Bob Dylan penned and sang many songs, but today I will reference his classic “the times they are a changing” from his 1964 album of the same name. Those of us old enough to remember the original ITV Spitting Image programme will be familiar with their rendition staring a grey version of John Major. Both were political and in the case of the Spitting Image version, perhaps a little irreverent (“more peas dear?”) but it’s the former not the latter version that’s relevant today!
I work with a number of charities and look forward to spending time with them as one of their trusted advisors. Speaking with them over the last 18 months, it is very clear that the impact of the pandemic has created a huge change in a short space of time. I think it would be fair to say though that it’s not just charities that have experienced this!
There is lots of research and information on the internet currently about the impact of the pandemic on the charity and not for profit sector and it’s certainly not a straight forward landscape out there right now. I previously wrote about undertaking strategic review of the skill set of the board to make sure that the skill set of the trustees match the needs of the charity right now which you can view here. One question that I have been asked is what does the future hold?
Personally, I think there will be a huge need for mental wellbeing support – the last 18 months are frequently noted as having created and exacerbated mental health problems. Charities involved in the relief of this area will face a double edge sword; there will potentially be additional funding for this, given its prominence in the public eye right now, but equally, there will be increased demand and potentially pressure from funders (particularly the public purse) for more to be provided from the same, if not less, resource. I think additionally the younger generation will need a lot of support, not just now, but in the coming years to close the gap on any opportunities for training and education lost during the pandemic. Charities will also need to consider that whilst we may be through the worst of the current pandemic, a global event could very much happen again and they will need to be ready to adapt to survive again.
Charities will face continued challenges and will seek advice from their advisers; “how do I generate income to become less reliant on grant funding?” “how can I create efficiency in the charity?” “what happens if I do X?”. I think it would be fair to say that there is a much stronger need for charities to consider self-sufficiency and this quite often needs some real blue sky thinking. Whenever I am asked such questions, I meet with the trustees to sit down and act as a sounding board, bringing also the benefit of my non-charity experience to the table. One piece of advice I will always leave with them is to dig out the original constitution and consider the charitable aims. Whatever decisions are made about the future path, it must align with the original charity objectives. Why do you do what you do and who do you do it for?
The next steps
Whilst the answer may not always be blowing in the wind, it could certainly help to have a coffee with your usual UHY adviser and think about some of the challenges happening right now; the times are definitely a changing and creating a new world for us all.
