Charities feel the Crunch this Christmas

As the economic downturn hits Britain, Charities of all kinds are experiencing a huge dip in donations as individuals and corporate donators rethink their generosity. Charities, which rely on donations for their services will face a billion pound black- hole in their funds by this time next year as individuals cancel their standing orders and companies reduce their donations in an attempt to save money they don't have.
Christmas is notoriously an important time for charities, with suicides, homelessness and domestic violence at a year long high. Charities such as The Samaritans, The Salvation Army and Shelter specialising in these areas will be badly affected by the credit crunch and with no hope for change in the near future.
Twenty- seven UK charities also lost over £50 billion after the collapse of the Icelandic financial market in which they had money invested. The Government have rejected pleas of a bail out because of their own lack of financial stability in the present economic crisis.

Individuals cannot be blamed for the change in conditions for charities, since many households have either been feeling the pressures of the financial climate first hand, or will do in the near future. Charity begins in the home and most families in Britain are recognising this in the breeze of the recession and cancelling their donations.
The squeeze has already seen the value of corporate donations tumble. The British Red Cross was forced to cancel its winter gala ball beside the Thames this month as it could not find a corporate sponsor for an event which usually raises £500,000. Shelter, the housing charity, lost £400,000 in the space of six weeks this autumn when corporate sponsors, including the nationalised mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, cancelled donations.

In such an uncertain economic climate, charities are suffering this Christmas, so remember, anything you can spare will not go unappreciated.