NET Releases Research Suggesting Demand on the Third Sector is Set to Continue

One in eight people living in the UK - equivalent to seven million people - expect to seek support from a charity or voluntary body in the next 12 months as a direct result of challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic. The research released by the National Emergencies Trust (NET) reveals that for three in five of these people (61%), it will be the first time they have ever sought charitable support.

The research, conducted by Opinium, suggests that demand on the third sector is set to continue as the economic impacts of the pandemic come to the fore. Getting help with living arrangements due to financial reasons (58%) and employment support and training due to job loss (51%) are the most common reasons that people expecting to need outside help will seek charitable assistance. More than one in three (38%) anticipate they’ll need help accessing food due to changes in financial circumstances.

The health and wellbeing impacts of the pandemic also continue to cause concern. Just over half (51%) of those who anticipate seeking external support expect to ask for charitable help with nursing and personal care, 44% with caring responsibilities and 35% with support for their own mental wellbeing.

The research is revealed as the National Emergencies Trust announces it will be distributing £12million from its Coronavirus Appeal to new charity partners offering targeted support to first-time charity users and some of the UK’s most at risk groups. Each charity partner has been selected for its support for a group that NET believes may have been underserved through the pandemic so far.

The first wave of funding, just over £6 million, will be distributed to a disability support network, DPO COVID-19 Coalition, led by Disability Action NI, the LGBT+ Consortium Helpline Alliance, domestic abuse charity, Refuge, the refugee and asylum seekers support consortium led by Refugee Council and Cruse Bereavement Care. The funding will be used to support vital helplines to assist those who are unsure where to turn, as well as other very targeted services.

Since March, the NET’s Coronavirus Appeal has raised £90 million and allocated £85 million so far. In addition to the £12 million allocated to these new national charity partners, £68.25 million has been distributed through Community Foundations UK-wide - with £250,000 reserved for BAME charities and infrastructure. A further £2.75 million has been allocated to BAME-led charities and communities through Comic Relief, and £2 million more is ringfenced for BAME charities.

More than 4,400 individual grassroots charities and groups have received a total of 9,400 grants.

“This pandemic has created new needs on an unprecedented scale, and exacerbated existing challenges. Local, grassroots groups have been incredibly quick to respond, as we have seen through our partnership with UK Community Foundations.” Gerald Oppenheim

Deputy-Chair of the National Emergencies Trust said.

“Our new partners complement these efforts by targeting support to at-risk groups who have been harder to reach so far.

“Helplines play a key part in the new partnerships because they offer accessible help to those unsure where to turn, or unable to access other services. Our partners’ helplines have already been oversubscribed because of the pandemic and our research suggests that this demand will continue, as more people seek support from the sector for the first time.”

since the start of lockdown.

To find out more about the work of the National Emergencies Trust head to https://nationalemergenciestrust.org.uk/