Tranquility or turmoil

http://www.fundraisingtraining.co.uk

Interesting summary from Bill Bruty and his team here in the UK of research they've conducted with charitable trusts to look at whether their giving will decrease in the short term as a result of the recession.

Dowload the summary report from the link above (currently in the newsflash section), but the two things that really grabbed me were (1) the fact that while Trust balance sheets have decreased somewhat in the past year or two, many of them had unimaginably good years in 2006 when the market was strong so the pool of potential income increased dramatically back then. We'd all forgotten that... or at least I had as I was out of the country then.

(2) The report also points out that most large trusts make their grants from their dividend income which is actually remaining pretty stable.

Smaller trusts undoubtedly are more likely to be buffeted by the economic climate as they are much more reliant on exceptional income and donations for their ability to give.

So, as with all fundraising, know your donor. Check their specific circumstances and don't assume they haven't got any money. Anecdotally I'm hearing about trust application numbers falling as fundraisers assume the money is going to be tight. Maybe it is and maybe it isn't - but our charities' needs are still as important, so hang on in there, do your research and don't forget to ask.