coming months…
On 13 March, Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered his Spring Statement to Parliament. While not all of the items that Hammond mentioned in his statement directly pertain to charities, there are a few that you should be aware of:
- EU funding for charities post-Brexit—After the United Kingdom leaves the EU, it will lose access to the EU’s institutional funding streams. For many UK charities, this could mean that they lose all funding. In response, the government has promised to use EU funds that filter back to the United Kingdom after Brexit to create a Shared Prosperity Fund with around £1 billion per year. However, there are currently no details about the fund’s strategic purpose, aims and priorities, how it will be administered or how it will support critical social causes.
- The life expectancy of your pocket change—The government currently has no plans to get rid of the 1p and 2p coins, which is good news for charities, as many smaller organisations rely on people tossing their pocket change into collection buckets.
- Financial aid to prepare for Brexit—While the government has put aside £3 billion to help government departments and administrations prepare for Brexit, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which includes the Office for Civil Society, was only awarded £2 million. This has caused some charities to worry about how they will fair during and after the transition.
