Impact on fundraising
Almost 9 in 10 organizations raise funds to support their activities, the report notes. “A shocking 79% of organisations say they predict a fall in income over the next 12 months, with a further 16% not sure, leaving only 5% confident of their financial stability.”
Every type of fund-raising has been affected by COVID-19, from grants and major donors to community fund-raising events. Sixty percent of organisations said they were trying to find new ways to raise funds.
However, as one organization in Japan noted: “At the moment we can survive and feel it is unethical to ask the public for money when many are facing dire financial personal circumstances.”
A group from Australia commented: “Fundraising has been extremely difficult due to COVID-19 with distancing laws and no group gatherings as well as the economic downturn. Crisis appeals have been unsuccessful and all outdoor events and major events have been cancelled. In Australia we have had to contend with also the fires earlier in the year where a lot of money was donated to leaving other foundations struggling to get donor support.”
A little more than half (55%) of the organizations surveyed have had to cut costs.
Staffing cuts have been made in 1 in 10 of the organizations surveyed. A similar proportion of organizations have furloughed staff. Many if not all staff from numerous organizations are working from home.
A little more than half of those surveyed either provide funding for research or conduct research themselves, but only one quarter of them indicated there had been no change in their research projects. The others have indicated that they had to either reduce the scope of their research, put it on pause, or stop it altogether.
Three quarters of survey respondents noted that they had engaged in advocacy activities prior to the pandemic, and almost two thirds of them said they had to delay these activities.
Several of the organizations expressed thanks to the survey authors.
“COVID-19 is a global pandemic and cancer patients all around the world have similar worries, concerns and questions ― we are a small/medium organisation working in one country but believe in the power of community and coalitions and so this survey is a very welcome part of looking at this from a greater perspective,” commented one British group.
Reid has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
This article first appeared on Medscape.com.