Financial vulnerability of Scottish charities during the COVID-19 pandemic
This briefing paper outlines findings on Scottish charities drawing from research conducted as part of the ESRC-funded Assessing financial vulnerability and risk in the UK’s charities during and beyond the COVID-19 crisis project, led by the University of Birmingham in partnership with the universities of Stirling and Southampton. We focus on three topics: levels of charity reserves; income source dependence; and the formation and dissolution of charities. All the analysis is based on data drawn from the Scottish Charity Register provided by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
Key findings Many charities entered the pandemic with low levels of reserves Most charities are depending on one type of income, which can focus risk during a crisis Patterns in reserve levels and income concentration are very stable over time, but do vary across organisation size, age and area of work, with significant diversity within the sector There have been sharp drops in charity income during the pandemic, with more extreme falls even than during previous recessions Despite these risks we have not yet seen a surge in charities being dissolved. Both new formations, and the de-registering of existing charities have remained lower than usual during the pandemic period
