Welcome from Jason Gaskell, CEO
I don’t know about you, but I really welcome the recent rain and dramatic thunderstorms. The last two nights have been spent with my kids and me pressed up against the window waiting for the next lightning strike to arc across the sky. In a way, it’s a metaphor for other things. Just when the latest peal of thunder dies away and we think that the storm has passed, there’s another blinding flash, a roar of thunder that rattles the window frames, and a deluge that threatens the guttering. Similarly, just when Covid seems to have loosened some of its grip (but by no means gone away!), along comes war in Ukraine, energy cost rises and inflation we’ve not seen since I was too young to vote. A perfect storm of challenges and I wonder where the next strike (metaphorically and literally!) will come from.
We wanted to understand a little bit more about some of the challenges you are facing, how you are responding and how you are feeling about the future. Many of you kindly responded to a survey we put out a few weeks ago, and I’m happy to share the results below. It was a tricky report to write to be honest. It’s clear that some of us are really struggling with issues not of our making, and some are even thinking the unthinkable; reducing services to those that need us. But it’s also clear that a lot of us are continuing to grit our teeth and grin through yet another challenging year. I feel nothing but admiration for those who are managing to weather the storm (this is a metaphor that just keeps on giving!) and have both admiration and sympathy for those that are struggling but will continue to do their level best to help.
There’s a summary of our findings below and a link to the full report. Have a read and let me know whether you agree or disagree, and take a look at the calls to action. Let’s make ourselves heard and make some thunder of our own.
One thing that can help is coming along to our annual conference in Woking on Thursday 29 September. As well as hearing from experts about the current challenges and what might happen next, there are also funders galore in the market place and workshops that will help you get to grips with fundraising, managing finances, marketing yourselves, recruitment and much more. Please come along then, and let’s look forward to seeing a rainbow as the storm moves away (last weather metaphor, I promise).